Earlier than all of it collapsed final fall, the cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was on the heart of a worldwide enterprise empire.
The 31-year-old mogul began his first firm within the San Francisco Bay Space, earlier than transferring to Hong Kong after which to the Bahamas, the place his FTX cryptocurrency change was based mostly till it filed for chapter in November. Alongside the way in which, Mr. Bankman-Fried left his mark on luxurious properties in Washington and on the Bahamian island of New Windfall, and splashed FTX’s emblem on a basketball enviornment in Miami.
Mr. Bankman-Fried is now on trial in federal court docket in Manhattan, the place he faces seven counts of wire fraud, securities fraud and cash laundering.
Listed here are a few of the locations he left behind.
Mr. Bankman-Fried ran his first firm, the crypto hedge fund Alameda Analysis, out of a four-story workplace constructing in Berkeley, Calif. He usually slept at work, curling up on a beanbag chair.
In 2019, Mr. Bankman-Fried moved Alameda to Hong Kong, the place the regulatory atmosphere was friendlier to crypto corporations. He quickly began a brand new firm, FTX, which individuals might use to purchase and promote cryptocurrencies.
As FTX grew, Mr. Bankman-Fried invested closely in advertising and marketing and courted superstar endorsements. In 2021, he signed a 19-year, $135 million deal to rename the Miami Warmth’s basketball venue FTX Area. The deal was canceled after FTX filed for chapter.
Mr. Bankman-Fried was a power in political fund-raising. He purchased a $3 million luxurious townhouse in Washington to function the bottom for his political operations — and as a headquarters for a nonprofit run by his youthful brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried.
FTX workers labored out of a set of small workplaces nestled amongst palm timber within the Bahamas. Inside days of the corporate’s collapse, workers headed for the airport, leaving the once-bustling workplaces empty.
Mr. Bankman-Fried had deliberate to construct an enormous new headquarters for FTX within the Bahamas. Now the lot the place the workplace was speculated to be constructed stands empty.
Whereas he was within the Bahamas, Mr. Bankman-Fried lived in Albany, a luxurious condo complicated in New Windfall. He shared a five-bedroom penthouse with different FTX executives. Three of them — Nishad Singh, Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison — have pleaded responsible to fraud and agreed to testify towards him at trial.
Considered one of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s final stops within the Bahamas was a vibrant pink courthouse within the capital of Nassau. He was taken there after his arrest in December, earlier than he was extradited to face costs in the US.
