By John Hugh DeMastri
The value of the combined assets of the second-largest billionaire Democratic donor, Sam Bankman-Fried, has plunged from $16 billion at the start of the week to $0 following the collapse of his businesses, Bloomberg reported Friday morning.
The estimation follows a liquidity crisis at crypto exchange FTX, which Bankman-Fried co-founded and retains a 70% stake in, according to Bloomberg. On top of the historic collapse in Bankman-Fried’s personal wealth, the U.S. arm of FTX is now valued at just $1, down from a peak of $8 billion in January.
Both FTX and the Bankman-Fried-founded trading house Alameda Research filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday. Bankman-Fried is reportedly under investigation by both the Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission following allegations that he loaned roughly $10 billion of clients’ money from FTX to Alameda Research, a loan that remains outstanding.
The erstwhile billionaire stepped down as CEO of FTX and is succeeded by John J. Ray III, according to a Friday press release from FTX. Ray, a lawyer by trade, previously led energy firm Enron through its collapse in the early 2000s, according to Forbes.
“I want to ensure every employee, customer, creditor, contract party, stockholder, investor, governmental authority and other stakeholder that we are going to conduct this effort with diligence, thoroughness and transparency,” said Ray in the press release. “Stakeholders should understand that events have been fast-moving and the new team is engaged only recently.”
Press Release pic.twitter.com/rgxq3QSBqm
— FTX (@FTX_Official) November 11, 2022
FTX, which is based in the Bahamas, had its assets frozen by Bahamian regulators, according to a Thursday press release by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.
FTX did not immediately respond to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.
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