FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried said on Wednesday that his parents “bore no responsibility” for the demise of his crypto exchange and the trading branch, Alameda Research, that he founded.
“Everyone close to me, including my parents and employees and colleagues who have fought with the company to move forward, have been hurt by this,” said Mr. Bankman Fried. “They are not responsible for that. I feel really bad about that. I am very grateful for the support my parents continue to give me through all of this.”
Both of Mr. Bankman-Fried’s parents are professors at Stanford Law School, who Mr. Bankman-Fried says were influential in shaping his ethical framework. Their callings also helped give Mr. Bankman, 30, an extra layer of credibility with investors and others as he built his cryptocurrency empire.
Mr. Bankman-Fried was asked by Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook Summit what he told his parents when his business began to collapse this month. FTX was forced to file for bankruptcy after an avalanche of customer withdrawals left an $8 billion hole in the company’s balance sheet. Mr Bankman-Fried compared the exodus of customers to a run on the bank.
“I think I called them and said, ‘Hey guys, I think there’s a problem, it looks like Alameda’s position could implode here – there could be a liquidity problem,’ he said.
When asked about the $300 million in real estate that FTX and Mr. Bankman-Fried had reportedly purchased in the Bahamas — including a $121 million home — he said he “didn’t know the details, but their long-term ownership was not intended.”
“Maybe they stayed there for the last year when they worked for the company,” he said of his parents.
As for other direct personal consequences of the FTX implosion, Mr. Bankman-Fried said he thought he had one working credit card and had $100,000 in the bank.
“I have no hidden money here,” he said.
Mr. Bankman-Fried also painted that FTX has a tame work culture, ignoring a question from Mr. Sorkin about the alleged drug use of FTX staffers. “There were no wild parties. We play board games at our parties. Twenty percent of people would drink a quarter beer each, and the rest of us would drink nothing.”
Mr Bankman-Fried said he had been prescribed “various things” to help with concentration.
“I think they help me focus a little bit,” he said. “I’ve been much more focused this past year.”
And when asked if he lied to clients, investors and regulators, “I was as truthful as I know how to be,” he said.
