Sam Bankman-Fried Considered $1 Billion Investment in Musk's Twitter, Uncertain About Post-Takeover Shares
Sam Bankman-Fried faced uncertainty about his Twitter shares as Musk was orchestrating the acquisition.
Because Bitcoin
October 6, 2023
In Michael Lewis' biography of Sam Bankman-Fried, titled "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon," an intriguing episode unfolds regarding the FTX founder's involvement with Twitter during Elon Musk's takeover last year. According to the biography, Bankman-Fried faced uncertainty about his Twitter shares as Musk was orchestrating the acquisition.
At that time, Bankman-Fried already possessed $100 million worth of Twitter shares. However, when Musk sought additional backers for his $44 billion takeover bid, he approached Bankman-Fried, granting him a mere three hours to make a pivotal decision.
Bankman-Fried, pondering the proposition, suggested the possibility of investing between $250 million and $1 billion in Twitter. In a conversation with his associates Nishad Singh and Ramnik Arora, he reportedly described Musk as a "weird dude" who valued relationships more than financial figures.
Singh and Arora, on the other hand, believed that FTX should not invest significantly in Musk's Twitter venture or should consider a relatively small stake.
However, the situation took an unexpected turn when Bankman-Fried explored the idea of obtaining a $1 billion loan from Morgan Stanley, intending to use his FTX shares as collateral for the investment.
Furthermore, Bankman-Fried conveyed to one of Musk's financial advisors that he would consider investing a substantial $5 billion if Twitter were to transition to a blockchain-based platform. Unfortunately, Musk rejected this proposal, leading Bankman-Fried to lose interest in the investment.
The biography paints a picture of a complex and rapidly changing scenario, leaving Bankman-Fried uncertain about the fate of his Twitter shares. Six months later, he was unsure whether he still held the $100 million worth of Twitter shares or if they had been sold to Elon Musk, adding a layer of intrigue to this captivating episode in his entrepreneurial journey.
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