Madoff, 71, has been in jail since March, when he pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other charges.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin called the fraud "staggering," adding that " the breach of trust was massive."
"Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll," Chin said.
In court prior to the judge's decision, Madoff faced some of his victims and said he was sorry. He said he "will live with this pain, this torment, for the rest of my life."
"I dug myself deeper into a hole" as the Ponzi scheme progressed, Madoff told court.
Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, said his client expects to live out his life behind bars.
Wife ashamed of the scandal
Ruth Madoff, the wife of the fallen financier, issued a statement following the sentencing saying she was ashamed and embarassed by the scandal.
In a written statement distributed outside the couple's Manhattan apartment, she said it was wrong to interpret her silence over the matter up until Monday as indifference.
"Lives have been upended and futures have been taken away," she said in the statement.
Harsh punishment
Earlier, Madoff sat and listened as victims of the scheme spoke of their losses and called for harsh punishment.
The nine victims who addressed the hearing included Carla and Stanley Hirschhorn, who said the loss of their life savings is "a living nightmare that we can't wake up from."
"He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values," said an...