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The S.B.F. Chronicles, Part 1: The Bridge Loan to Nowhere

A voyage to the Middle East with Anthony Scaramucci in search of $1 billion led to a meeting with M.B.S.—followed by a peculiar call from S.B.F.’s dad. This piece is the first in a series focused on early S.B.F. warning signs.

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is led away handcuffed by officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force in Nassau, Bahamas. Photo: Kris Ingraham/AFP via Getty Images
William D. Cohan
December 21, 2022

Last September, Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital cut a deal with Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX Ventures, the investment arm of his crypto exchange. S.B.F., then the richest Gen-Zer on Earth, agreed to buy a 30 percent stake in The Mooch’s hedge fund-of-funds for $45 million, valuing SkyBridge at $150 million, and giving him an option to buy up to 85 percent of SkyBridge after three years at a higher price. As I noted at the time, it seemed like a marriage made in crypto and SALT conference heaven.