FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has said his parents “bore no responsibility” for the dramatic collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange and trading arm, Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried said: “Anyone close to me, including my parents and employees and co-workers who fought with the company to push forward, they were hurt by this.
“They bore no responsibility for that. I feel really bad about that. I feel really grateful for the support my parents are still giving me throughout all of this.”
But who are the former billionaire’s parents Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried?
Who are Sam Bankman Fried’s parents Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried?
Sam Bankman-Fried was born on March 6, 1992, to Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, both professors at Stanford Law School.
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Joseph and Barbara raised Sam and his brother Gabe in a house in the middle of Stanford’s campus.
The 3,000-square-foot home sits on nearly an acre of land and the average home in Palo Alto sells for $3.3 million.
Palo Alto is also a highly educated part of California with 80 per cent of the residents over 25 having a bachelor’s degree and nearly 50 per cent having an advanced degree.
Bankman-Fried attended private school Crystal Springs Uplands School where tuition now costs $56,620 a year.
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At school, Bankman-Fried mainly kept to himself, spending most of his free time playing computer games and a trading card game, Magic: The Gathering.
Who is Sam Bankman Fried’s father Joseph?
Sam Bankman-Fried’s father Joseph earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
In 2004, Bankman helped develop a system that reduced the time citizens spent filling out their tax returns but it failed to pass the California house by one vote.
When Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed a similar system in 2016, she received endorsement from Joe Bankman.
Bankman is also a licensed clinical psychologist who promoted cognitive behavioral therapy and co-hosted a law school podcast named WellnessCast.
Bankman is also a staunch believer in utilitarianism, which means we should give equal moral consideration to the well-being of all individuals, regardless of characteristics.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother Barbara said: “Sam and Gabe have become take-no-prisoners utilitarians, joining their father in that hardy band.
“They have shown me by example the nobility of the ethical principle at the heart of utilitarianism: a commitment to the well-being of all people, and to counting each person—alive now or in the future, halfway around the world or next door, known or unknown to us—as one.”
Who is Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother Barbara Fried?
Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother Barbara graduated from Harvard College with a BA degree in English & American Literature and then from Harvard Law School with a Juris Doctor.
Fried was a clerk for J. Edward Lumbard, a senior United States Court of Appeals judge, before she joined a law firm in 1984.
Three years later in 1987, she joined the Stanford Law School Faculty as a professor.
Fried is one of the co-founders and leaders of Mind the Gap – a group that raises funds for Democratic campaigns.
Fried said Mind the Gap helps donors decide where best to donate funds.
She said: “Our aim is to evaluate the efficacy of different forms of political and civic engagement, and provide our conclusions free to individual, interested donors so they can make more educated decisions about where their money would be most effectively spent.”
Mind the Gap has raised millions of dollars for Democratic party nominees and according to the Federal Election Commission, Fried donated $15,500 to candidates in Oregon, Montana, and Wisconsin in 2022.
Former students said both Bankman and Fried deeply cared about their students.
Fried invited students to her home and spent time outside class talking with them about dealing with law school pressure.
While a student of Bankman’s said he was a tiny-statured man and a “big softie.”
One former student said: “Joe Bankman is sensitive and extremely soft-spoken.
“Both of Sam’s parents were very quintessentially open-minded professor types, more than Socratic types. They seem like really supportive people.”