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Flashback: Crypto billionaire says he could spend a record $1 billion in 2024 election
NBC (May 24, 2022 story) ^

Posted on 11/12/2022 7:46:24 AM PST by TigerClaws

WASHINGTON — Democratic billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried says he could spend $1 billion or more in the 2024 election, which would easily make him the biggest-ever political donor in a single election.

Bankman-Fried, 30, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, said in a podcast interview released Tuesday that he expects to give “north of $100 million” in the next presidential election and that he has a “soft ceiling” of $1 billion, with his spending likely to be on the higher end if former President Donald Trump runs again.

That kind of money would be "in a league of its own," said Alex Baumgart, a researcher with the campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets.

Bankman-Fried, who is estimated to be worth more than $20 billion and says he has already given away more than $200 million to various causes, cautions that his political plans are still in flux and that they will be contingent on what the landscape looks like.

“I would guess north of $100 million. As for how much more than that, I don’t know. It really does depend on what happens. It’s really dependent on exactly who’s running where for what,” he said on the Pushkin Industries podcast “What’s Your Problem.” “[$1 billion] is a decent thing to look at as a — I would hate to say hard ceiling, because who knows what’s going to happen between now and then — but at least sort of as a soft ceiling.”

That amount of money would be unprecedented, and it would shatter records several times over — at least if it were all spent as so-called hard money, which includes donations to candidates, parties, super PACs and other groups who have to report to the Federal Election Commission.

It's impossible to know how much other wealthy donors have spent to influence politics via so-called dark money, which includes donations to groups like think tanks and nonprofit advocacy organizations.

The most hard money any individual has spent in any election cycle was $218 million in 2020, by the late Republican casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, according to OpenSecrets.

The Adelsons have competed in recent years to be the biggest donors in the country with Democratic billionaires Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, who have each spent $75 million to $150 million in the last three elections (not including the money they spent on their own presidential campaigns in 2020).

Liberal billionaire George Soros this year committed to spend $125 million toward this year's midterms.

Beyond those well-known names, even mega-donors typically top out around $40 million to $60 million per election cycle, so $100 million would put Bankman-Fried among a tiny handful of the country's biggest donors.


TOPICS: Conspiracy; Government
KEYWORDS: bitcoin; cryptocurrency; ftx; sambankmanfried
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He donated $37 MILLION to Democrats this cycle and was Biden's #2 donor.

There are rumors that Ukraine 'invested' in FTX with the tax dollars we sent there.

1 posted on 11/12/2022 7:46:24 AM PST by TigerClaws
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To: TigerClaws

Sweet to see someone like this implode. Next stop for him - suicide.


2 posted on 11/12/2022 7:50:07 AM PST by Wally_Kalbacken
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To: TigerClaws

The “Bernie Madoff of Crypto” can spend it from his prison cell. I hope the prison has a good vegan diet for him.


3 posted on 11/12/2022 7:52:28 AM PST by boycott
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To: TigerClaws

He gave a lot of money to the dems. He will never be prosecuted.


4 posted on 11/12/2022 7:59:40 AM PST by I want the USA back (Our news media isn't worth camel spit. Neither is the democrat party. )
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To: TigerClaws

This is the very thing I have been trying to tell people. I apologize if my skill are lacking. This person is a crypto billionaire, with US dollars utilized to support his currency via Ukraine.

He doesn’t care about peace. He doesn’t care about the Constitution or voting security. All he cares about is that money flows to Ukraine. These are the forces that work against peace, and threaten the world. Democrats are happy because their operatives are paid, their coffers filled. The Republican establishment feeds the same way, and doesn’t care either, or is making money off the same scams.

Who suffers? The average working Joe in America and the poor average person in Ukraine.

Ask yourself, are you supportive of a Government controlled by the people, or what is going on now? Trump fought and exposed this type of graft, will DeSantis survive exposing it and reforming the government? How can we change this equation, without hitching to any individual politician?

You control the money, you control the breast. Start by demanding free and secure voting, real democracy, and then force them to pass a balanced budget amendment. Demand ethics be enforced on congress, same as they do to other professions, and demand term limits. Get rid of graft, we can’t afford it anymore.


