FTX CEO Bankman-Fried, he could spend up to $1 billion on the US elections, an amount that would make him the largest election donor.
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried recently revealed that he could spend as much as $1 billion in the 2024 US elections. Bankman-Fried made this astounding revelation in a media session, noting that his spending predisposition would depend on several external factors. As he put it:
“As for how much [exactly], I don’t know, it really does depend on what happens. It’s really dependent on exactly who’s running where for what.”
Sam Bankman-Fried’s potential billion-dollar outlay for the 2024 US Presidential Elections is an organic development from his original $100 million+ commitment. In the same media session, the FTX CEO had initially said he’d possibly spend more than $100 million. However, the billion-dollar sum, which he calls a “soft ceiling,” would be the more likely route depending on what happens during the election cycle.
Bankman-Fried will become the largest political donor in a single election if he spends $1 billion. Open Secrets researcher Alex Baumgart described the possible sum as being “in a league of its own”. Ratified data shows that the largest single US political donation is $218 million from Republican entrepreneurs Sheldon and Miriam Adelson in 2020.
FTX CEO Donation Antecedents
Bankman-Fried is no stranger to election donations. The 30-year-old FTX founder and CEO donated $5.2 million to Joe Biden‘s campaign during last year’s US elections. Bankman-Fried’s magnanimity to Biden served as the latter’s second-largest donation behind New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $56 million.
In addition, the self-made FTX billionaire CEO has also donated more than $9 million to congressional candidates as part of political action committee (PAC) donations during the election cycle. Bankman-Fried’s PAC donation also funded the Oregon Democratic candidate Carrick Flynn’s unsuccessful primary campaign. Flynn lost out to Republican Andrea Salinas last week.
Commenting on the primaries, Bankman-Fried believes the outcome was a “well-fought race”. Furthermore, the FTX CEO also seemed to comment on the moral integrity and motive behind political campaign donations, saying:
“Going back to this discussion about expected values, if you’re donating political resources on candidates you’re 99% sure will win, you’re doing something wrong.”
Bankman-Fried, estimated to be worth $20 billion, says his philanthropic efforts have now hit $200 million. Outside of politics, the FTX CEO also suggested that future public-sector spending could go towards pandemic-curtailing efforts. Bankman-Fried’s brother currently runs a non-profit group dubbed Guarding Against Pandemics. According to its official website, this group seeks and encourages public investments to “prevent the next pandemic.”
FTX Expanding Products
Bankman-Fried’s FTX recently initiated talks with some traditional stock brokerage firms over a possible acquisition deal. This move comes after the Bahamian crypto exchange announced plans to launch a zero-commission stock trading service through its US arm. FTX’s venture into the purchase and sales of regulated US equities is part of a broader company scope to diversify and become the ‘everything exchange.’
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