Elon Musk Suspects Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried Donated Over $1 Billion to Support Democrats
Tesla CEO and Twitter chief Elon Musk says that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) probably donated over $1 billion to support the Democratic Party, which would be a much larger sum than the number publicly disclosed...
Archive context
Older archive item. Useful for background and entity history, but not a fresh market-moving signal.
Tesla CEO and Twitter chief Elon Musk says that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) probably donated over $1 billion to support the Democratic Party, which would be a much larger sum than the number publicly disclosed. Many people slammed Musk for making accusations without providing proof. “This statement is so unbelievably irresponsible,” one commented.
Elon Musk Believes SBF Donated Over $1B to Democratic PartyTesla CEO and Twitter chief Elon Musk believes that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), co-founder and former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, donated much more than the publicly disclosed amount to support the Democratic Party in elections.
Bankman-Fried was the second largest donor to the Democratic Party, after billionaire George Soros, in the 2021-2022 election cycle. According to Opensecrets, he donated $39,884,256 to Democrats before FTX imploded and had to file for bankruptcy. An estimated one million customers and investors lost billions of dollars in the exchange collapse. FTX is currently being investigated for mishandling customer funds.
Musk’s statement was in response to a comment on Twitter stating that Bankman-Fried donating $40 million to avoid jail after stealing over $10 billion is one of the highest Return on Investment (ROI) trades of all time. Musk claimed that the $40 million is just the publicly disclosed number, noting that Bankman-Fried’s actual election support of the Democratic Party is “probably” over $1 billion. “The money went somewhere, so where did it go?” the Tesla boss tweeted.
While his donations to the Democratic Party were public knowledge, Bankman-Fried claimed in an interview that he also donated a similar amount to the Republican Party. However, he said all his Republican donations were “dark.”
At the time of writing, Musk’s tweet has garnered over 4,500 comments and has been liked over 124,000 times. While some people agreed with the Tesla chief, many were shocked at Musk’s accusations, demanding that the billionaire provide proof to support his statement.
“This is literally misinformation,” one exclaimed. Another wrote: “[Musk] baselessly implying SBF broke federal election contribution laws.” A third opined: “Serious accusations by Elon Musk about POTUS accepting stolen funds to run for president.” Some people reminded Musk that Bankman-Fried already explained that he donated the same amount to Republicans. Twitter user Justin Higgins warned:
This statement is so unbelievably irresponsible. Musk has now made Twitter an explicitly anti-Democratic Party company. No sensible, corporation that wants solid relations with both parties on Capitol Hill will advertise on Twitter. I can’t see how Twitter ad $ returns…
Others simply questioned why SBF is not in jail yet. “We just all can do white-collar crimes and pay people off?” one asked. Many people emphasized that they want politicians to return “stolen” funds they received from the former FTX chief executive.
What do you think about Elon Musk’s statement regarding how much Bankman-Fried donated to the Democratic Party? Let us know in the comments section below.
Why this matters
This cryptocurrency story adds another data point to the current market tape and is useful when read alongside nearby source coverage.
Original source
Read on Bitcoin NewsRelated market context
NY Seeks $1.37 Billion Judgment Against Operators of NovaTech Crypto Ponzi Scheme
Bitcoin Magazine NY Seeks $1.37 Billion Judgment Against Operators of NovaTech Crypto Ponzi Scheme New York Attorney General Letit...
China Moves to Confiscate $5 Billion in Bitcoin From Fraudster Who Fled to UK: Report
Bitcoin Magazine China Moves to Confiscate $5 Billion in Bitcoin From Fraudster Who Fled to UK: Report Chinese authorities are wor...
Wall Street’s $359 billion-a-day repo market has found a use for blockchain
Wall Street has found a use for blockchain that involves neither memecoins nor replacing the banking system. It's now helping inst...
UAE-Led Coalition Exposes $39 Billion in Crypto Fraud, 960 Arrested
Carried out for three months, the operation resulted in the arrest of nearly 100 defendants and the raid of 29 fraud centers. 30 c...
Kalshi and Polymarket hit record $2.7 billion in weekly crypto volume
The surge in crypto prediction market volume highlights a shift towards short-term speculative trading, impacting traditional trad...
US Senator Questions Tether Over Reported Payments Linked To Former Crypto Adviser
TL;DR: Senator Richard Blumenthal has demanded records from Tether and consultancy Nxum over reported payments and potential ethic...