The FTX co-founder built his fortune before his 30th birthday by profiting from the cryptocurrency frenzy. Now, he just wants his wealth to survive long enough to give it all away
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried
Image: Guerin Blask for Forbes
It’s a hazy late-summer evening when Sam Bankman-Fried drifts into Electric Lemon, a “clean, conscious” eatery on the 24th floor of the five-star Equinox Hotel in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards complex. The 29-year-old cryptocurrency billionaire has jetted in from Hong Kong in part to co-host this private party but nonetheless tries to slink to the corner of the room unnoticed.
His standard attire—black hoodie, gray khaki shorts, beat-up New Balances—might be camouflage on the streets below, but in this sea of cufflinks and cocktail dresses he stands out even more than 6-foot-9 Obi Toppin, the New York Knicks power forward who’s mingling with the crowd. It doesn’t take long before Bankman-Fried is mobbed: Can I pitch you something? What do you think about the latest crypto crash? How about a photo for
Save for Mark Zuckerberg, no one in history has ever gotten so rich so young. The irony? Bankman-Fried’s not a crypto evangelist—he’s barely even a believer. He’s a mercenary
(This story appears in the 19 November, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)