Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried
Born	(1992-03-05) March 5, 1992 Stanford, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, former CEO of FTX
Known for	Founder of FTX cryptocurrency platform; convicted of fraud in 2023

Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (born March 5, 1992), widely recognized as SBF, is an American business figure who was found guilty of fraud in November 2023. He established the FTX cryptocurrency platform, which expanded to include over 130 global subsidiaries and propelled him to rank as the 41st wealthiest American on the Forbes 400 list during its peak.

In November 2022, as allegations of fraudulent activity surfaced, FTX experienced a swift surge in withdrawal requests, culminating in its insolvency. Bankman-Fried was apprehended in the Bahamas on December 12, 2022, before being extradited to the United States. He faced seven criminal indictments encompassing wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and breaches of campaign finance regulations.

During the United States v. Bankman-Fried trial, he was found guilty on all charges related to fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. On March 28, 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion. The case became one of the most prominent white-collar crime trials in U.S. history, with financier Anthony Scaramucci labeling him "the Bernie Madoff of crypto."

Early life

Born on March 5, 1992, in Stanford, California, Sam Bankman-Fried grew up in an upper-middle-class Jewish family. His parents, Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, are both professors at Stanford Law School. His maternal grandmother, Adrienne Fried Block, was a distinguished musicologist, while his maternal grandfather, George Fried, worked within the New York State Supreme Court probation office. Additionally, his aunt, Linda P. Fried, held the position of dean at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

Sam’s younger brother Gabriel (born 1995) has experience as a legislative aide and Wall Street trader. He became director of the nonprofit Guarding Against Pandemics and its affiliated political action committee (PAC). The PAC came under federal investigation after it was disclosed that a significant portion of its $35 million funding originated from client funds misappropriated by Sam from Alameda Research.

Following FTX’s collapse, its new management filed lawsuits against both parents seeking the return of assets gifted by Sam to them—including cash and real estate valued at over $32 million. Although they admitted to receiving these gifts, they denied any illicit conduct; eventually, the lawsuit was dismissed.

Education

Bankman-Fried participated in Canada/USA Mathcamp, a summer program designed for mathematically gifted high school students. He completed his secondary education at Crystal Springs Uplands School located in Hillsborough, California. In 2014, he earned a bachelor's degree in physics with a mathematics minor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at MIT, he resided in Epsilon Theta, a coed group house.

Career

In the summer of 2013, Bankman-Fried interned at Jane Street Capital, a proprietary trading firm focused on international ETFs. After graduating from MIT, he joined Jane Street as a full-time employee. He departed from Jane Street in September 2017 and briefly served as director of development at the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA).

In November 2017, together with funding from billionaire programmer Jaan Tallinn and investor Luke Ding, Bankman-Fried and CEA’s Tara Hedley co-established the quantitative trading company Alameda Research. By 2021, Bankman-Fried held roughly 90 percent ownership of Alameda Research. Beginning January 2018, he implemented an arbitrage strategy involving daily transfers up to $25 million to capitalize on bitcoin price discrepancies between Japan and the United States. After attending a cryptocurrency conference in Macau later that year, he relocated his base to Hong Kong.

FTX

In April 2019, Bankman-Fried established the cryptocurrency derivatives platform FTX, which began its operations the following month. By September 2021, he and the senior management team moved FTX's headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas, citing the region's more accommodating cryptocurrency regulations. Bankman-Fried was listed on the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 but was subsequently included in Forbes' 2023 Hall of Shame.

On December 8, 2021, Bankman-Fried provided testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services concerning cryptocurrency regulatory matters. In May 2022, it emerged that Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd., a company primarily owned by Bankman-Fried, had acquired a 7.6% equity stake in Robinhood Markets. Prior to his detention, Bankman-Fried and FTX cofounder Gary Wang revealed that they had borrowed more than $546 million from Alameda Research to finance this investment.

In September 2022, Bankman-Fried’s advisors proposed supporting Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, with investment banker Michael Grimes suggesting a potential financial commitment reaching $5 billion; nevertheless, no actual investment took place. Bankman-Fried invested $500 million into Anthropic and contributed over $500 million to various venture capital firms, including $200 million directed to Sequoia Capital, an investor in FTX. Following FTX’s financial collapse, Sequoia removed a previously favorable profile of Bankman-Fried.

