FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, also knowns as SBF, is no longer a billionaire. The beleaguered crypto mogul (or, is this when we start referring to him as a ‘former crypto mogul’?) has seen 94% of his personal net worth evaporate in a single, fateful day, which occurred earlier this week.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, announced that he would be acquiring FTX after growing concerns about the company’s apparent insolvency, which then led to a slowdown in withdrawals that led to the price of FTX’s native token FTT to fall from $22 on to below $3, wiping out over $2 billion.
The 30-year-old former billionaire was worth an estimated $15.2 billion. But, the Bloomberg wealth index assumes that “existing FTX investors, including Bankman-Fried, will be completely wiped out by Binance’s bailout.” And this wipeout cost SBF $14.6 billion overnight.
And then plot twist — on Wednesday, Binance announced that they will be walking away from the acquisition after seeing FTX’s financials and the probes into its handling of customer funds.
The wipeout led Bankman-Fried to concede that he likely isn’t a billionaire anymore. When Forbes reached out, he responded “not totally clear but certainly can’t confidently dispute, will update later if new info comes out…” It’s unclear at this point what net worth, if any, SBF still has.
Without the much-needed bailout, SBF is facing bigger problems than losing his billionaire status.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
