Sam Bankman-Friedrich was one of the most successful crypto-exchange traders in the world, but he was also a fraud, a con artist, a liar, and a fraudster. And now, we know that he was all of these things, but who was he really? And how did he get to where he was, and why did he do it? In this episode of the Making Sense Podcast, I try to figure out who he really was and why he did what he did, and how he got away with it. And I also try to make sense of why he should have been fired from his position as CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange in the first place, even if he was a fraud and a scammer, not a good guy, and that he did it in order to enrich himself and the people he was supposed to be working with, not to do good, and not to make a profit. And that's not a bad thing, but it's also not good at all. a very different picture than Bernie Madoff, and I think we can all agree that this is a much, much better picture of who he was really, and what he really really was. The problem is, I have no idea who he actually is. I don't have any idea, and neither do most people I've ever met him, so I can t even begin to guess who he is really, really, or what he's really all of that really is. I don t have a clue about him but I can tell you that he seems to me that he's not to be a bad guy, at least in any way, and maybe not in the least likely at least not the kind of person I ve ever been except in any kind of way . and that's a very strange person I could be or not even a bad person in a way that I ve had any idea maybe not even good , but like that I have ever had a chance to get to know any -- at least of people ever I have a good sense so - and that s let me know that is a good friend he s a good person, right? this is not ? well, right And ...
00:04:58.380I've had people much closer to me than Sam Bankman-Fried, who I've never met and only spoken to twice, once being on that podcast.
00:05:06.740I've had people much closer to me, people I've worked with, and people who are actual friends, behave in very strange ways that have totally surprised me.
00:05:17.380And some of these people have large public platforms, and have done things in recent years that I consider quite harmful.
00:05:24.660I've commented about some of them, and I've held my tongue about others.
00:05:29.060And frankly, I'm still uncertain about the ethics here.
00:05:33.760What sort of loyalty does one owe a friend, or a former friend, when that person is creating great harm out in the world?
00:05:42.380Especially when you yourself have a public platform from which to comment on that harm, and are even being asked to comment.
00:05:51.500I mean, is it appropriate to treat them differently than one would treat a stranger who is creating the same sort of harm?