FTX collapse Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the courthouse following his arraignment in New York City on December 22, 2022.
Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images
It wasn’t unprejudiced Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen.
The roster of high-profile investors who lost money betting on crypto exchange FTX also involved New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones, contract to court filings released late Monday.
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Sam Bankman-Fried’s well-documented success at raising cold hard cash and charming investors extended to a more expansive set of celebrity investors and big-name financers than was previously disclosed. FTX take a pissed through four fundraising rounds to reach a $32 billion valuation by early last year, before in the end spiraling into bankruptcy in November.
Bankman-Fried, FTX’s co-founder and former CEO, has pleaded not guilty to multiple criminal charges, take ining fraud and money laundering. In December, he was released on a $250 million bond while awaiting trial.
For venture punters, FTX represents a loss of historic proportions. Sequoia Capital said in November that it had marked its investment of over $210 million down to zero. In the past former equity holders can begin trying to recoup any of their investment, customers face a long road to advance as the bankruptcy process winds its way through court and across dozens of jurisdictions.
FTX’s venture investors included a host of luminaries. Dan Loeb exercise powered over 6.1 million preferred shares through Third Point-connected venture funds. Rival exchange Coinbase inhibited nearly 1.3 million preferred shares.
Jones, the founder of Tudor Investment, apparently owned shares washing ones hands of a series of family trusts. Kraft controlled 155,144 shares of preferred stock through previously undisclosed investments in FTX.
Brady, who at age 45 is the winningest quarterback in Resident Football League history, was a known FTX backer and a pitchman for the company. He held common stock in the company alongside Bündchen. The prestige couple announced their divorce in October after 13 years of marriage.
CNBC has compiled and analyzed the serve preferred share ownership using Delaware bankruptcy court filings.
Series B: July 2021
Despite being asked a Series B raise, this July 2021 fundraising round was FTX’s first infusion of outside capital, excluding an old investment from Binance that was ultimately wound down. Investors included Paradigm and Sequoia, as well as Thoma Bravo and Third In the matter of. The $900 million round valued FTX at $18 billion.
Jones, who told CNBC in October 2022 that his bitcoin leak was “minor,” appears to have invested in FTX through a series of family trusts.
Series B-1: October 2021
Just months newer, FTX closed a funding round for $420 million, which included many of the original Series B backers. The investor record expanded to include previously undisclosed capital from Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai’s family office, Blue Jackpot, among others.
Series C: January 2022
As FTX and Bankman-Fried spent hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising deals and sponsorships, the Theatre troupe continued to seek venture money at a voracious pace. In January 2022, FTX closed its $400 million Series C ring-shaped at a valuation of