Sam Bankman-Fried

1992– · American (Stanford, California) · Information Age

Known for: Built a $32 billion crypto empire, then lost it all in the biggest financial fraud since Bernie Madoff — from Boy Wonder to federal prison in 18 months

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) founded the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the trading firm Alameda Research, building a personal fortune estimated at $26 billion and becoming one of the largest political donors in America. He cultivated an image as an altruistic nerd — sleeping on beanbags, wearing shorts to Congress, and donating to pandemic prevention under the banner of 'effective altruism.'

In November 2022, it was revealed that FTX had secretly funneled billions in customer deposits to Alameda Research, which had lost the money through risky trading. FTX collapsed in days, $8 billion in customer funds were missing, and SBF was arrested in the Bahamas. He was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. It was one of the largest financial frauds in history.

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