Despite Sam Bankman-Fried’s public commitment to charitable giving and the effective altruism philanthropic movement, the FTX founder also had a taste for the finer things in life, from private jets to luxury apartments.
On Monday, former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh said Bankman-Fried personally lobbied for the now-infamous $30 million penthouse in the Bahamas to house members of his inner circle, altruistic colleagues effective.
According to Singh, the group of friends all wanted to live together after moving FTX’s headquarters to the Bahamas, which led to a “substantial disagreement” over potential accommodations.
Some were opposed to the penthouse, which occupied the top floor of the Orchid building at the Albany, a luxury resort in a remote corner of the Bahamas. As adherents of effective altruism — which advocates maximizing a person’s impact, often through charitable giving — they were concerned about the penthouse’s extravagant price and its “ostentatious” appearance, according to Singh.
Bankman-Fried, however, was a fan. “Sam is a fan of opinions,” Singh testified. “He said he would pay $100 million to end the drama.” Ten of them eventually moved into the apartment, which had a panoramic view of the Albany Marina. Bankman-Fried eventually moved out after breaking up with one of the roommates, Caroline Ellison, also the CEO of his trading company, Alameda Research.
Ministry of Justice Exhibition
“Politics and social advancement”
Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial entered its third week Monday, with Justice Department prosecutors building their case that the FTX founder illegally used the crypto exchange’s customer funds for his own purposes, from l real estate to venture capital investments.
Former FTX CTO Gary Wang and Ellison cooperated with prosecutors and, in previous testimony, admitted to committing fraud at the direction of Bankman-Fried. Singh is just the latest member of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle to testify against him.
A childhood friend of Bankman-Fried’s brother, Singh played an integral role in Bankman-Fried’s investment and charitable giving campaigns. He was a major political donor, with prosecutors accusing Singh of violating campaign donation laws. The DOJ initially brought similar charges against Bankman-Fried, although those allegations were dropped due to technical extradition issues with the Bahamas.
In his testimony Monday, Singh detailed excessive spending overseen by FTX, including investments totaling $1 billion in a venture capital firm led by Michael Kives and Bryan Baum, which Bankman-Fried considered valuable due to their connections with celebrities and prominent people.
Singh testified that he believed the spending was excessive, with the investment in Kives and Baum going against the principles of effective altruism. Singh said he was concerned that it “was really toxic to the FTX and Alameda culture,” which he said reflected that “politics and upward mobility were not going to be rewarded.”