Should We Admire Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX? - Michael Lewis [Part II] | Intelligence Squared

Michael Lewis is the renowned author of bestselling masterpieces, including Moneyball, The Big Short, Flash Boys and Liar’s Poker. This autumn, he is set to release his most anticipated book to date, which is likely to be one of 2023’s biggest sellers - Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon, a gripping, real-time narrative chronicling the enigmatic protagonist behind one of the most catastrophic financial meltdowns of the 21st century. This character is Sam Bankman-Fried, who became the world’s youngest billionaire before his thirtieth birthday. And Lewis is uniquely positioned to tell his story, having been granted unprecedented access by Bankman-Fried, allowing him to witness his entire tumultuous journey. As Lewis himself puts it, ‘It’s almost as if I was attached to a character who was insistent on generating a beautiful work of fiction for me in real time, in the real world, and allowing me to watch.’ On October 9, Lewis came to the Intelligence Squared stage to relay how, as the crypto frenzy reached its peak, Bankman-Fried’s fortune soared, attracting the attention of CEOs, celebrities, philosophers, charity heads and world leaders, all vying for a piece of his time - and sometimes his money. At one point, he considered paying off the entire national debt of the Bahamas so he could take his business there. But then it all came crashing down. Bankman-Fried has been charged in US federal court with committing a multi-billion-dollar fraud and, if convicted, faces a lengthy prison term.
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[@andtheinternettkills]

No. There. I just saved you all a bunch of time.

[@gregvinson1]

This guy never “made” vast sums of money. He “stole” vast sums of money.

[@azamaziz7139]

Tq have a nice day

[@PhillipHilton]

Exactly.

[@don__hector7845]

Admire an entitled spoilt brat who thought that he was untouchable ? He stole it he never made it ,it was never his money to spend or to give

[@F3RACTION]

Ok

[@danibravo5700]

This guy overlooks that much of the personality Sam created for himself was fake. He admitted to it and just look at how he allowed his parents to profit from their connections with Sam...

[@barteksudol]

that what's wrong with the society now these days, we are supposed to admire criminals ?

[@jewellui]

Look at Pablo Escobar lol

[@alexvtan]

He is clearly smitten by SBF who treats life like a videogame. In an alter world where there is no risk and consequences doesn't matter.

[@hblee88]

Kudos. My thoughts expressed perfectly.

[@carpediem4512]

Shouldn’t have had a woman interviewing. The man can barely finish his points.

[@shaunspadafora7943]

I think you misunderstand how Lewis' mind works. He's smitten by a good story, NOT by SBF.

[@tahneetran1471]

To borrow from Mr. Steve Eisman, “They mistake leverage for genius. “ I want to add they can hurt you with that kind of leverage.

[@ipsizm9265]

Michael Lewis’s defensiveness on full display.

[@Alperic27]

dude… use your brain… he is give u an inside view of the recipes sociopaths function by … and if you want to try to con people yourself, then follow the advices…

[@Alperic27]

yes … the problem is not just ‘money is missing’ or ‘money is not missing’ … it is about what does it mean that a small number of people are ready to live outside of all the rules commonly accepted as ‘the norm’ … if you have people who routinely lie to large masses of idi0ts in the name of what they want to achieve, then it is a breakdown of society. so this whole thing tells us about us …

[@bobli30]

how much you got paid to muddle the water? it's a simple and clear case of precalculted frauld.

[@2smoulder]

Was SBF intelligent - probably; was he devious - definitely; did he display sociopathic behaviour - definitely; did he behave unethically - absolutely; was he devoid of empathy - yes; is Michael Lewis missing the point of embezzlement - sadly Yes.

[@petercofrancesco9812]

All Michael Lewis cares about is making himself seem important and selling books. He initially thought he was writing the story of financial genius in the making and now that he was doped, he tweaked it to be about the misunderstood genius who flew too close to the sun.

[@lydiab6063]

I am no fan of SBF. The book is good. Read the book.

[@petercofrancesco9812]

I don't respect Lewis. He embodies the worst in "journalism" if you can call what he does that. He acted as a conduit for Sam to sell this fake persona to the public. He was so infatuated with Sam and pleased with himself for getting the inside scoop he never considered fact checking what he was being fed. @@lydiab6063

[@karaMcg1122]

Effective Altruism = stealing money from poor ppl to buy luxury mansions for yourself😂😂 Michael Lewis never got it

[@thevelvetmaul]

I bet Sam's parents LOVE Michael Lewis

[@biglemoncoke]

The parents probably paid him.

[@thevelvetmaul]

That tracks

[@MOVIE2GUY]

They had dinners together.

[@biglemoncoke]

Michael Lewis trying to play Nick Carraway in Great Gatsby? Is SBF the ugly Jay Gatsby?

[@jonitufarr]

This is so niche and I'm here for it

[@harambetidepod1451]

Effective altruism = greed is good

[@Sotoberi]

Did he ACTUALLY help any underprivileged, sick, or poor people with that money? Was any real altruism ever displayed? Or does that EA Society define altruism as donations to the wealthy?

