However, it is possible that Bankman-Fried, known to the general public by his initials “SBF,” is in possession of a significant amount of undisclosed funds.
In this article, we will explore SBF’s meteoric rise to the top of the crypto-currency world, how its net worth fluctuated over the years, and its subsequent demise.
Who is Sam Bankman-Fried?
Born in March 1992, Sam Bankman-Fried is a former CEO of FTX and a co-founder of Alameda Research, a crypto-currency trading firm that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022 after a series of bad trades amidst poor crypto-currency market conditions.
He is the son of Stanford Law School professors barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman, SBF attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 2010 and 2014. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a minor in mathematics in 2014.
After completing his educational journey, SBF worked at a few Wall Street firms as a trader. In addition, he took on the role of a development director at the Center for Effective Altruism , in October 2017. About a month later, he and Tara Mac Aulay of the Center of Effective Altruism founded Alameda Research, a quantitative trading firm. SBF would have owned 90% of Alameda Research by 2021.
In April 2019, SBF founded a crypto-currency exchange, FTX, which quickly became a favorite among crypto derivatives traders. At its peak in July 2021, FTX had one million users and was the third largest crypto-currency trading platform by volume. That year, FTX earned more than $400 million.
The FTX and Alameda Research debacle: Controversies abound
In the first half of November 2022, the crypto-currency industry was shaken to its foundations when FTX filed for bankruptcy. Once considered one of the most stable companies in the space, FTX lost billions of dollars in customer funds by funding risky investment decisions by Alameda Research, its sister company.
After FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the price of the FTX token – which the exchange used as collateral to secure billions of dollars in loans and to invest in dozens of crypto startups – plummeted. Trading at its peak of $84 in September 2021, the token plunged below $2 when charges of money laundering, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy were publicly leveled against SBF in late 2022.
Our TTF price prediction algorithm predicts more bearish activity in the medium term, with the TTF price falling below $1 in July 2023.
Initially, SBF argued that it was unaware of the detour of customer funds. However, as the bankruptcy proceedings progressed, it became clear that SBF had helped orchestrate the entire operation. According to FTX attorney Andrew Dietderich, SBF asked FTX co-founder Gary Wang to open a $65 billion “secret line of credit” between the FTX exchange and Alameda.
According to the most recent estimates of FTX’s new CEO, John J. Ray, the exchange owes about $8 billion to more than 100,000 creditors. As of this writing, the bankruptcy proceedings are far from over. Currently, $5 billion in crypto, cash and other liquid assets have been accounted for. However, it could take years for customers and investors to be reimbursed.
In December, SBF was released on $250 million bail… Currently, SBF is facing federal criminal charges in the U.S., which could result in a one-year prison sentence. 115 years in prison. SBF has pleaded not guilty.
What will Sam Bankman-Fried’s net worth be in 2023? From $16 billion to $100,000 in less than a month.
As it stands, SBF’s net worth is virtually zero. On the day of FTX’s collapse, which was largely triggered by Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao when he announced the liquidation of all the FTTs on his books, SBF’s net worth dropped 94%.This represents the largest drop among all daily changes tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In other words, SBF lost $15 billion in one day.
SBF’s net worth peaked at $26 billion in the first quarter of 2022 (sources are listed in the table below).
After founding Alameda and later FTX, SBF became a crypto-billionaire and the youngest person under 30 on the list of self-made moguls. We tracked SBF’s wealth figures over time to paint a picture of how his wealth has fluctuated over time.
On November 30, SBF told reporters that he was down to his last $100,000.well short of his highest ever net worth of $26 billion. in October 2022.
For a more detailed look at SBF’s wealth over time, we have accumulated data from several reputable publications that have made public estimates of SBF’s net worth.
Date | Net Worth | Source: |
---|---|---|
February 4, 2021 | $10,000,000,000 | New York Magazine |
June 25, 2021 | $8,700,000,000 | Forbes |
Oct. 6, 2021 | $22,500,000,000 | Forbes |
February 20, 2022 | $24,000,000,000 | Bussiness Insider |
March 1, 2022 | $26,000,000,000 | Bloomberg Billionaires Index |
May 12, 2022 | $11,300,000,000 | Yahoo Finance |
October 1, 2022 | $10,500,000,000 | Bloomberg Billionaires Index |
Nov 7, 2022 | $15,600,000,000 | Bloomberg Billionaires Index |
Nov 8, 2022 | $990,000,000 | Bloomberg Billionaires Index |
Nov 30, 2022 | $100,000 | SBF’s interview with Axios |
Most of SBF’s fortune was tied up in his share of Alameda Research and FTX. Another considerable portion of his fortune was tied up in a 7.6% stake in Robinhood, worth over $450 million.
Bottom line – From crypto wealth to ruin
The collapse of FTX and Alameda Research took virtually everyone by surprise, institutional investors and clients alike. Once hailed as a crypto “genius,” SBF’s empire collapsed in no time. At this point, the best that can come out of this fiasco is that investors are getting some of their funds back and the broader community is starting to take self-defense more seriously. To be fair, this is already happening, with sales of crypto-currency hardware wallets surging after the FTX collapse.
It’s worth noting that SBF isn’t the only person responsible for the massive collapse of its crypto-currency company in 2022. Do Kwon, the CEO and founder of Terraform Labs, the company behind the Terra ecosystem that was wiped out in a $60 billion crash in May, has also seen his fortunes change dramatically. For more, check out our article on Do Kwon’s net worth in 2023.