Sam Bankman-Fried sent Caroline Ellison a list of pros and cons on being in a physical relationship with him and cited his ‘lack of empathy’ as a negative, new biography reveals
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sent his lover Caroline Ellison a list of pros and cons of being in a physical relationship with him – citing his ‘lack of empathy’.
Ellison, his ex-girlfriend who will testify at his trial, was given a list of reasons he didn’t think it would work out – including that it would be ‘bad PR’, he wouldn’t ‘make her happy’ and he ‘has no soul.’
However, to her credit, the fallen crypto king, 31, said the Alameda Research CEO was ‘smart, impressive and a good person’.
Indeed, they continued their sexual relationship – despite Bankman-Fried’s clear protests and inability to give the woman what she wanted from a relationship.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sent his lover Caroline Ellison a list of pros and cons of being in a physical relationship with him – citing his ‘lack of empathy’.
Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research – who was in a relationship with Bankman-Fried
He wrote the memo to his girlfriend in 2018, according to Michael Lewis, the author of his biography ‘Going Infinite’.
Sam’s cons list reads: ‘In many ways I don’t really have a soul.
“There’s a pretty decent argument that my empathy is fake, my feelings are fake, my facial reactions are fake. I don’t feel happiness.
“What’s the point of dating someone you can’t physically make happy?”
He continued: ‘I feel conflicted about what I want. Sometimes I really want to be with you. Sometimes I want to stay at work for 60 hours straight and not think about anything else.
‘I am concerned about power dynamics between us.
”I make people sad. Even people I inspire, I don’t really make happy. And people I date – it’s really scary.
‘It’s royal fucking sucks, being with someone who a) can’t make you happy b) doesn’t really respect anyone else, c) constantly thinks offensive things, d) doesn’t have time for you, and e) wants the be alone half the time.’
Caroline Ellison and Bankman-Fried’s sexual relationship continued for several years while they were both at the helm of the now-disgraced crypto firm FTX
The pros – especially shorter ones – include Bankman-Fried twice writing: ‘I really f***ing like you.’
He also said, “I really like talking to you. I feel a lot less worried about telling you what’s on my mind than I do to almost anyone else.
‘You share my main interests. You are a good person.
‘You are smart and impressive. You have good judgment and are not full of s**t.
“You really appreciate me for who I am.”
According to the book, Caroline continued their relationship despite the memo – and they continued the same for the next two years.
“Sam wanted to do whatever offered the highest expected value at any given moment, and his estimate of her expected value seemed to peak just before they had sex and drop immediately afterward,” the biography says.
On the other hand, ‘Caroline wanted a conventional love with an unconventional man.’
The memo was in response to Caroline’s own grievances, where she said Sam had been giving her ‘confusing signals’ and that her feelings for him were ‘taking up a ton of my brain space.’
The author also revealed that SBF considered paying Donald Trump $5 billion not to run for president in 2024.
Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison
He even paid NFL star Tom Brady $55 million for a week’s work over a three-year period.
His trial is expected to last up to six weeks, and the prosecution’s star witness is his ex-girlfriend and former top lieutenant, Caroline Ellison.
He is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit commodity fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Bankman-Fried admitted to inadequate risk management but denied stealing funds.
He is the highest-profile case that US prosecutors have brought against a former cryptocurrency executive to date.
His indictment in December last year was a spectacular fall from grace for Bankman-Fried, who had built a reputation as a legitimate operator in an industry tarnished by scams and alleged get-rich-quick schemes.
Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried built that reputation on lies and bolstered it with endorsements from celebrities and star athletes.
Bankman-Fried has been detained since August 11 after the judge found that he was probably involved in witness tampering – among other things by sharing Ellison’s personal writings with a reporter.