The collapse of crypto exchange FTX, and with it CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has caused many to speculate that this could be problematic for democratic mega-fund raising going forward.
The fallen crypto billionaire donated more than $39.7 million to federal races this cycle, largely to Democratic causes. The 30-year-old investor has funneled money to candidates aligned with his philanthropic vision of so-called “effective altruism” and pandemic preparedness, while also giving large sums to Democratic groups.
According to the Washington Post, the following were Bankman-Fried’s largest donations.
The young philanthropist was only outdone by the old communist, George Soros, who used $128.5 million of the money usurped from cornering the market in the British pound in 1992. It’s a lot easier to give when the money really isn’t yours.
The Hungarian hack funds uber liberal causes, too many to mention, but include his Democracy PAC II, which ironically is about destroying our democracy, and Color of Change PAC. Pretty sure you can figure out what divisive Marxian strategy this group supports.
SBF might well have a career in politics if he can avoid going to jail and playing pickleball for the next 20 or so years. We can take being stupid out of the equation, as he is an MIT grad, so we insert lying as a key character trait of his, which will ensure that he fits in well with the political class.
Speaking out of both sides of his mouth on a recent episode of Meet the Press, SBF outlined his hope to “support great public servants.” He had said his goal was to “do this in a bipartisan way.” That Group Speaks means “I will give everything to liber causes.”
This mid-term election cycle, SBF gave 90% of his money toward Democrat causes.
Back in May, Bankman-Fried committed to donating up to $1 billion to Democrats through 2024, but he later walked back those comments, telling Politico they were “dumb.”
One has to wonder whether they were dumb because he knew what was about to transpire with FTX. He’s young and liberal, but also knows where his bread is buttered.
SBF has donated millions to conservative-leaning PACs that support the crypto industry.
According to Vox, that includes the Alabama Conservatives Fund, which backed Republican Katie Britt, whose campaign accepted donations in crypto, and Heartland Resurgence, which backed Republican Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas.
Coincidentally, Boozman co-wrote legislation that aims to put crypto markets under the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is widely regarded in the industry as being a more favorable regulator than the better-funded Securities and Exchange Commission. I guess that’s legal?
It’s great to see that those with money have a greater say in a democracy than the other 99% of Americans. That’s called sarcasm.
Even if their money is in a losing effort it still trolls their partisan views, which may or may not be the views of the tax paying citizens that actually live in the candidate’s district. But based on the results this cycle, it may be that Democrats won’t necessarily miss Bankman-Fried’s fortune, which incidentally has gone to zero in a matter of days.
Then there are the self-righteous, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) as well as Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL), who has already committed to donating any unspent campaign funds they received from Bankman-Fried to charity.
Unspent is the keyword here.
