Sam Bankman-Fried
| Sam Bankman-Fried | |
| Born | Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried 5 3, 1992 |
|---|---|
| Birthplace | Stanford, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founding FTX cryptocurrency exchange, founding Alameda Research |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS) |
Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (born March 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials SBF, is an American entrepreneur and convicted felon who founded the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the quantitative trading firm Alameda Research. Once celebrated as a wunderkind of the digital-asset industry and ranked among the wealthiest Americans on the Forbes 400, Bankman-Fried's empire collapsed in spectacular fashion in November 2022, when a liquidity crisis at FTX exposed billions of dollars in misappropriated customer funds and forced the company into bankruptcy.[1] Within weeks, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he faced a sweeping federal indictment.[2] In November 2023, a jury in the Southern District of New York found him guilty on all seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. On March 28, 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion.[3] The case has been described as one of the largest white-collar fraud prosecutions in American history.
Early Life
Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried was born on March 5, 1992, in Stanford, California.[3] His parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are both professors at Stanford Law School.[4] His father, Joseph Bankman, specializes in tax law, while his mother, Barbara Fried, has focused on legal ethics and political philosophy. Bankman-Fried grew up on the Stanford University campus in an intellectually oriented household. His brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried, later became involved in political advocacy and nonprofit work. His aunt, Linda P. Fried, is a prominent public-health academic.
Bankman-Fried has spoken publicly about being influenced from a young age by the philosophy of effective altruism, a movement that seeks to use evidence and reasoning to maximize the positive impact of charitable giving and career choices. This philosophical framework would later become central to his public persona, as he framed much of his business activity as a means of generating wealth that could be directed toward philanthropic causes.[5] During his youth and adolescence, he reportedly developed strong interests in mathematics, lo
Arrest and Charges
On December 12, 2022, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and subsequently extradited to the United States to face federal charges. He was charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, commodities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy related to his orchestration of fraudulent schemes through FTX and Alameda Research. Federal prosecutors alleged that from 2019 through FTX's collapse in November 2022, Bankman-Fried systematically misappropriated billions of dollars in customer funds, funneling the money to Alameda Research for speculative investments and personal expenditures including luxury real estate and political contributions.[3] On November 2, 2023, he was convicted on all seven counts.
Sentencing and Incarceration
On March 28, 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by the sentencing judge, who noted his lack of remorse for his crimes. He was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion and serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration.[3] Bankman-Fried is incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island in California. His appeal was heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in November 2025, with a ruling pending.
External links
- ↑ "FTX: Sam Bankman-Fried charged with 'massive' fraud".BBC News.2022-12-13.https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63953096.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
- ↑ "Sam Bankman-Fried Is Arrested in the Bahamas".The New York Times.2022-12-12.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/business/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-bahamas.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Sam Bankman-Fried | FTX, Education, Conviction, & Prison".Britannica Money.https://www.britannica.com/money/Sam-Bankman-Fried.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
- ↑ "Sam Bankman-Fried Biden Donor".New York Magazine.2021-02-12.https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/sam-bankman-fried-biden-donor.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.
- ↑ "Crypto Billionaires".The New York Times.2021-07-23.https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/23/us/politics/crypto-billionaires.html.Retrieved 2026-02-24.