5 posted on 11/12/2022 8:02:24 AM PST by Pete Dovgan
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To: TigerClaws

He seems to favor government-created money himself.


6 posted on 11/12/2022 8:02:25 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: TigerClaws

“rumors that Ukraine ‘invested’ in FTX”

Hal Turner thinks so.

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/breaking-news-ukraine-military-aid-from-usa-was-invested-in-crypto-ftx-by-ukraine


7 posted on 11/12/2022 8:04:57 AM PST by dynachrome (“We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.” Rand Paul)
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To: TigerClaws

He and his mother (also a degenerate D) contributed nearly $100 million to Biden and the Ds, with much more promised. Since it turns out this donated money wasn’t his, but rather that of investors, I’m hoping for a clawback of $100m from the DNC ordered by the bankruptcy court.


8 posted on 11/12/2022 8:05:57 AM PST by JonPreston
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To: TigerClaws

Monday...”FTX is fine.”

NY Times today

also of interest:
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/02/sam-bankman-fried-biden-donor.html


9 posted on 11/12/2022 8:08:09 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: TigerClaws

I thought this douche lost a pantload in crypto and was in the process of going broke. Guess not


10 posted on 11/12/2022 8:09:54 AM PST by chuckee
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To: JonPreston

“hoping for a clawback of $100m from the DNC ordered by the bankruptcy court.”

Hope in one hand and crap in the other. See which one fills up first.


11 posted on 11/12/2022 8:16:36 AM PST by dynachrome (“We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.” Rand Paul)
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To: TigerClaws

What other purpose do people think Ukraine serves in the world? They are a puppet state for the globalists within our nation’s leadership. Laundering money, allowing illegal bio research to be conducted within their borders, they are corrupt to the core.


12 posted on 11/12/2022 8:19:47 AM PST by Frank Drebin (And don't ever let me catch you guys in America!)
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To: chuckee

Note the May date. He is bankrupt.

I wonder if the checks cleared that he wrote to the Ds. And, this may be why Tom Brady is still playing. And perhaps why Giselle Bunchen separated (monetarily) before the bankruptcy.


13 posted on 11/12/2022 8:21:30 AM PST by chiller (Davey Crockett said: "Be sure you're right. Then go ahead'. I'll go ahead.)
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To: TigerClaws

I hope this idiot is bagging groceries soon, because that is all he is qualified for.


14 posted on 11/12/2022 8:23:20 AM PST by TexasFreeper2009
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To: TigerClaws

He is a crook, currently under numerous investigations. One of his chief executives identified herself as a seductive wood nymph.


15 posted on 11/12/2022 8:26:47 AM PST by Huskrrrr (Alinsky, you magnificent Bastard, I read your book!)
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To: Pete Dovgan

+1


16 posted on 11/12/2022 8:34:43 AM PST by Navy Patriot (Celebrate Decivilization)
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To: chuckee

There’s an article on Zerohedge about this guy, he claims to still be in the Bahamas despite reports he fled to Buenos Aires, last night approximately 600 million was siphoned off according to the article, others say the hack was an inside job

He’s basically the Bernie Madoff of crypto and will skate prosecution because of the millions he donated to the Democrats as protection money


17 posted on 11/12/2022 8:35:43 AM PST by srmanuel (C)
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To: TigerClaws

That’s exactly what happened. Our billions of tax dollars went to Ukraine, then Ukraine invested the money in Bankman-Fried’s money laundering crypto firm. He gave the money back to Democrat / leftwing candidates and PACs. His company has now declared bankruptcy and investors’ funds are lost. The company’s remaining assets are negligible.


18 posted on 11/12/2022 8:39:50 AM PST by Blurb2350 (posted from my 1500-watt blow dryer)
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To: TigerClaws

Now he can build solar panels in prison


19 posted on 11/12/2022 8:40:25 AM PST by NWFree (Somebody has to say it 🤪)
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To: Blurb2350

Of course if Biden were a Republican, this would be Watergate times a thousand. Of course, you’ll never hear a word about it in the mainstream press.


20 posted on 11/12/2022 8:40:55 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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