Sam Bankman-Fried’s Investments Could Have Made Him One of the Richest People

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX, once stood at the center of the cryptocurrency boom. In 2022, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies reached record highs, and investors poured billions into digital assets and NFTs. Bankman-Fried capitalized on this surge, building FTX into a leading crypto exchange and signing major sponsorship deals, including a $210 million partnership with an E-Sports team.

Key Highlights

• Sam Bankman-Fried invested heavily in Solana, Anthropic, Robinhood, SpaceX, and Cursor
• His portfolio could have been worth over $110 billion by 2026 if held
• He was arrested and sentenced to 25 years for using FTX customer funds for personal investments
• Bankruptcy estate sold off most assets, including $1.3 billion in Anthropic shares
• Not all investments succeeded, with major losses in Digital Voyager and BlockFi

Major Investments and Potential Returns

Bankman-Fried made several early investments that, if held, would have generated enormous returns. He purchased $58 million worth of Solana, a lesser-known cryptocurrency at the time. By 2026, this investment would be worth approximately $4.95 billion, representing an 86-fold return.

In 2021, he invested $500 million for an 8 percent stake in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup. At the time, AI was not widely adopted, and the investment seemed risky. Anthropic later reached a $350 billion valuation, and reports suggest it may soon be valued at $800 billion. At that level, Bankman-Fried’s stake would be worth about $64 billion, a 128-fold increase.

He also invested $648 million for a 7.6 percent stake in Robinhood, a trading app. By 2026, Robinhood’s valuation is expected to reach $80 billion, making his stake worth around $6 billion, nearly nine times his original investment.

In 2022, Bankman-Fried invested $700 million in K5 Global, with $200 million reportedly directed to SpaceX. SpaceX was valued at $140 billion at the time. If the company goes public at a projected $1.75 trillion valuation, his investment could be worth $15 billion, a 75-fold return.

Bankman-Fried also invested $200,000 in Cursor, an AI coding platform, securing a 5 percent stake in its parent company, Anysphere. If SpaceX acquires Cursor for $60 billion, his stake would be valued at $3 billion.

Downfall and Aftermath

Despite these impressive investments, Bankman-Fried’s fortune was not built on legitimate funds. In December 2022, authorities arrested him on fraud charges for using FTX customer funds for personal investments. In 2024, he received a 25-year prison sentence.

FTX and Alameda Research, the firms he used for investments, were liquidated. The bankruptcy estate sold off much of his portfolio, including $1.3 billion from Anthropic shares. However, the returns from these sales were far less than if the assets had been held longer. The SpaceX investment remains unsold, leaving a potential opportunity for the estate.

Not all of Bankman-Fried’s investments succeeded. He lost $500 million in Digital Voyager and over $250 million in BlockFi, both of which went bankrupt. Despite these losses, his overall portfolio could have exceeded $110 billion, surpassing the current net worth of Bill Gates.

Bankman-Fried’s story highlights both his ability to identify promising ventures and the consequences of illegal financial practices. Today, he serves his sentence while his former investments are managed by bankruptcy authorities.