Former CEO of the defunct FTX exchange SBF allegedly planned to bribe former President Donald Trump to dissuade him from running for office. The shocking detail was revealed by author Michael Lewis in a recent interview with CBS.
According to the author, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) considered paying $5 billion to Trump to stop him from running for President. In the interview which lasted about an hour, Lewis revealed that SBF considered doing this because he thought Donald Trump posed an existential risk to the United States Democracy.
However, the plan did not come to fruition because of the collapse of the crypto exchange firm and the thought of the legality of such payment.
“There was a number that was kicking around. And the number that was kicking around when I was talking to Sam about this was $5 billion,” he said.
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Lewis seems not to be surprised about the consideration adding that one will only be shocked if they don’t know Sam. “Sam’s thinking that we could pay Donald Trump not to run for president […] like how much would it take?” he added.
Meanwhile, Lewis described Sam Bankman-Fried as a gambler who got access to wealth by founding his own crypto exchange. Speaking further, Lewis said that SBF realized that all the existing cryptocurrency exchanges are “screwed up” one way or another, adding that these exchanges are not structured for professional traders.
lol what??
SBF was trying to pay Trump $5 billion not to run again. pic.twitter.com/ffbmfI3R9F
— Brad Michelson (@BradMichelson) October 2, 2023
Lewis described his relationship with Sam Bankman saying that in 2022, he had spent more than 70 days in the Bahamas on more than a dozen trips to visit SBF. He told WSJ that he stayed in a spare room with code access to every other room including the penthouse.
Michael Lewis’s “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon” book launch
Meanwhile, it is interesting to know that the book “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” written by Michael Lewis is set to launch on Tuesday, October 3, the same day when Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial begins.
Lewis described his book as a “letter to the jury” stating that his story is better than that from the prosecutors. The possible effect of this book on the court trial is yet to be known, however, if SBF is found guilty, he could be locked away for years.
Meanwhile, 36crypto previously reported that a hacker wallet address linked to FTX has resurfaced, transferring $38 million worth of ETH to different addresses.
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Victor Swaezy
Victor Swaezy is a crypto-journalist with more than 3 years of experience in covering blockchain technology and digital currencies news. Known for his comprehensive reporting, Victor has contributed to leading industry publications such as Coinfomania and Crypto News Guru, providing market participants with the required knowledge to make informed decisions. When he is not working, he loves to watch movies and have a good time.