Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, engaged “The Big Short” luminary Michael Lewis as a sounding board for concepts — one of which centered on the potential acquisition of Twitter.
This revelation comes from Michael Lewis, who, during an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” offered insights into his forthcoming tome on the co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange, titled “Going Infinite.”
According to Lewis, Bankman-Fried sought counsel on an array of notions. When pressed for specifics, Lewis elaborated, saying, “For various decisions he was contemplating. Should I align myself with Elon Musk in the pursuit of Twitter? You know? Should we embark on this endeavor? Should we pursue that avenue?”
“Predominantly, my responses were negative, negative, and negative. Yet, he would gaze upon me and remark, ‘You’re an uninspiring adult,'” Lewis added.
For context, it’s noteworthy that Bankman-Fried’s aspiration to secure Twitter in collaboration with Musk has indeed evolved beyond the mere brainstorming phase.
Text exchanges from March the previous year unveiled that philosopher Will MacAskill, an advisor to Bankman-Fried, conveyed his interest to Elon Musk and attempted to arrange a meeting between the two. These text messages constituted a component of the legal discovery procedure during Musk’s courtroom skirmish with Twitter.
In April of the prior year, Musk’s former associate Grimes messaged Musk, asserting that Bankman-Fried was willing to contribute a sum of up to $5 billion to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
Neither FTX nor Bankman-Fried featured on the list of investors in Musk’s funding agreement for procuring the social media enterprise.
Presently, Bankman-Fried confronts allegations encompassing wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering — allegations he vehemently refutes. His trial is slated to commence on Tuesday, coinciding with the release of Michael Lewis book. The former FTX CEO had his bail rescinded in August on charges of purportedly tampering with witnesses.
Before his precipitous descent from eminence, Bankman-Fried stood as one of the preeminent figures in the cryptocurrency sphere. Boasting a net worth of $26.5 billion in 2021, as per Forbes. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to furnish a statement to Insider. Elon Musk, reached outside customary business hours, remained unresponsive to Insider’s request for commentary.
