[Video] SBF and FTX: T-Shirts and Due Diligence

https://youtube.com/shorts/hi1cTELmoe0?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/hi1cTELmoe0?feature=share

Sam Bankman-Fried: FTX, T-Shirts, and Due Diligence

The sudden bankruptcy of crypto-exchange slash crypto-trader FTX has led to much commentary on FTX founder and ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried known as SBF’s hair and penchant for t-shirts and shorts. How could sophisticated investors like Sequoia have backed such a goofy looking guy?

Never judge a book by its cover. Whether SBF wore a t-shirt or a ten-thousand dollar suit, sophisticated investors are supposed to perform due diligence in which the financial system of the company is carefully reviewed. How did the accounting mess labeled “unprecedented” by new CEO John Ray who oversaw the ENRON bankdruptcy escape due diligence?

(C) 2022 by John F. McGowan, Ph.D.

About Me

John F. McGowan, Ph.D. solves problems using mathematics and mathematical software, including developing gesture recognition for touch devices, video compression and speech recognition technologies. He has extensive experience developing software in C, C++, MATLAB, Python, Visual Basic and many other programming languages. He has been a Visiting Scholar at HP Labs developing computer vision algorithms and software for mobile devices. He has worked as a contractor at NASA Ames Research Center involved in the research and development of image and video processing algorithms and technology. He has published articles on the origin and evolution of life, the exploration of Mars (anticipating the discovery of methane on Mars), and cheap access to space. He has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.S. in physics from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).