I was wondering why SBF seemingly behaved like an innocent man. Giving interviews, talking to podcasters, remaining at his residence.
Why didn’t he make a run for it?
If he did take all those billions as was claimed, why didn’t he move to a country that doesn’t extradite or just move off the grid for a couple years?
Was he burnt out? complacent? drugs?
Or did he never have that money in the first place?
My guess. Dud was just totally disconnected from reality. He isn’t that smart and didn’t understand how badly he’d fucked up.
Read “Going Infinite” which describes the rise and tall of FTX and SBF. “isn’t smart” is not true, but he is definitely not “human smart”, but rather “math smart”.
The book tha Michael Lewis wrote and is now being heavily criticized for because he is so far off the mark and totally takes this twerp’s dick all the way down his throat and lets him finish?
I will give you an upvote for maintaining critical thinking, but I will say that the book is not that bad. And it is really well written and interesting, but might be favoring SBF more than other books. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
[Freakonomics Radio] 568. Why Are People So Mad at Michael Lewis? #freakonomicsRadio https://podcastaddict.com/freakonomics-radio/episode/168343814 via @PodcastAddict
He also did a podcast on Freakonomics explaining his position. He wrote the book to give a sense of why everybody fell for SBF. To act like he was an idiot does a disservice to all those affected, and so Michael Lewis captures him in a way that shows why people didn’t question what he was doing. Many people took it as Michael Lewis being a kiss ass, but really, he was trying to show SBF as the complex character that he is.
We all would do well to recognize different types of intelligence.
I really have no interest in Michael Lewis. He only writes about people he likes and usually fails to analyse their actions critically.
What caused that?
Money
He believed he was untouchable due to his political contributions to both sides, but he underestimated the reach some of his investors that he stole from had themselves.
You steal from the ultra-rich, this is what happens. If you want into the club, you help them steal from joe-average.
A lot of people in his position of power truly believe their own hype. I no doubt believe he thought that they would never convict him, that he’d be too intelligent for them to catch, and that he’d be able to buy his way out with his powerful connections.
He probably didn’t make a run in the beginning because he had convinced even himself that he hadn’t done anything wrong, that he’d just been aggressive and sloppy. Then he probably thought that he might be accused of something, but that his money and connections would help him stay out of jail. By the time he was arrested in the Bahamas, it was probably too late. He was too high profile to just slip away.
If he’d been a bit more paranoid, he probably could be on the run today.
He had access to billions. Even if getting it all liquid would have resulted in a 90% loss, that’s still hundreds of millions. With that kind of money, you can find a country where you can get a new passport under a new name, and probably get away with faking your own death.
The problem is that to do any of that, you’d have to work with other people, and there would have to be some trust involved. If he wanted to keep the money in a bank, there would have to be some mutual trust with a bank / banker. If he tried to walk around with millions in jewelry, he’d have to avoid getting mugged. If he hired private security, he’d have to avoid getting mugged by his private security. If he tried to use his money to get a passport in say Myanmar, he’d have to have some trust that they wouldn’t just imprison him and beat him until he gave him the rest of his money. If he had tried to work with a lawyer who was only slightly bent, he’d have to trust that the lawyer wouldn’t turn him in. If he had tried to work with a very bent lawyer, he’d have to trust that the lawyer wouldn’t have him tortured until he gave up his money.
While he was definitely a criminal, he was a white-collar criminal from a very white-collar family. He probably had zero connections to underworld figures. So, risking his life going on the run might have seemed like less of a risk than risking that his money and his connections could help him avoid prison time if he didn’t run.
Because he’s a lazy fuck with severe adhd and he’s a fucking idiot.
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Why didn’t he flee? To make gullible folks think he may be innocent because he is acting innocent. He stole billions of dollars from rubes, now he’s on to stealing empathy from humans.
You’re buying into the story he spent years developing. SBF is a conman from a highly influential family, who used his familial connections to run what essentially was a ponzi scheme. He wasn’t a particularly gifted individual, he was just manipulative and had a lot of connections in high places.
He didn’t flee because he didn’t think he was ever going to prison, and tbh I’m kinda surprised that was the eventual outcome. If it had been any other exchange besides crypto, he probably would have gotten away with it.
Jane Street doesn’t hire non-smart people, and to have passed their hiring process he has to at least have been a talented programmer.
That’s not true at all… Connections go a lot further in wall street than intellect. Even if you’re an extremely talented trader, unless you’re taking a lot of risk, you’re still going to be doing just slightly better than average. The most important aspect of trading is convincing people to join your portfolio, so people with affluent families have a huge advantage.
His extradition options are, to my immediate knowledge:
- Russia
- United Arab Emirates
I am certain if he went to either, he’d get killed probably by someone holding the bag on his debt. At a rate quicker than a federal prison.
Where would he go? Even countries without extradition treaties can still extradite. There’s no hiding. His options were grim either way.
it’s the hair. just look at it.
I don’t get it, he’s got beautiful hair…
Justice rarely finds the wealthy for long. He was probably counting on his money for protection.
Because he’s a lazy fuck with severe adhd and he’s a fucking idiot.
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The money is lost
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The world isn’t really the same as when you could bunk off mysteriously with a suitcase full of Ill-gotten loot. For one thing, that suitcase better be HUGE and magical so that only you can get into it. Also the interwebs reaches everywhere. Ain’t no place to hide.
Ain’t no place to hide.
What about hiding in plain sight?
By hiding his face with his hands and insisting that “no one can see me” ?
Because he’s a narcissist that thought he could talk his way out anything. He obviously thought wrong, but I’m willing to bet he still thinks it’s everyone else that’s wrong.
