Commoney Wise
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Investing
  • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Commodities
    • Futures
    • Forex
  • Crypto
  • Price Index
    • Stocks
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Commodities
    • Forex
  • Videos
  • Login
  • Register

  Breaking
FAA ground stop for Chinese spy balloon shootdown results in massive flight radar gap off South Carolina coast February 5, 2023
U.S. military members suing 3M seek dismissal of subsidiary’s bankruptcy February 5, 2023
Tesla reverses Model Y price cut after demand surge, Biden’s expansion of electric vehicle tax credits February 4, 2023
UK is ‘likely’ to need digital currency, says BoE and Treasury: Report February 4, 2023
FedEx loses bid to undo $366 million racial bias verdict, files appeal February 4, 2023
Next
Prev

en English
en Englishes Españolde Deutschfr Françaisit Italianopt Portuguêsru Русскийzh-CN 简体中文hi हिन्दीja 日本語
Casino
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Investing
  • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Commodities
    • Futures
    • Forex
  • Crypto
  • Price Index
    • Stocks
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Commodities
    • Forex
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Commoney Wise
Casino
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Finance
  • Investing
  • Markets
  • Crypto
  • Tech
  • Videos
Home Economy

Sam Bankman-Fried lobbied for Taylor Swift deal as FTX bled cash

Staff by Staff
December 11, 2022
in Economy
0 0
A A
0

Earlier this year, as the crypto meltdown was draining the industry of liquidity, FTX executives were begging company founder Sam Bankman-Fried to preserve cash and stop spending hundreds of millions of dollars on celebrity endorsements.

But the 30-year-old billionaire, who’d relied on branding and hype to rapidly take his crypto exchange from upstart to stalwart, was set on signing up one more big name.

related investing news

Crypto winners and losers from the FTX fallout, according to Bernstein

CNBC Pro

Three people close to FTX and Bankman-Fried told CNBC that the former CEO lobbied aggressively for a partnership with 11-time Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift. The deal, which would have cost the now-bankrupt company more than $100 million over three years, was close to coming to fruition before it fell apart in the spring, said the people, who asked not to be named because of confidentiality agreements.

US singer Taylor Swift poses in the press room after winning six awards at the 50th Annual American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, on November 20, 2022. –

Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images

The former executives, who had direct knowledge of the negotiations, said the partnership would’ve been a disaster for FTX because of the steep price tag. Bankman-Fried’s commitment to getting the Swift deal done despite the deteriorating business environment fit a pattern of ignoring his lieutenants and going it alone, a half-dozen former company insiders and business partners said.

The Financial Times reported earlier that FTX held talks with Swift about a potential sponsorship.

Bankman-Fried’s overconfidence was embedded into an organization that had few checks on its leader and no board of directors to hold him accountable. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried portrayed a very different persona to the public, showing himself as a quirky young genius comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt or in a suit in front of Congress who repeatedly professed his belief in effective altruism, a philosophy that promotes the idea of earning a lot of money in order to donate it to the most important causes.

Valued at $32 billion earlier this year by private investors, FTX spiraled into bankruptcy last month after skepticism emerged about the health of the crypto exchange’s financials and customers began demanding withdrawals only to be told their money wasn’t available. Even facing potential criminal charges and the possibility of years in prison, Bankman-Fried has continued to shun advisors by speaking publicly, offering press interviews and tweeting his defense.

CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“I have a duty to talk to people; I have a duty to explain what happened,” Bankman-Fried said in a video interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit last week, acknowledging that his lawyers are opposed to his current tactics. “I don’t see what good is accomplished by me just sitting locked in a room pretending the outside world doesn’t exist.”

Between his DealBook appearance, an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” and his commentary on various podcasts, Bankman-Fried has repeatedly claimed that FTX’s downfall was the result of sloppy management and excessive risk.

Bankman-Fried has denied committing fraud and said he was unaware of much of the intermingling of funds that took place between FTX and Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund. At least $8 billion in FTX customer funds are now unaccounted for and were used to backstop billions in loan losses at Alameda.

