by FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried and members of his team rose from relative obscurity in Washington to become one of the largest donors in US politics, giving more than $70 million to election campaigns in less than 18 months.
Mr. Bankman-Fried personally gave $40 million to politicians and political action committees ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, mostly to Democrats and liberal-leaning groups, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a bipartisan group that tracks campaign contributions. Ryan Salame, another senior FTX executive, donated more than $23 million, mostly to Republican and conservative groups.
Contributions to federal political candidates by FTX officials
Sam Bankman Fried
(Founder)
Sam
banker
Fried
(Founder)
Contributions to federal political candidates by FTX officials
Sam Bankman Fried
(Founder)
Sam
banker
Fried
(Founder)
Contributions to federal political candidates by FTX officials
Sam Bankman Fried
(Founder)
Sam Bankman Fried (Founder)
Contributions to federal political candidates by FTX officials
crypto
currency
Industry
Sam Bankman
-Fried
(Founder)
Sam Bankman Fried (Founder)
With the contributions of FTX, crypto became one of the top-spending industries in politics during the last election cycle, with campaign donations surpassing defense and auto industries combined, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. FTX’s financial collapse occurred the same week as the midterm elections, followed by Mr. Bankman-Fried’s resignation.
“I’m not going to pass judgment until we see the details,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.), one of dozens of politicians whose campaigns have received money from FTX and its executives, of the company’s conduct until now to his bankruptcy filing. He said Mr Bankman-Fried was “a very personable young man”.
FTX-related political donations accounted for the majority of crypto industry spending.
Recipients of FTX’s generous donations have included official campaigns and fundraising committees associated with both political parties, as well as PACs. The largest single recipient was Protect Our Future, a group that said it is “an organization designed to help select candidates who will be champions for pandemic prevention,” but that also include pro-crypto candidates supported, as official data shows. The group received $27 million from Mr. Bankman-Fried and another $1 million from Nishad Singh, an FTX manager.
Federal political donations, from FTX officials
Nishad Singh, Technical Manager
Sam
banker
Fried,
founder
Democratic National Party
Democratic candidates $0.2
Ryan Salame,
Senior
executive
Republican candidates $0.2
Republican National Party $0.2
Democratic National Party
Nishad Singh,
Technical Manager
Federal political donations, from FTX officials
Sam Bankman Fried, founder
Democratic National Party
Democratic candidates $0.2
Republican candidates $0.2
Ryan Salame, Senior Staff
Republican National Party $0.2
Democratically
national party
Federal political donations, from FTX officials
Sam Bankman Fried
founder
Ryan Salame
Senior Staff
Nishad Singh, Technical Manager
Federal political donations, from FTX officials
Sam Bankman Fried
founder
Ryan Salame
Senior Staff
Nishad Singh, Technical Manager
Mr. Bankman-Fried personally donated the maximum individual amount of $5,800 to Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) and John Boozman (R., Ark.), the chair and senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, respectively. introduced legislation last summer that would have given FTX a path to US regulatory compliance. , Alaska) and Susan Collins (R., Maine) as well as dozens of House candidates.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Mr. Bankman-Fried was the Democrats’ second-biggest donor in the election cycle, behind only George Soros. Mr. Salame was the No. 11 overall contributor to Republicans.
FTX officials also made contributions to groups associated with national Republican and Democratic organizations and congressional leaders.
Messrs. Bankman-Fried and Singh collectively donated $3 million to the Senate Majority PAC, a group affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., NY). Mr. Bankman-Fried also donated $6 million to House Majority PAC, a group allied with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., California), and $2 million to GMI PAC, the congressional candidate funded that support crypto.
Direct contributions from Sam Bankman-Fried
to members of Congress in the 2022 cycle
Direct contributions from Sam Bankman-Fried
to members of Congress in the 2022 cycle
Mr. Salame donated $15 million to the American Dream Federal Action Fund, which supported Republican candidates. He donated $2.5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, which is affiliated with Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and $2 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is affiliated with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., California).
A spokesman for Ms Gillibrand said she donated the money she received from Mr Bankman-Fried to a Bronx charity. A spokeswoman for Mr. Manchin said he donated it to a charity in West Virginia. Representatives for Mr. Boozman and Ms. Collins said they plan to donate Mr. Bankman-Fried’s money to charity.
A spokesman for Ms Pelosi referred questions to House Majority PAC, which did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Schumer did not respond to a request for comment, and the Senate majority PAC declined to comment.
Representatives of American Dream Federal Action, Senate Leadership Fund, Congressional Leadership Fund, Messrs. McConnell, McCarthy, Emmer and Booker and Mses. Stabenow and Murkowski did not respond to requests for comment.
– Brody Mullins contributed to this article.
write to Paul Kiernan at [email protected] and Stephanie Stamm at [email protected]
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