Report: Former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried says he's down to $100,000 in bank account

Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY

November 30, 2022 at 8:04 a.m.·2 min read

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former cryptocurrency exchange CEO – and once one of the richest people in the world – is down to his last $100,000 after the rapid failure of FTX, Axios is reporting.

The investor and founder of FTX pointed to both personal failures and regulatory gaps to help explain the implosion of his company in an interview with the outlet.

It was one of the largest crypto exchanges and valued at an estimated $32 billion in January. You could find its name attached to an NBA stadium or in commercials with celebrities like Tom Brady and Larry David.

At one point, Bankman-Fried's personal wealth reached $26.5 billion.

"Am I allowed to say a negative number?" he told the outlet, when asked about his personal finances. "I mean, I have no idea. I don't know. I had $100,000 in my bank account last I checked," he said.

Bankman-Fried said "basically everything" he had was tied up in the now-failed company, making his financial situation "complicated."

Earlier this month, on Nov. 11, FTX declared bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO after reports that Almeda Research, a trading firm founded by Bankman-Fried, relied heavily on a token issued by FTX.

In this file photo taken on February 09, 2022, Samuel Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, testifies during a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry hearing about "Examining Digital Assets: Risks, Regulation, and Innovation," on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. - The new chief executive of troubled cryptocurrency platform FTX said on November 12, 2022, the company was making "every effort to secure all assets" following unauthorized transactions potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, 2022.

The unraveling of FTX started when news siteCoinDesk reported Almeda Research had a balance sheet full of FTT, the cryptocurrency issued by FTX.

The revelation spooked clients and investors. Rival exchange Binance said it would sell its holdings of FTX tokens and pulled out of an agreement to take over the company.

Bankman-Fried has said his single biggest mistake had been filing for bankruptcy protection.

"If I hadn't done that, withdrawals would be opening up in a month with customers fully whole," he said, according to screenshots of the Twitter direct messages.

What is the FTX scandal?: How the celebrity-endorsed crypto giant collapsed into chaos

Bankman-Fried said he should have tried to raise more money instead of declaring the company bankrupt. The Wall Street Journal reported Bankman-Fried had unsuccessfully searched for commitments from investors after filing for bankruptcy.

Contributing: Amanda Pérez Pintado

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried says he's down to $100,000 in bank

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