NEW YORK, USA - Newly released court papers show alleged Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff's victims include top Hollywood stars, the man rebuilding the World Trade Centre, and Madoff's own family and lawyer.

The list at the US Bankruptcy Court in New York shows thousands of people invested with Madoff before his arrest in December and the collapse of his alleged multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

They include actors Kevin Bacon and John Malkovich, and Larry Silverstein, a New York property developer who is working on the rebuilding of the World Trade Centre destroyed in the 2001 terrorist attacks.

CNN news channel's veteran talk show host Larry King is on the list, which was released late on Wednesday, as is Fred Wilpon, who owns the New York Mets baseball team.

Other prominent victims include some of the world's leading financial institutions: UBS, HSBC, J.P. Morgan Chase, BNP Paribas and Citigroup.

A string of museums, charities and pension funds are also reported as having given money to Madoff.

In an intriguing twist, the list contains many of those closest to the 70-year-old Madoff. His wife Ruth appears, as do their sons and Madoff's brother.

Following his arrest, Madoff was able to enlist only his wife and brother to back his US$10 million (S$15 million) bail, which was subsequently tightened to full house arrest in Manhattan.

His lawyer, Ira Sorkin, also appears on the list.

The 162-page document has more than 80 clients listed on each page, but the amount each invested with Madoff is not shown. Many names are repeated, apparently reflecting various types of investment with the disgraced financier.

Prosecutors say Madoff confessed to losing some US$50 billion in a years-long pyramid fraud. He has not yet been indicted and there is no immediate indication of when he could go to trial.

People on the list are those whom investigators identified through Madoff's records or who have come forward themselves.

Since Madoff's arrest, other financiers accused of smaller Ponzi schemes have been arrested around the country.

On Thursday, federal judge Jed Rakoff ruled that Marc Dreier, who is accused in a US$400 million fraud, could be freed to await trial under strict house arrest.