Pursuing Swift NFTs

Bankman-Fried also ran fast and loose with company cash. Within just over two years of starting FTX in 2019, Bankman-Fried signed a $135 million, 19-year deal with the NBA’s Miami Heat for naming rights on the team’s arena. He also signed sponsorships with the Golden State Warriors, Major League Baseball and Formula One, and got Larry David to promote the company in a Super Bowl ad. Gisele Bündchen, Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Stephen Curry, David Ortiz and Naomi Osaka were among the brand’s ambassadors.

Part of the Swift deal would have included the production by the singer of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or digital items that can rise and fall in value. Beyond that, there was a lack of clarity over what Swift would be doing for the company, sources said. After the Swift agreement fell apart, talks emerged internally over a deal with Katy Perry as recently as August, one person said.

Representatives for Swift declined to comment, and Perry did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Sam Bankman-Fried faces possible bankruptcy after failed FTX deal

FTX insiders said that while some people in and around the company questioned Bankman-Fried’s decisions, he surrounded himself most immediately with a crew of yes men. Two sources used the word “insular” in describing his leadership style. Bankman-Fried mainly sought advice from a tight-knight group in the Bahamas, where he lived and where the company was headquartered, sources said.

One former FTX executive said Bankman-Fried had a tendency to chew out employees who disagreed with him in a way that deterred others from speaking up. When Bankman-Fried was angry, sources said his knee-jerk reaction was to immediately blame underlings. Some former insiders said Bankman-Fried put on an act for the public, portraying himself as an easygoing CEO.

Bankman-Fried said in a message to CNBC that he disagrees with the characterizations provided by those former employees. He declined to comment on details of the Swift negotiations.

“Partnerships were an area that was more contentious and on the margin I originally was in favor and ultimately started pushing back on new ones,” Bankman-Fried said in the message.

John Ray III, the new CEO tapped to restructure FTX said in filings that in his 40 years of legal experience, which includes Enron’s liquidation, he had never seen “such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.”

One of Bankman-Fried’s closest confidants was Caroline Ellison, the ex-CEO of Alameda Research, who he once dated. The pair would often go on lunch walks around FTX’s fenced-in Nassau headquarters, one FTX executive said.

Outside of his Bahamas cohort, Bankman-Fried went to great lengths to avoid speaking to others and he stayed away from face-to-face confrontations, preferring the encrypted messaging app Signal or Slack, one top deputy said. He frequently ignored messages from C-level executives if he disagreed with them.

Another former insider said employees were afraid of Bankman-Fried, adding that “there were very few people who were willing to challenge Sam.”

WATCH: Bankman-Fried said he didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone

I didn't ever try to commit fraud on anyone: Sam Bankman-Fried

Read the full article here

ShareTweetSharePinShareSendShare
https://www.madmoneycasino.com/?faff=667&sub=DemCasino

Related Articles

Economy

U.S. military prepares to take down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

February 4, 2023
Economy

Airbnb will soon push all vacationers and hosts to verify identity

February 4, 2023
Economy

27-year-old pays $1,850 to live in a former NYC laundromat

February 4, 2023
Economy

Musk, Tesla not liable in securities class action suit

February 4, 2023
Economy

Mistake made Kind Snacks a billion-dollar company

February 3, 2023
Economy

European markets close higher; UK’s FTSE 100 index hits all-time high as pound slides

February 3, 2023
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Commoney Wise

Commoney Wise is your one stop news website for the latest finance, business and crypto news, follow us to get the news that matters to your minute by minute.

Our Other Brands Kronosslott, Commoneywise, Demcasino.de, SportsExtremes.tv, Slotgamesusawwr, Coin Desk Times, Kingsofgolf.be

Topics

Business Commodities Crypto Economy Finance Forex Futures Investing Markets News Politics Stocks Tech Videos

Get Informed

The most important world news and events of the day

Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Press
  • Advertise
  • Contact

© 2022 Commoney Wise. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Investing
  • Markets
    • Stocks
    • Commodities
    • Futures
    • Forex
  • Crypto
  • Price Index
    • Stocks
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Commodities
    • Forex
  • Videos

© 2022 Commoney Wise. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.