By July 2023, reports indicated that Bankman-Fried contemplated buying the island nation of Nauru to serve as a doomsday refuge—a plan characterized as "misguided and sometimes dystopian."

Views on charity and market regulation

Bankman-Fried was an outspoken advocate for effective altruism, adopting "earning to give" as his chosen altruistic career path. He asserted that his philanthropic efforts were guided by data-driven impact assessments, concentrating on initiatives aimed at mitigating existential threats such as nuclear conflict, pandemics, artificial intelligence risks, and dangers to American democracy. As a member of Giving What We Can, he donated roughly half of his earnings from Jane Street to charitable causes. In June 2022, he committed to the Giving Pledge; however, his name was removed following his arrest.

He launched Future Fund, whose team included William MacAskill, a key figure in the effective altruism community. After FTX’s downfall, all members of Future Fund resigned. By September 2022, Future Fund had pledged approximately $160 million across 110 nonprofit organizations. Concurrently, Bankman-Fried reportedly allocated around $135 million for naming rights at the Miami Heat arena and approximately $30 million for a Super Bowl commercial.

FTX’s relocation to the Bahamas was justified by citing a more favorable regulatory environment; Bankman-Fried openly discussed plans to contribute toward paying off the country's $9 billion national debt. In a November 2022 interview conducted via Twitter messages, he conceded that his and FTX’s promotion of cryptocurrency regulation was largely insincere and functioned mainly as "PR," while criticizing regulators as ineffective and detrimental to consumers. He described his ethical positioning as "mostly a front," later clarifying that this referred specifically to ESG initiatives, corporate social responsibility, and greenwashing—not his commitments to effective altruism or pandemic prevention efforts.

Collapse of FTX

In November 2022, Binance's CEO Changpeng Zhao declared intentions to liquidate Binance’s $529 million stake in FTT, the native token of FTX. This announcement sparked a wave of client withdrawals from FTX, resembling a classic bank run scenario. The move followed revelations that Alameda Research, the trading firm owned by Bankman-Fried, held substantial quantities of FTT. Given the limited liquidity of FTT, Binance's planned sale led to steep price drops in FTT and other cryptocurrencies amid public conflicts between Zhao and Bankman-Fried.

On November 8, Zhao disclosed that Binance had entered into a nonbinding agreement to acquire FTX during its liquidity emergency but cautioned about the risks associated with using tokens as collateral. That same day, FTT’s value plummeted by 80%. However, by November 9, Binance retracted its acquisition offer due to concerns over FTX’s alleged misappropriation of customer funds and ongoing regulatory investigations. Consequently, Bankman-Fried’s personal net worth suffered a drastic reduction.

Following these events, regulatory authorities such as the SEC and CFTC initiated investigations into FTX’s financial operations and its connections with Bankman-Fried’s other enterprises. On November 11, FTX, Alameda Research, and more than 130 related entities filed for bankruptcy protection. Reports uncovered that Bankman-Fried had secretly transferred at least $4 billion in customer funds from FTX to Alameda, often backed by illiquid assets including FTT and shares of Robinhood. Alameda owed roughly $10 billion to FTX, collateralized by customer assets valued at $16 billion.

Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO on November 11; John J. Ray III—renowned for managing Enron’s asset recovery—was appointed to lead the bankruptcy process. The following day, Bahamian officials conducted an interview with Bankman-Fried. Ray later characterized the company’s internal controls as completely deficient and described financial records as unreliable.

In December 2022 testimony prepared for the House Financial Services Committee, Bankman-Fried asserted that FTX remained solvent but claimed he was pressured by legal advisors to declare bankruptcy. He suggested that bankruptcy administrators were seeking excessive fees based on precedents set during Enron’s collapse. After his arrest, John J. Ray III provided testimony before Congress in his stead.

