Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Fantastic, the collapsed crypto exchange FTX paid him about $15 million to become its spokesperson. I don’t know. It’s all zero,” said O’Leary.
Kevin O’Leary received $15 million from FTX
Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday that the collapsed cryptocurrency He became its spokesperson last year when exchange FTX revealed it paid him around $15 million.
Noting that he fell prey to “groupthink,” O’Leary elaborated:
The total transaction value was Just under $15 million. I think that’s what I lost. Do not know. All zeros.
The Shark Tank star also revealed that he has over $1 million in his FTX stake, which is currently not worth due to the bankruptcy protection process. Gone. Wonderful further explained that the balance of just over $4 million was eaten up by taxes and agency fees. He admitted:
It wasn’t a good investment.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on his November 11th, and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) stepped down as his CEO. The company is currently under investigation for mishandling customer funds. FTX’s new CEO, John Ray, said in bankruptcy court:
Even though O’Leary says he lost millions in the FTX collapse, Bankman-Fried is one of the best traders in the cryptocurrency industry and he claims to back him again if he has another venture. This has shocked the crypto industry as most believe Bankman-Fried is a scammer and a scammer. Some have compared FTX’s Meltdown to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
Bankman-Fried claims he did not knowingly commit fraud. Like O’Leary, the billionaire hedge fund manager he said Bill Ackman likewise believes SBF is telling the truth. Mr. Wonderful recently revealed that he had set aside almost $8 billion to save FTX before it collapsed and had to file for bankruptcy.
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