According to a new report, FTX spent tens million dollars on expenses in less than nine months. This includes luxury hotels, travel, food and entertainment.
According to documents from bankruptcy courts that Insider reviewed, FTX spent $40 Million on expenses between January 2022-September 2022.
According to bankruptcy filings, the $15.4 million was spent by the Bahamas-based crypto exchange on luxury hotels. The Albany Hotel, a luxury resort community on 600 acres with an ocean view and a star golfer Ernie Els golf course, was worth $5.8 million. It is located on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. A replica of Wall Street’s iconic “Charging Bull” statue is found on the grounds of this opulent hotel. Arturo Di Modica, the original creator of the statue, cast it.
Fortune called the Albany Hotel the “most exclusive, laid-back luxury resort community” in the Bahamas. During high season, a one-night stay at Albany Hotel can run as high as $60,000
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Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of FTX, lived in his $40 million penthouse at the Albany Hotel.
Before Bankman-Fried’s $32B crypto empire crumbled, FTX spent $3.6M on hotel rooms at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas.
FTX hosted the Crypto Bahamas Retreat at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in April 2022. Speakers included former President Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, British Prime Minister, NFL quarterback Tom Brady, model Gisele Bundchen, and Gisele Bundchen.
FTX spent $800,000. at Rosewood five-star hotel. One night stay starts at $1,100
Forbes described Rosewood Baha Mar as “Luxurious, low-key, and Rosewood Baha Mar” in his review of the luxurious resort.
Insider reported that Bankman-Fried’s digital asset trading company owes more $55,000 to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville resort in the Bahamas.
According to bankruptcy court filings, FTX spent $6.9 Million on “meals and entertainment.” FTX spent $1.4 million on catering at Grand Hyatt Baha Mars
The now defunct crypto platform FTX paid nearly $1 million for catering services from Six Stars Catering in Nassau.
Fox Business reported that Bankman Fried often spent $2,500 for lunch at Cocoplum Bahamian Bistro.
The outlet stated that it was the kind of restaurant where a single diner would spend $80 to get a New York strip steak with two Diet Cokes. Workers said that the restaurant was one of many local caterers who delivered lunch regularly for about $10,000 per day.
Apparently, FTX’s U.S. Branch provided $200 per day for DoorDash food delivery.
Former FTX employees told Financial Times that they paid for groceries, barbershop pop up, and bi-weekly massaging.
Employees also had unlimited trips covered by full expense to all offices worldwide, as well as a “full set of cars and gasoline” for their employees.
FTX spent $3.9 million on flights. FTX also spent over $500,000 on “postage delivery”. FTX reportedly used private planes to fly Amazon packages to Miami from the Bahamas because the online retailer wouldn’t deliver there.
Despite significant financial losses, the wild spending spree of the first nine months in 2022 was not unexpected. According to Forbes 2021 tax returns, Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research trading company was founded in 2017. FTX, which was founded in 2019, had a net operating losses carryover of $3.7B.
Reuters reported in November that $1 billion of FTX customer funds went missing. Sources claim that Bankman-Fried previously transferred $10 billion in customer funds from FTX into Alameda Research.