Arrest and charges

On December 12, 2022, authorities from the Royal Bahamas Police Force apprehended Bankman-Fried at his residence in New Providence, Bahamas, anticipating his extradition to the United States for trial. This arrest took place one day prior to his planned testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services; however, his prepared remarks were obtained and published by Forbes.

Earlier that day, the Southern District of New York filed charges against him including wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis highlighted the shared commitment between the Bahamas and U.S. to hold those involved with FTX accountable. Legal analysts noted that convictions could result in lengthy prison terms extending over several years or decades.

After spending ten days in Fox Hill Prison located in Nassau, Bankman-Fried consented to extradition to the United States. He was released on a record-setting $250 million bond—the highest ever recorded in a U.S. criminal case—with stipulations requiring him to reside at his parents’ home in California.

On January 3, 2023, he entered pleas of "not guilty" on all charges brought against him. On February 1, Judge Lewis Kaplan imposed stricter bail conditions restricting any communication with current or former FTX employees unless attorneys were present due to concerns about potential witness interference. The judge also indicated that pretrial detention might be warranted.

Further criminal allegations were announced on February 23 relating to more than 300 unlawful political contributions. A March indictment accused him of orchestrating transfers exceeding $40 million in cryptocurrency to Chinese officials aimed at unblocking Alameda Research accounts. In July, prosecutors dismissed one campaign finance charge citing treaty obligations linked to his extradition.

In August, Bankman-Fried faced an additional indictment alleging he utilized $100 million of misappropriated FTX customer funds for contributions to U.S. election campaigns in 2022.

United States v. Bankman-Fried

The proceedings commenced on October 3, 2023, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse located in Manhattan, with Judge Lewis Kaplan presiding. Bankman-Fried was charged with seven counts involving fraud and conspiracy. The Guardian depicted the trial as a determination of whether he was a mastermind behind crypto-related crimes or merely an unfortunate entrepreneur. Allegations stated that he funneled billions of dollars from FTX customers to Alameda for purposes including investments, loan repayments, real estate acquisitions, and political contributions. The defense argued that Bankman-Fried was a sincere founder overwhelmed by market downturns and inexperienced management, denying any fraudulent intent.

More than a dozen witnesses for the prosecution took the stand, among them FTX executives Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, all of whom cooperated under plea agreements. Wang confessed to assisting Alameda in misappropriating as much as $65 billion from FTX clients by altering code and making false public statements. The defense’s case largely depended on Bankman-Fried’s own testimony, bolstered by expert witnesses in risk management and a legal professional from the Bahamas.

Central to the trial were two methods Alameda employed to access customer funds held by FTX. The first involved an "essentially unlimited" credit facility extended to Alameda by FTX, which did not require collateral—an extraordinary arrangement approved by senior engineers under Bankman-Fried’s direction. He maintained that his only request was to prevent accidental liquidations and claimed ignorance of how this was executed, estimating Alameda borrowed roughly $2 billion through this channel.

The second method concerned the handling of fiat deposits before FTX had established its own bank account; these funds were processed via Alameda and other payment services. Bankman-Fried testified that he believed these monies were securely held or transferred appropriately to FTX, only realizing toward the end of 2022 that Alameda had withdrawn $8 billion without proper documentation. Other executives acknowledged his limited awareness but emphasized that ultimate authority over both entities rested with Bankman-Fried.

A significant portion of the trial scrutinized inconsistencies between Bankman-Fried’s public pronouncements and internal facts. For instance, his November 2022 tweet declaring "FTX is fine" was later described by an executive as misleading or false, focusing on solvency rather than liquidity concerns. He insisted he never asserted that Alameda received treatment identical to other clients—only that it did not engage in front-running—and claimed he reviewed Alameda’s financial status only minimally. The defense underscored CEO Ellison’s independent decision-making, citing her rejection of his suggestions to hedge against market declines.

Trial conclusion

The jury delivered its verdict on November 2, 2023, convicting Bankman-Fried on all seven charges. Sentencing was set for March 28, 2024. Experts in federal sentencing anticipated a prison term ranging from two decades up to life imprisonment due to the gravity of the fraud and Bankman-Fried's age. On March 28, 2024, he received a sentence of 25 years behind bars. Factoring in credits available under the First Step Act and similar programs, he may serve about 18 years. Additionally, the court mandated forfeiture amounting to $11.02 billion linked to fraudulent conduct against customers and investors. In preparation for his imprisonment, Bankman-Fried engaged prison consultant Sam Mangel.

