Crypto tycoon vows to give away his $20BILLION fortune – and now drives a Toyota Corolla
AN American crypto tycoon has pledged to empty his pockets for a good cause.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of massive cryptocurrency exchange FTX, earlier this year promised to give away his $20billion fortune.
In June, the 30-year-old signed the Giving Pledge, a public commitment taken by the world’s richest people to hand over the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.
The foundation was set up in 2010 and its 230-odd signatories include Warren Buffet, Elon Musk and Bill and Melinda Gates.
Most of Bankman Fried’s wealth comes from his prominent cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.
It’s a platform through which traders can buy and sell the likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other popular digital currencies.
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Back in January, FTX secured a $400million funding round, taking the organisation’s value to $32billion.
By billionaire standards, Bankman Fried – who is based in the Bahamas – is a fairly modest character.
He is often photographed in shorts and a T-shirt and reportedly drives a Toyota Corolla – a hatchback that costs about £24,000.
He told Bloomberg: “You pretty quickly run out of really effective ways to make yourself happier by spending money.”
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The billionaire added: “I don’t want a yacht.”
He’s one of many prominent traders weathering the storm of the latest crypto crash.
In November 2021, the crypto market peaked in value, with one Bitcoin worth around £50,000.
Since then, the market has plummeted, with Bitcoin now worth 60 per cent less at roughly £20,000.
Other cryptocurrencies such as Ether and even stocks relating to crypto such as Coinbase Global have also collapsed.
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Due to this drop in digital currency valuations, several crypto billionaires’ wallets have faced jaw-dropping losses in the billions.
In fact, three of the ten wealthiest crypto billionaires are worth 50 percent less than they were in early November — including Tim Draper, Matthew Roszak, and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.
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