[@lindadeeds5326]

@@Sotoberiactually, the EA movement doesn’t support helping people as much as they do preventing things that could end the world. So Sam donated money for pandemic prevention- that happened to be given to his brother and his parents’ employer! So the people who benefited most were his family.😂

[@aluxendr]

Ah yes, from his culture's point of view, destroying your host is the ultimate display of skill

[@scienceobserver7009]

Nothing but smitten with a conman's game. Ridiculous that he could be pulled in so deep that FTX crumbling has left him scrambling to double down or face the truth.

[@shaunspadafora7943]

Lewis is smitten with a good story, and this is indeed a good story. It was the same with Billy Beane & Michael Burry.

[@chrissheppard5068]

No he is a fraudster.

The old story since time immemorial: GREED on everyone's part

[@frankstipes4114]

How we create false images What a disaster.

[@isaacnewton3514]

Michael Lewis has completely ruined his reputation during this period of defending SBF

[@Yor_gamma_ix_bae]

This guy wrote the most delusional book ever.

[@gfxpimp]

Was anything in his book incorrect?

[@biglemoncoke]

Yeah, SBF was not worlds youngest billionaire, he stole depositors funds.

[@jewellui]

Bible *cough*

[@95davidt1]

12:20 that face when you know you lost all journalist integrity

[@renpilak6048]

Question is - How much was he paid? Also, he needs to be on their good side so he can sell his book and eventually sell the rights to Hollywood!

[@davids2218]

Lewis was a personal advisor to SBF at a time when Fried was making a lot of decisions that were illegal. Lewis needs to be put under oath and asked a lot of uncomfortable questions.

[@ryanswild]

It's not very intelligent to lose that much money

[@Entertainment-jv8xw]

Took way too many irrational risks. Reckless behaviour needed to end before it became a billion $ blow up.

[@ElLotdog]

Michael Lewis gossiping about SBF like he’s a schoolgirl in junior high is so cringey and disgusting.. does he not understand that real people had their lives ruined because of SBF and FTX?

[@theresachung703]

This has told me something about Michael Lewis

[@RR-et6zp]

lol, true

[@frankstipes4114]

Nothing to laugh about here!!!!

[@illusha284]

Damn…. Michael Lewis is arrogant af

[@ryanswild]

Sam definitely paid this fool to write the book

[@biglemoncoke]

yeah he is shilling SBF

[@marciacampos9966]

The problem is that Michael Lewis is not a fool. He is compromising his reputation.

[@lydiab6063]

I disagree. I read the book.

[@ryanswild]

@@lydiab6063 well say no more lol

[@biglemoncoke]

@@lydiab6063 are you a bot for SBF?

[@barbaramarshall6626]

Not a nice man. Hard to watch this.

[@sidog77-kt9bb]

My bet is that he got paid big bucks. everyone has a price

[@frankstipes4114]

How much false information . He is aa bad as Scam Bankman Fried

[@whatsdoin2392]

No. Someone's thinking is chaotic and magical.

[@ddhgerlb]

I guess that depends if your aspirations are a long life behind bars.

[@carterrennerfeldt1607]

How is anybody still taking Lewis seriously?!

[@ca091813]

I think Lewis is an excellent writer and a honest person.

[@idicula1979]

Don’t suck SBF too hard Micheal.

[@douglaswynn9668]

Isn’t it amazing how such a talented and interesting writer can be such a complete nitwit

[@theresachung703]

So right. So odd how he is so in lie

[@brettcoleman8]

Just as clueless as his jailed friend.

[@thisorthat4195]

Watching Michael try to save his book is pure comedy

[@sanghoonlee5171]

Answer: Not unless we admire jail time too.

[@reddog6256]

What sort of question is this? Should we admire dishonesty?

[@vtr8427]

Micheal Lewis probably got paid by Sam. Kevin o Leary also supported Sam and he was paid a million per hour.

[@lesabri]

Here's the answer: NO

[@back2d_lobby]

Michael got hooked like a fish

[@InTenMinutes1]

Even the host recognised he was taking Sam at face value or somehow being besotted by him. Lewis then got his nickers in a twist. The whole world thinks his treatment of Sam is a bit on the rose tinted side to say the least.

[@frankstipes4114]

This man has no clue of finance , economics or business sense. The teachers were right, but the public that reads him , as ignorant as the writter

[@sovereignruler]

The question in the title is diametrically opposed to your username.

[@theodorearaujo971]

The Court will determine when FTX was "insolvent" not "bankrupt." Fighting this is very dificult because the question of insolvency controls.

[@briancolucci536]

Did he actually suggest that SBF’s 20% stake in Anthropic (which is valued at $30 billion - totally illiquid btw) is going to be used to pay back investors? That is insane. This guy is delusional.

[@SantosSantos-bf5sz]

Like if a bank robber promised to pay back the bank.

[@10010x0x0x01101XX0X1]

It's really sad watching what has happened to Michael Lewis.

[@hblee88]

Agree. Will wait for him to evolve after he gets over the giggliness of being in the heart of a tornado and writes a post script book.

