FTX co-founder and crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried recently shared that he signed a “Giving Pledge” to donate his wealth to philanthropy on his official Twitter account. Being one of the richest people on earth, Bankman-Friend believes it is his duty to give away his wealth for the greater good, following his philosophy of “earning to give.”
Giving Pledge is a public commitment that was initiated by Microsoft’s CEO Bill Gates and his ex-wife with investor Warren Buffet as a movement of philanthropists who dedicate the majority of their wealth for charity purposes during their lifetime or as a will.
According to Forbes, Bankman-Fried’s wealth has been valued to be around $21 billion, making him one of the richest people to exist on earth and in the crypto world. In fact, the majority of his wealth is through crypto-assets.
How did Bankman-Fried become so rich?
Bankman-Fried’s wealth comes from his equity stake in the FTX, a leading decentralized crypto exchange, and Alameda Research trading firm. He founded FTX in 2019 with the vision of “by traders, for traders.” Bankman-Fried wanted to create an exchange that would give traders the freedom to make their own choices without any third-party involvement. By offering innovative products and features, the company has managed to rise internationally as an authentic crypto exchange with millions of users from all around the world.
By 2021, the exchange was valued to be around $18 billion and received a lot of investment, making Bankman-Friend one of the richest people under 30. In January 2022, FTX was valued at around $40B by the investors. Just recently raised funds in its seeding round of around $400 million.
In other words, Bankman-Fried earned his wealth solely through his companies. In his Giving Pledge, the billionaire mentioned that he donated his wealth to honor his friends and colleagues at foundations. He also wrote, “A while ago I became convinced that our duty was to do the most we could for the long-run aggregate utility of the world.”
Bankman-Fried as a philanthropist
Bankman-Fried has always been an advocate of philanthropy. For many years, he has donated to many charities. In fact, when he worked a job trading ETFs at a quant firm, he donated a huge amount of his salary to charity.
As an FTX founder, Bankman-Fried also opened a philanthropic arm called FTX Foundation that is tied to his philosophy of “earning to give,” which has set aside about $21.8 million for charity-giving. According to Forbes, the FTX billionaire has also donated 0.1% of his wealth to different causes including voter registration, global poverty mitigation, and artificial intelligence safety.
Other than that, Bankman-Fried has also signed many checks for political campaigns in hopes to empower the crypto community. In the recent U.S. elections, Bankman-Fried led the PAC and funded around $11M to Carrick Flynn, a candidate, who eventually lost in the Oregon Congress Elections primary race cycle.
With the Giving Pledge, he got the opportunity to donate the majority of his wealth as a billionaire. Until now, 230 pledges have been signed by different individuals and families from 28 countries to donate their wealth for greater giving on the Giving Pledge.
Since the world is suffering in poverty and debt, many billionaires like Bankman-Fried have stepped up to help people by donating their wealth. Brian Armstrong, the founder of Coinbase, also signed this pledge in 2018.
Bankman-Fried’s philosophy of earning to give is quite inspiring and a stepping stone for other wealthy people to dedicate their lives to a greater cause. After all, helping others makes us human. See Bankman-Fried’s Giving Pledge posted on the official website here.
