At least one millionaire who lost money in the Bernard Madoff fraud is trying to repay some victims. Ronald Lappin, a Boston philanthropist is using $5 million of his own money to pay back his employees, many of whom who lost their retirement nest eggs to Madoff. He plans to restore funds to 60 employees of his company, Salem-based Shetland Properties. He will also restore lost funds to his private charity, The Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation. Luckily Lappin only invested some of his fortune with Madoff, but employee' lost their 401(k) plans and the foundation lost $8 million to Madoff.

Lappin's foundation closed briefly in December after losing the $8 million. The foundation supports Jewish education and culture on the North Shore in the Boston area. Lappin has restored the funding for 17 programs in education, interfaith outreach and family development. Last Sunday, the foundation helped to sponsor a trip for 82 Jewish teens to Israel after raising $450,000 in private donations for the Youth to Israel program.
"I wanted to do the right thing," Lappin told the Boston Globe. "And, I feel, I've done the right thing and that to me is my reward." Lappin's company has been in business for 51 years. Madoff devastated Lappin's investment portfolio, which is now less than $10 million, about a tenth of what it was before the scandal.

Even if the Madoff family doesn't understand what it means to pay back people you've hurt, Lappin certainly showed that he's willing to go above and beyond by restoring both the foundation and his employees' retirement funds. With any luck, the Madoff family will learn from his example.