Sam Bankman-Fried said he has “no idea” the status of his personal finances after FTX’s collapse.
“I had $100,000 in my bank account last I checked,” the former CEO told Axios.
Bankman-Fried once had a net worth of $26 billion.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former cryptocurrency exchange CEO who once had a net worth of $26 billion, is down to his last $100,000 after the implosion of FTX, he told Axios on Monday.
The investor and founder of FTX took a massive hit in early November when the bulk of his net worth dropped from $15.6 billion to $1 billion in a single day following news that the crypto exchange needed a bailout.
Bankman-Fried told Axios that he had “no idea” what the state of his personal finances was after the collapse.” Am I allowed to say a negative number?” he told the outlet. “I mean, I have no idea. I don’t know. I had $100,000 in my bank account last I checked.”
Bankman-Fried said “everything” he had was tied up in the now-failed company, making his financial situation “complicated.”
FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO on November 11, after the company failed to secure a rescue following an intense week-long liquidity squeeze. Reuters reported on the same day FTX had transferred billions of dollars of client funds to Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice are investigating the collapse of FTX. Bankman-Fried was also reportedly interviewed by the Bahamian police on November 12.
Bankman-Fried has since apologized for the spectacular collapse of FTX, citing a combination of higher-than-expected leverage on FTX’s books and high customer withdrawals as contributing factors.
Bankman-Fried told Axios that regulation and proper oversight may have prevented the swift breakdown of FTX. But he ultimately acknowledged his role in the fiasco.
“I wish I’d been more careful… I obviously deeply regret this. I’ve been focusing on volume, rather than positions for balances,” he told the outlet. “I should have been more responsible, and I should have been more on top of what was going on.”
Bankman-Fried’s finances, lifestyle, and sponsorships have come under intense scrutiny amid the collapse of FTX. While he was known for a simple lifestyle including cruising around in a Toyota Corolla and practising effective altruism, he also channelled money into high-profile corporate sponsorships including naming rights for Miami Heat’s arena.
Source: I N S I D E R
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