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Sam Bankman-Fried, known by his initials SBF, is the visible face of the possible multi-million dollar fraud of the FTX cryptocurrency platform. Although attempts have been made to sell SBF’s image as an eccentric and visionary genius who managed to rise like a rocket on his own and then fall into disgrace, the truth is that he has been supported by very influential people and organizations.
Before its fall from grace, after it was discovered that it may have evaporated billions of dollars of client money, SBF had become the darling of the progressive media.
Vegan, woke, a disciple of the philosophy of Effective Altruism and one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party – second only to George Soros – SBF garnered all the attention and praise from the progressive media for his apparent business success and his displays of commitment to leftist causes, such as his unconditional support for Ukraine, the fight against climate change or his dizzying donations to pro-vaccine and pandemic prevention organizations.
Who are behind SBF and FTX?
Although everyone is now trying to keep their distance from SBF, and some organizations have even deleted from their websites any reference to their collaborations with FTX, the money flowing to and from FTX has left a trail that raises all kinds of doubts and concerns.
SBF was born in 1992 into a Jewish family well-positioned in academia, politics, and business. His mother, Barbara Fried, is a lawyer and law professor at Stanford, a follower of the Effective Altruism movement and co-founder of the political fundraising organization, Mind the Gap, which advocates for Democratic Party candidates and funds get-out-the-vote groups.
His father, Joseph Bankman, also a Stanford professor specializing in tax policy, worked closely with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the leading political figures advocating cryptocurrency regulation.
SBF’s aunt, Linda P. Fried, serves as co-chair of the Global Future Council on the Future of Human Enhancement, World Economic Forum, and is the President of the Association of American Physicians.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried, is the head of GAP (Guarding Against Pandemics), after having worked for a Democratic Party advisory firm. GAP received several million from SBF’s business network, which it spent on lobbying Capitol Hill and the White House, advocating for a bipartisan pandemic plan that would include a $30 billion public money endowment to prevent the next pandemic.
It was not only SBF’s blood ties that attracted attention. His emotional and professional relationships also placed him at the center of a web of maximum influence. His ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, famous for boasting that she presided over Alameda Research – a trading firm founded by SBF – only using “elementary school mathematics“, is the daughter of Glenn Ellison, professor of economics at MIT, where she worked closely with Gary Gensler, current chairman of the SEC after being appointed by Joe Biden to this post in 2021.
Coincidentally, the SEC is the body that regulates the financial markets in the United States and is supposed to prevent and enforce the law against market manipulation such as could be the case of FTX.
Others SBF surrounded himself with in his FTX venture included Dan Friedberg, who was linked to an online poker scandal; Sam Trabucco, who was banned from several casinos for allegedly using tricks; and William MacAskill, a professor of philosophy at Oxford and a leading representative of the Effective Altruism movement.
SBF and Effective Altruism
Effective Altruism defines itself as a philosophy and social movement that applies evidence and reason to determine the most effective ways to help others.
They renounce selfishness and apply utilitarianism – the end justifies the means – to make as much money as possible and then distribute it for what they consider to be the greater common good.
Analyzing the true meaning of its philosophy and taking into account what is happening with FTX -dominated by followers of this philosophy-, it seems that Effective Altruism is nothing more than good old collectivism, socialism and communism, but hidden behind a nice and sexy name.
Ignacio Manuel García Medina, Business Management teacher. Artist and lecturer specialized in Popular Culture for various platforms. Presenter of the program "Pop Libertario" for the Juan de Mariana Institute. Lives in the Canary Islands, Spain // Ignacio M. García Medina es profesor de Gestión de Empresas. Es miembro del Instituto Juan de Mariana y conferenciante especializado en Cultura Popular e ideas de la Libertad.
Social Networks: @ignaciomgm