An apparatus and method for efficient shutdown of adiabatic charge pumps. A power converter includes a charge pump, a controller, an output load and an inductor. According to one aspect, the power converter includes a switch which is connected across the inductor, where the controller is configured to sense a status of the charge pump and to correspondingly drive the switch element. According to another aspect, the charge pump includes an active discharge circuit and a current-sense circuit, where the current-sense circuit is configured to activate the active discharge circuit. According to yet another aspect, the power converter includes a cascade multiplier having a plurality of high side and low side switches, where a pair of high side and low side switches are enabled simultaneously, such that the pair of high side and low side switches act as an active discharge switch for the charge pump.