Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
Further reporting by Sherin Shibu.
The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto empire was not solely felt by these deep within the crypto group — some big-name entrepreneurs and celebrities misplaced some huge cash, too.
Though SBF allegedly led buyers to imagine he might carry them excessive returns with little danger, greater than one million folks might have been affected by the collapse, and big-spending-crypto-newbies shortly discovered that buying and selling crypto is not for the faint of coronary heart.
RELATED: Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Jail for Multibillion-Greenback Crypto Fraud
In November, Bankman Fried was discovered responsible on seven counts of fraud, embezzlement, and felony conspiracy for orchestrating “one of many largest monetary frauds in American historical past” after a financial institution run uncovered an $8 billion gap in firm accounts and a piggy financial institution relationship with Alameda Analysis crypto buying and selling agency.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced on Thursday in a Manhattan federal court docket to 25 years in jail.
Southern District of New York Decide Lewis Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried was “extraordinarily sensible” and agreed with prosecutors that Bankman-Fried “wished to be a massively, massively politically influential particular person on this nation.”
Kaplan said that the loss quantity to the victims of Bankman-Fried’s crimes surpassed $550 million and that buyers misplaced billions.
In the meantime, FTX’s new CEO John Ray, who stepped in for SBF after the corporate filed for chapter, stated the corporate has situated $5 billion in money and different belongings, and whereas they don’t seem to be completed discovering unearthed funds, they plan to additionally promote over $4.6 billion in extra holdings as nicely.
It is unclear how the recovered funds will probably be divvied up, however usually in chapter proceedings, solely bond-holders are eligible to recoup a portion of their losses, whereas these with fairness stakes are left at a loss, in accordance with Markets Insider.
Sequoia Capital seemingly suffered the best loss for an out of doors investor within the trade with its $200 million funding, which peaked at $350 million in January 2022, in accordance with information obtained by Forbes.
RELATED: Who Is FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried?
Whereas Sequoia reportedly informed buyers its FTX funding was offset by its $7.5 billion in realized and unrealized positive aspects, Singapore funding firm Temasek did not get as fortunate.
The corporate reportedly invested $210 million for 1% of FTX and $65 million for 1.5% of FTX U.S. however has since decided its stakes to zero.
Moreover, funding firm Paradigm is alleged to have invested $215 million, whereas the Ontario Academics’ Pension Plan invested $75 million, and has since written its funding to zero.
Here is a take a look at a few of the well-known faces who misplaced large within the FTX crypto collapse.
Tom Brady
Tom Brady is essentially the most well-known face to advertise and spend money on FTX — and he additionally might have suffered the best particular person loss. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback owned over 1.1 million frequent shares of FTX Buying and selling, which equaled about $45 million earlier than the corporate went bankrupt, in accordance with Bloomberg.
Whereas his funding is now zero within the wake of the collapse, he beforehand advocated for the trade and appeared in a number of promotional advertisements along with his now ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.
Gisele Bündchen
Alongside along with her now ex-husband, Tom Brady, the supermodel additionally misplaced a good portion of her wealth within the trade. Bündchen reportedly owned 680,000 FTX shares, which have been valued at about $25 million.
Kevin O’Leary
The Shark Tank entrepreneur was a fierce advocate for SBF’s FTX earlier than the crypto trade’s fall. As a paid spokesperson for the corporate, O’Leary owned 32,000 shares in FTX and 110,000 shares of FTX US. He stated his shares have been valued at $1 million throughout a U.S. Senate Banking Committee in December, including that he has since “written them off to zero.”
O’Leary informed CNBC’s “Squawk Field” in December that he was paid round $15 million to behave as a paid spokesperson for the model and put slightly below $10 million into the crypto trade. However he stated his crypto funding is now equal to zero.
Robert Kraft
New England Patriots proprietor Robert Kraft additionally fell sufferer to FTX. He reportedly owned about 630,000 whole FTX-related shares via KPC Enterprise Capital LLC, an entity linked to the Kraft Group.
Utilizing O’Leary’s valuation, the NFL crew proprietor might have misplaced an eight-figure funding.
Robert Belfer
Billionaire oil baron Robert Belfer, who was as soon as generally known as the inheritor to bankrupt gasoline firm Enron, additionally reportedly misplaced tens of millions with FTX’s collapse. Two companies linked to the Belfer household held shares in each FTX and FTX US with a mixed stake of $34.5 million, in accordance with court docket paperwork obtained by the Monetary Occasions. Belfer was additionally notably entangled in Bernie Madoff’s notorious Ponzi Scheme.
Anthony Scaramucci
Donald Trump’s former communications director was additionally wrapped up within the FTX collapse along with his different funding firm, SkyBridge Capital. Final September, FTX acquired 30% of SkyBridge Capital, per The Avenue, and whereas the main points of the deal are unknown, Scaramucci stated he was additionally at a loss regardless of the acquisition.
“We misplaced cash usually as a result of the general portfolio goes down because of this debacle, so sure I suppose sure,” he stated when requested in regards to the collapse in November on the Bloomberg New Financial system Discussion board in Singapore.
Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry was one of many many celebrities to endorse FTX along with his varied commercials and his 2021 partnership with the model. Like Brady and Bündchen, Curry additionally obtained a stake in FTX for his work with the corporate.
Curry’s crew, the Golden State Warriors, was additionally entangled within the scandal after FTX agreed to pay $10 million for a world rights sponsorship deal that gave the trade in-area signage, unique model placements, and the rights to the crew’s NFTs in December 2021.
Need to study extra about crypto? Because the world’s main crypto professional, @stephencurry30 has obtained you coated…or does he?
https://t.co/KACxuGfVLq pic.twitter.com/liVDS37DAP
— FTX (@FTX_Official) March 29, 2022
Curry can be named in a category motion lawsuit that claims the celebrities who endorsed FTX participated in misleading methods to “induce confidence and to drive customers to spend money on what was finally a Ponzi scheme,” in accordance with the lawsuit.
Sam Bankman-Fried, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Kevin O’Leary, Shaquille O’Neal, Udonis Haslem, David Ortiz, William Trevor Lawrence, Shohei Ohtani, Naomi Osaka, and Larry David have been additionally talked about within the go well with.
Naomi Osaka
Tennis star Naomi Osaka additionally signed a long-term partnership settlement with FTX in March that was supposed to assist carry girls into the crypto world, in accordance with Reuters. She was given an fairness stake within the firm and acquired compensation within the type of crypto.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, @naomiosaka is altering the sport on and off the court docket. We’re extremely proud to name her our latest associate!
working to make #bitcoin and crypto extra accessible. pic.twitter.com/aA3wd7eY0r
— FTX (@FTX_Official) March 21, 2022
David Ortiz
Pink Sox baseball legend David Ortiz additionally signed on to be an FTX ambassador in October 2021 and agreed to be compensated in cryptocurrency, per CoinDesk. On the time, he agreed to launch a number of NFT collections, whereas FTX agreed to sponsor the David Ortiz Superstar Golf Basic and donate to the David Ortiz’s Youngsters’s Fund. It is unclear if the fund will probably be required to repay the donations if they’re discovered to have been made with buyer cash.
Take a look at our Soiled Cash Podcast for our tackle Crypto Criminal Sam Bankman-Fried.
