Sam Bankman-Fried
Born 1992 · Age 33
American entrepreneur; cofounder of Alameda Research and founder & former CEO of crypto exchange FTX. Once a multibillionaire and prominent political donor, he was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering in 2023 and sentenced in 2024.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Stanford, California
Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried born to Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried.
Political contribution to Michael Bennet
Made a $1,000 contribution to Michael Bennet (reported in timelines).
Attended Crystal Springs Uplands School (high school)
Attended high school in Hillsborough, California (Crystal Springs Uplands).
Attended Canada/USA Mathcamp (summer program)
Attended Mathcamp, a summer program for mathematically talented high-school students.
Summer internship at Jane Street Capital
Interned at proprietary trading firm Jane Street, trading international ETFs.
Graduated MIT with BS in Physics (minor in Math)
Graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's in physics and minor in mathematics; lived in Epsilon Theta house.
Joined Jane Street full-time
Returned to Jane Street Capital full-time after graduating from MIT to trade equities and ETFs.
Left Jane Street
Departed Jane Street Capital to pursue crypto/trading ventures.
Became director of development at CEA (briefly)
Worked briefly (Oct–Nov 2017) at the Centre for Effective Altruism as director of development.
Cofounded Alameda Research
Cofounded quantitative trading firm Alameda Research with Tara Hedley (Mac Aulay) after seed injections from investors including Jaan Tallinn and Luke Ding.
Moved to Hong Kong
Moved to Hong Kong after attending a cryptocurrency conference in Macau; Alameda based in region.
Organized large bitcoin arbitrage trades
Ran arbitrage operations moving up to $25 million per day to exploit price differences (e.g., Japan v. US).
Alameda Research profit milestone (early years)
Alameda at times reported making large daily profits (reported in sources as up to ~$1M/day at times).
Founded FTX (exchange)
Founded FTX cryptocurrency derivatives exchange in April 2019; it opened for business the following month.
FTX acquired Blockfolio
FTX acquired crypto portfolio app Blockfolio for ~$150 million.
Binance received FTT as part of 2021 equity sale
Binance received ~$529M worth of FTT in 2021 as part of a sale related to FTX equity.
Peak public wealth (Forbes 400 rank)
At peak of his reported wealth he was ranked the 41st-richest American on the Forbes 400; peak net worth widely reported between ~$16B and ~$26.5B depending on source.
Political and philanthropic donations scale up
Became a major political donor and philanthropist; donations to PACs and causes escalated (tens of millions in 2021–22).
Owned ~90% of Alameda Research
By 2021 Bankman-Fried reportedly owned approximately 90% of Alameda Research.
Listed on Forbes 30 Under 30
Included on Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2021.
Founded Future Fund (philanthropy vehicle)
Founder of Future Fund tied to effective altruism; team included William MacAskill.
FTX senior staff moved to the Bahamas
In September 2021 Bankman-Fried and senior FTX staff relocated from Hong Kong to the Bahamas for a friendlier regulatory environment.
Testified before House Financial Services Committee
Testified (and later twice testified) before U.S. lawmakers about crypto regulation (notably Dec 8, 2021).
Claims of using customer funds to support Alameda
Prosecutors alleged and witnesses testified Alameda accessed billions in customer funds from FTX to cover Alameda liabilities and investments.
Donations to Guarding Against Pandemics PAC
Reportedly donated ~$35 million to Guarding Against Pandemics PAC (donations between Oct 2021 and May 2022).
Reported potential commitment to Elon Musk Twitter bid
Investment banker said Bankman-Fried would be willing to commit up to $5 billion to Musk's Twitter purchase (no investment occurred).
Invested $500M in Anthropic
Reported $500 million investment in AI startup Anthropic; also invested hundreds of millions in venture firms (e.g., ~$200M in Sequoia).
Emergent Fidelity bought 7.6% of Robinhood
Emergent Fidelity, majority-owned by Bankman-Fried, disclosed purchase of roughly 7.6% stake in Robinhood Markets.
Signed the Giving Pledge
Signed the Giving Pledge committing to donate a majority of wealth (name later removed after arrest).
CoinDesk publishes Alameda balance-sheet leak
Report revealed Alameda's balance sheet heavy exposure to FTT, triggering concerns about FTX/Alameda ties.
Reports of transfers from FTX to Alameda
Reports and anonymous sources alleged transfers of at least $4 billion (and uncovered liabilities up to ~$10B owed by Alameda to FTX) and an $8B hole visible externally.
Public statement 'FTX is fine. Assets are fine.'
Tweet on Nov 8, 2022 asserted FTX's solvency despite emerging liquidity crisis; later criticized as misleading.
Binance announces intent to sell FTT holdings
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Binance would sell its FTT holdings, sparking a run on FTT and FTX liquidity concerns.
Binance non-binding agreement to buy FTX
CZ said Binance had a nonbinding LOI to buy FTX amid a liquidity crisis; SBF tweeted 'FTX is fine. Assets are fine.'
Binance backs out of acquisition
Binance announced it would not proceed with the purchase after due diligence, citing mishandling of customer funds.
FTX, Alameda and affiliates file for bankruptcy; SBF resigns
FTX, Alameda Research, and 130+ entities filed for bankruptcy; Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO and was replaced by John J. Ray III.
Interviewed by Royal Bahamas Police
Interviewed by Bahamian police following bankruptcy; observers also noted movements of customer funds and alleged transfers to Alameda.
Arrested in the Bahamas
Arrested in New Providence, Bahamas by Royal Bahamas Police; U.S. charged him with multiple counts including wire fraud and money laundering.
Released on $250M bond
Allowed to remain free on a $250 million bond — the largest bond in U.S. criminal history — with conditions including living at his parents' home.
Pleaded not guilty
Pled not guilty to the federal charges against him in New York court.
Bail conditions tightened
Judge Lewis Kaplan restricted his communications with current/former FTX employees and tightened bail after concerns about contact with potential witnesses.
Additional charges for illegal political donations
Four new criminal charges announced, focusing on alleged more than 300 illegal political donations.
Indictment alleges transfer to Chinese officials
March 2023 indictment accused him of directing transfers of at least $40 million in crypto to Chinese government officials to unfreeze Alameda accounts.
Alleged witness tampering reported
Prosecutors alleged he gave a reporter personal writings of Caroline Ellison, prompting witness-tampering allegations.
Bail revoked; remanded to custody
Judge revoked his bail for likely witness tampering; he was led from courtroom in handcuffs and held at Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.
Incarceration conditions and complaints
Defense raised issues about prison diet and medications (vegan diet, ADHD/depression meds), arguing it impeded trial prep.
Criminal trial begins in Manhattan
Trial United States v. Bankman-Fried began; he faced seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.
Convicted on seven counts
Jury found him guilty on all seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering after month-long trial.
Second trial charges dropped
Prosecutors announced they would not proceed with a second trial on additional charges, opting to resolve the case promptly.
Future Fund and philanthropic team resignations (after collapse)
Following FTX collapse, all members of Future Fund simultaneously resigned and Future Fund reported prior commitments (~$160M to 110 nonprofits as of Sept 1, 2022).
Engaged prison consultant
Engaged prison consultant Sam Mangel in preparation for incarceration.
Sentenced to 25 years; ordered to forfeit $11.02B
Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison and ordered forfeiture of $11.02 billion for fraud and related crimes.
Filed appeal of conviction and sentence
Filed an appeal challenging conviction and 25-year sentence; appeals process could take years.
Requested new trial alleging judge bias
Requested a new trial claiming Judge Kaplan was biased and undermined defense in front of jurors.
Key Achievement Ages
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