Dismissal of second trial

Following Bankman-Fried's extradition from the Bahamas in December 2022, a second trial addressing five charges—including bank fraud and bribery—was planned for early March 2024. He moved to have these charges dismissed, contending that they either fell outside the terms of the extradition or warranted separate trials.

On December 30, 2023, prosecutors declared they would not proceed with a second trial, emphasizing the "strong public interest" in concluding the matter swiftly. They further explained that a subsequent trial would not affect Bankman-Fried's potential incarceration duration under federal sentencing guidelines.

Appeals process

Bankman-Fried filed an appeal against his conviction and 25-year sentence on April 11, 2024. This appeals procedure could extend over several years and requires demonstrating substantial judicial errors by Judge Lewis Kaplan that undermined the trial’s fairness.

On September 13, 2024, he sought a new trial, accusing Judge Kaplan of bias by ridiculing the defense and disparaging their cross-examinations in front of the jury. His legal team also alleged that the judge exerted undue pressure on jurors to expedite their verdict by providing meals and transportation during deliberations.

Custodial timeline

Until August 11, 2023, Bankman-Fried remained out on bail with court-imposed conditions while residing with his parents. On July 26, prosecutors raised allegations of witness tampering after he shared personal notes of former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison with a journalist. Subsequently, on August 11, Judge Kaplan revoked his bail due to probable witness tampering, resulting in his detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.

By August 22, his attorneys reported he was not receiving vegan meals and faced shortages of his ADHD and depression medications, which hindered his ability to prepare for trial. By November 2023, he was provided a vegetarian diet and access to prescribed medications. During incarceration, he engaged in the prison "mack" economy by exchanging commissary goods such as mackerel for services like haircuts. After his conviction and sentencing, he was assigned register number 37244-510 and requested to remain at MDC Brooklyn throughout his appeal. As of late September 2024, he shared a dormitory-style cell with Sean Combs.

In March 2025, Bankman-Fried conducted an unauthorized interview with Tucker Carlson, indirectly appealing to former President Trump for a pardon by highlighting his prior donations to Republican causes. Following this interview, he was placed in solitary confinement and transferred to the low-security Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island located in Los Angeles.

Prior to 2020

Before 2019, Bankman-Fried’s sole recorded campaign contribution was $1,000 in 2010 to Michael Bennet. For the 2020 U.S. elections, he donated $5.2 million to two super PACs supporting the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign, ranking him as Biden’s second-largest individual donor after Michael Bloomberg.

During 2021–2022

Bankman-Fried contributed funds to both major U.S. political parties, asserting that his donations were evenly split. For Democratic causes, he gave $27 million to Protect Our Future, a Democratic PAC. In the 2021-22 election cycle, he also donated $990,000 directly to Democratic candidates alongside $38.8 million directed toward external groups.

Public records indicate $262,200 in contributions to Republican campaigns during this timeframe, including senators Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, and Ben Sasse. Journalist Matthew Kassel observed that Bankman-Fried frequently supported politicians advocating robust Israel–United States relations, though his precise motivations remain uncertain. Bankman-Fried admitted making additional Republican donations through dark money channels, explaining these contributions were kept "dark" to avoid media attention he described as "super liberal."

2022 U.S. midterm elections

In the 2022 U.S. elections, Bankman-Fried ranked as the second-largest individual contributor to Democratic initiatives, donating $39.8 million, with only George Soros surpassing him. Of this sum, $27 million was allocated to the Protect Our Future PAC. Additional funds were directed toward The Next 50 PAC, Guarding Against Pandemics PAC, and the leadership PAC associated with Brendan Boyle.

