When we look at some of the most spectacular blowups of the past decade such as Theranos and WeWork (NYSE: WE), there are some eerie similarities. All were led by charismatic CEOs who received glowing profiles from the media which enhanced their aura and credibility.
Each company was also bolstered by the backing of an elite group of people whose involvement encouraged others to invest in the company. It's a reminder that celebrities, finance legends, and other dignitaries are just as vulnerable to being scammed or misled as anyone else. The only difference is that the collateral damage and media interest are greater.
With WeWork, legendary investors like Softbank's (OTC: SFTBY) Masayoshi Son and other well-known Silicon Valley VCs fell prey to founder Adam Neumann's charm and big vision. Similarly, with Theranos, there was a slew of dignitaries like General James Mattis and former Secretary of State George Schultz who truly believed she was the 'next Steve Jobs'.
Now, we are learning about the full roster of those who were mistaken to believe in FTX and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. The most notorious were Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, who were endorsers and investors in the company and whose investment was likely wiped out. Another successful businessman who was also ensnared in FTX is Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, who remains a close confidante of Tom Brady.
Another is billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, who is a finance legend for successfully profiting from some of the most volatile events in recent history such as the dotcom crash, the crash of 1987, and the 2008 housing bubble. Another finance luminary whose investment will be wiped out is Third Point founder Dan Loeb and Daniel Och of Och-Ziff Capital through his family office, Willoughby Capital. It's ironic that Softbank was also an investor in FTX in addition to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, Temasek.
Alibaba co-founder and Brooklyn Nets owner, Joe Tsai also was a major investor in FTX. Even Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) which was a competing exchange had 1.3 million preferred shares of FTX.
In total, FTX had four fundraising rounds and a peak valuation of $32 billion. Sequoia Capital, a legendary VC fund with a long track record of successful bets, wrote down its $210 million investment in the company to zero. Given that it's doubtful that customers will get full recovery of their money, the chances that equity holders will receive any compensation is close to zero.