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FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Signs Billionaires’ Giving Pledge
The crypto billionaire has promised to give away the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes.
By Tracy Wang
Updated May 11, 2023, 5:44 p.m. Published Jun 1, 2022, 9:48 p.m.
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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has signed the Giving Pledge, a public commitment taken by the world’s richest people and families to give away the majority of their wealth to philanthropy either in their lifetimes or in their wills.
Bankman-Fried’s fortune is valued at $21 billion by Forbes, making him among the wealthiest individuals minted by the crypto market boom.
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The bulk of Bankman-Fried’s wealth comes from his equity stake in crypto exchange FTX. FTX last closed a $400 million fundraising round in January, which valued the company at $32 billion.
“A while ago I became convinced that our duty was to do the most we could for the long run aggregate utility of the world,” wrote Bankman-Fried in his pledge letter. “In the end, it’s the work my friends and colleagues at foundations do that matters the most.”
I'm excited and honored to sign the Giving Pledge: https://t.co/9Z6eTdR1a0
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) June 1, 2022
The billionaire crypto founder is a longtime effective altruist, a philosophy that advocates for maximizing the amount of good generated when considering donations to charity.
In recent years, Bankman-Fried has built up a reputation for writing big checks, most notably donating to political campaigns. This includes a record-setting $12 million to fund effective altruism-aligned candidate Carrick Flynn. Last month, Flynn lost in the Oregon Democratic congressional primaries.
To date, the FTX Foundation, FTX’s philanthropic arm, has earmarked $21.8 million to charity.
Coinbase (COIN) founder Brian Armstrong, worth an estimated $2.8 billion, signed the pledge in 2018.
Founded in 2010, the Giving Pledge was created by Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates and ex-wife Melinda Gates together with investor Warren Buffet to encourage greater giving from the ultra-wealthy.
To date, the pledge counts 230 signatories from 28 different countries. Other prominent pledgers include Meta (FB) founder Mark Zuckerberg, BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo and Tesla’s (TSLS) CEO Elon Musk.
Read more: FTX’s Bankman-Fried Pitches CFTC on Directly Clearing Customers’ Crypto Swaps
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