January 8, 2009 | 8:09 pm

Jeffrey Katzenberg: Madoff did ‘extraordinary damage’

Posted by The Web Guy

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Jeffrey Katzenberg and DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg

Jeffrey Katzenberg is not a happy mogul, at least according to Bloomberg News:

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., said personal losses from investments with Bernard Madoff did “extraordinary damage” to his philanthropic efforts.

“The first time I heard the name Bernie Madoff was about three weeks ago when I found out that, you know, he had swindled all this money,” Katzenberg said today in an interview on CNBC.

The film-making executive is among Hollywood personalities who suffered losses at the hands of Madoff, including director Steven Spielberg and actor Kevin Bacon. Katzenberg wasn’t specific about the scope of his loss.

“This is extremely painful and humiliating for me,” Katzenberg said. “It has done extraordinary damage to my philanthropy.”

The Marilyn & Jeffrey Katzenberg foundation listed assets of $22.1 million as of 2007, according to a September tax filing. The books were managed by Breslauer Rutman & Anderson LLC in Los Angeles.

The filing listed two sources of income from “B Madoff”: Treasury bill interest of $220,371 and income of $98,944.

“That this man is actually walking free today I think is a disgrace,” Katzenberg said on CNBC. “And this guy is living in a $7 million apartment today walking free. There is something very, very wrong.”

Katzenberg’s contributions in 2007 totaled $455,333, according to the tax filing, with the largest sum, $100,000, going to the Motion Picture & Television Fund. He also donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

The whole Bloomberg article is here.