Binance intends to take over FTX’s business, and the CEO of both Alameda and FTX has been knocked off of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index due to an estimated 94% drop in personal wealth.
Sam Bankman-Frieds’ net worth was estimated at $26 billion. His fortune had declined over time, due partly to the ongoing crypto winter.
By the 8th of November, Bloomberg estimated his fortune to be worth around $15.6 billion. His 53% stake in FTX – worth $6.2 billion – and in Alameda Research, worth $7.4 billion, made up the bulk of his assets, leaving him $2 billion in remaining funds.
However, the overnight erases of the two companies he owned the majority stake in led the stake in both Alameda and FTX to be worth only $1, according to the Bloomberg wealth index, effectively erasing a shocking $13.6 billion in assets overnight.
It’s worth noting that SBF is still a billionaire and nowhere close to bankruptcy. Regardless, he has lost his spot on the Bloomberg billionaire list, unlike his crypto counterpart CZ, who confirmed Binance’s intent to bail out the exchange and turned Jenga tower overnight.
“This afternoon, FTX asked for our help. There is a significant liquidity crunch. To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI to acquire FTX.com and help cover the liquidity crunch fully. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days.”
Furthermore, his wealth may soon have a small rebound, depending on the terms of Binance’s takeover, which reportedly does not include FTX.US, the branch of FTX in charge of all operations in the USA.
Earlier this year, FTX US was valued at approximately $8 billion. At the moment, it’s unclear how far its valuation has dropped and how the US branch of FTX will be run following Binance’s takeover of the rest of the former’s global platform.
Although Binance’s actions have thankfully saved FTX customers from joining the ranks of the IOU army comprised of creditors (“unsecured” or otherwise) of Celsius and others, the sudden collapse comes as a shock nonetheless. It’s only been about a month since FTX was gunning for Celsius assets – only to end up in a similar position.