Bankman-Fried asserted in February 2022 that his political contributions were not aimed at shaping cryptocurrency regulations; nevertheless, FTX was actively promoting policy proposals. He supported expanding the regulatory authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over the cryptocurrency sector. The CFTC is recognized for endorsing comparatively lenient oversight relative to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He vigorously advocated before Congress for the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA), legislation perceived as advantageous to FTX while potentially disadvantaging decentralized finance (DeFi) rivals. In May 2022, Bankman-Fried revealed intentions to invest "over $100 million" in the 2024 presidential race, with a possible maximum of $1 billion; however, he later retracted this estimate in October, labeling it a "foolish remark." Michael Lewis’s Going Infinite disclosed that Bankman-Fried had considered offering Donald Trump up to $5 billion to abstain from running in 2024.

After the collapse of FTX, numerous beneficiaries of Bankman-Fried’s political donations have chosen to redirect equivalent amounts toward philanthropic efforts. This group includes Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representatives Chuy García and Kevin Hern. Additionally, former Texas gubernatorial hopeful Beto O'Rourke returned a $1 million contribution received from Bankman-Fried in October 2022 prior to the election.

Pandemic prevention contributions and related controversy

Both Bankman-Fried and his brother Gabriel provided financial support to pandemic prevention efforts, notably backing the Guarding Against Pandemics PAC established by Gabriel. On May 15, 2022, FTX announced an $18 million grant to fund the "TOGETHER Trial," an international collaborative study evaluating existing medications for illnesses such as COVID-19.

On July 20, 2023, an Insiders Avoidance Complaint was lodged against Bankman-Fried along with three former executives of FTX and Alameda Research seeking restitution of "hundreds of millions of dollars that Defendants misappropriated." The plaintiffs included FTX Trading Ltd., Alameda Research LLC, among others. The complaint highlighted that Guarding Against Pandemics, which received $35 million from Bankman-Fried between October 2021 and May 2022, "failed to take effective action to prevent pandemics."

Efforts to recover donations

In December 2022, the newly appointed leadership at FTX initiated actions to reclaim contributions made to politicians, celebrities, and charitable organizations as part of the bankruptcy process. The company expressed its intention to "demand the return of these payments, with interest accruing from the commencement date of any legal action." Under U.S. law, transfers executed within 90 days prior to bankruptcy are presumed preferential if they provide a creditor with more than legally entitled, making the retrieval of funds from political figures and charities comparatively straightforward during bankruptcy proceedings.

By April 2023, liquid assets amounting to $7.3 billion had been recovered out of the initial $8 billion in missing funds. An unidentified bidder appraised the remaining portfolio at "no less than $2 billion," although some specialists emphasized that recovering assets does not eliminate underlying fraud allegations. In October 2023, FTX and related debtors submitted a proposal to the bankruptcy court for resolving disputes related to customer property. This agreement projected that customers of both FTX.com and FTX US would receive in excess of 90% of the total distributable value on a global scale.

Personal life

Bankman-Fried follows a vegan lifestyle and was brought up in a Jewish household. Around mid-2021, he shared a five-bedroom penthouse in the Bahamas with approximately ten roommates; this residence was acquired by FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame. Following FTX’s downfall, the penthouse was put on the market with an asking price close to $40 million. He was involved in a six-month romantic relationship with Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, which ended in April 2022. During her testimony against him in October 2023, Ellison characterized his hairstyle and clothing choices as part of a "carefully crafted" image designed to bolster his professional persona, noting his belief that appearance impacted bonus decisions at Jane Street Capital. Bankman-Fried appeared in court dressed in a grey suit with neatly trimmed hair.

On one occasion, he played League of Legends during a call aimed at securing investment from Sequoia Capital, presenting FTX as a “super app.” This impressed the investors, resulting in over $200 million being invested. The Financial Times later described his gaming abilities as "mediocre at best."

Throughout the legal proceedings, Bankman-Fried’s parents have publicly expressed their support for him. In December 2022, they proclaimed his innocence, with his mother criticizing the prosecution and bankruptcy team as "McCarthyite" and intent on "complete destruction." While he awaited trial in a Brooklyn detention facility, his parents made weekly trips from California to visit him. In February 2024, his mother submitted a letter to the judge requesting leniency on his behalf, highlighting concerns that he faces "significant danger" in prison due to challenges interpreting social cues.