Biography: Sam Bankman-Fried, commonly known as SBF, is an American entrepreneur, investor and former billionaire who co-founded cryptocurrency exchange FTX, hedge fund Alameda Research and hundreds of other companies under FTX Group. In less than four years, SBF built a crypto empire alongside Caroline Ellison, his eventual “rumored girlfriend” and head of Alameda Research. SBF’s ascent is truly remarkable — after completing a physics degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014, he spent three years as a trader at Jane Street Capital where he mentored Boston native and recent Stanford graduate Caroline Ellison, whom he pitched to join his new venture Alameda Research in 2017. She would join the firm the following year as a trader before being promoted to co-CEO alongside Sam Trabucco in October 2021. By August 2022, Ellison was the sole CEO of Alameda. At his peak, SBF was worth over $26 billion and was one of the most recognizable faces in crypto. He carried significant clout in business and politics and was a leading donor for both Democratic and Republican parties during the 2022 midterm election cycle. Ellison kept a lower profile during FTX’s ascent but played a key role in Alameda’s growth — and its eventual demise. She would also play a major role in implicating SBF and the entire FTX executive team following the collapse of the exchange.