[@Linalaelae]

I understand you gotta sell your books, but it’s ridiculous. Sam is a sociopath that charmed you, sadly he didn’t have an opportunity to steal your money and use it “for the greater good” (dining with bigger celebs etc), maybe that would’ve changed your mind? Honestly, that’s disgusting.

[@sherrieludwig508]

Never meet authors, They are always worse in person than their books.

[@briancolucci536]

I don’t know what you call this book. It’s not journalism, though.

[@GEB-yy3ud]

Lewis has lost his mind.

[@idicula1979]

Long story short SBF is going to jail, don’t know about his internet status.

[@finbarrmcgrath1686]

Get a room guys……

[@jxrdxn2611]

He doesn’t have nothing. He came from a wealthy family

[@BC-lf4om]

Something seems 'off' in his discussion , as if he had a deep inner uncertainty that he had been conned by SBF, and/or that there was a deeper level to the SBF phenomenon that he is mystified by.

[@silversurfer8237]

Michael Lewis provides an interesting perspective. His book plus SBF's court days will shed more light on what went on.

[@lucasng3330]

Yes. Democratic party can be controlled by donation.

[@jxrdxn2611]

Wait why is this guy so fascinated by Sam bankman story, almost in an envious way

[@Frankyc1953]

Michael is rude....

[@kylebroflovsky6015]

This guy seems impressed by cluelessness.

[@sireric41]

What the hell, Mike

[@JesseBeahm]

I am not even going to watch, this guy just wants to stay relevant and doesn't want to rewrite his book

[@BloggerMusicMan]

I get why Michael Lewis was initially drawn to Sam Bankman-Fried. He has some of the same personality traits as a lot of other characters from his books, and is quite explicit about that as a reason he was drawn to him. The problem is that I think he became too absorbed in SBF's world and stopped looking at him objectively. Once the evidence starts coming in about the fraud case and the collapse, you have to be willing to change your perspective. I don't see Michael Lewis casting enormous amounts of doubt on the prosecutor's case, but he's still too credulous about SBF. I can put myself in his place and see how he may have gone there. But being credulous when everyone now knows what kind of fraud he's been up to is a very bad, reputation damaging move. Michael Lewis is one of my favourite writers, and seeing him still be this credulous about a guy who is clearly a con man saddens me. I still think his other books are great.

[@PPp-fg3ps]

You did not warn people to save their money out of FTX.

[@Thejellybaby]

Michael Lewis is telling the truth. “At a bankruptcy hearing in April 2022, an attorney for FTX said $7.3 billion in cash and liquid crypto assets had been recovered from the exchange.” Yet customers haven’t received their funds. What else is really going on here? This is not a Bernie Madoff situation. Albeit not all, the money is there. Could the other 1.5b be tied up in SBF’s betting on upcoming A.I. firms? Curious.

[@mattius459]

It is a Bernie Madoff situation. The hearing in April 2023 was after crypto market had bounced back. In other words, Sam got lucky that the assets he still had rose in value over time. It would be the same as if Madoff stole his customer's money, bought some powerball tickets, and then actually hit the lottery. It doesn't change the fact that Sam/Bernie took their customer's money and gambled with it. This was the exact example given during the trial that Sam was convicted in last week, and was the reason why it wasn't admissable evidence.

[@BanTheBBCHD]

"Should We Admire Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX?" - No. Just saved you 28m and 04s. Now that Michael Lewis has completely ruined his reputation defending this multiple convicted fraudster, you can skip reading any of his books too.

[@jonbuck4607]

this was a very good interview. sadly:)

[@theresachung703]

100

[@chrism.1131]

14:28 all the people who were with him, turn on him. All the media, turn on him… That is, everyone except Michael Lewis.

[@ioanaanaoi8232]

He is what his parents groomed him. They are interesting to learn more about.

[@DeeDeeCHAUNCEY]

No. Gross.

[@diane4968]

This is my first time seeing Michael Lewis speak and he comes off so defensive. Like he is protecting his ego and that’s the whole point of the interaction. Like he just can’t face how wrong he got it.

[@Marva123]

Turns out Sam was just a very average kid, who a lot of people were tricked into giving their money to.

[@BBDumfuk]

Intelligence subtracted

[@sarahmalan8946]

Intelligence Divided!

[@carl2488]

It's just true that people can't separate "this guy did something to my finances" and "his intent and personality may not be as strongly negative as I *need* it to be". People need to collapse nuance and make the guy a 2D film-like villian to feel better.

[@user-qj1ex4ui1h]

‘Did something to my finances’ actually isn’t separate from ‘intent’- even if you put aside the personality. What Sbf did to peoples finances was fraud, and the intent behind it was both deliberate and careless, certainly not accidental or coincidental. That literally is 2D villainy, it’s type straightforward, depending on how enchanting you find his neurodivergence and slovenly appearance

[@jakebradminster709]

It's like the emperor with no cloths. Everyone praising this dysfunctional character because they think they are too stupid to see the genius everyone else sees in SBF.

[@Youtubeuser42057]

This guy was clearly paid $$ by SBF. It’s so obvious it’s cringe

[@ryanswild]

Michael he doesn't sleep because he takes adderall duh

[@thelammas8283]

Of course. So many people are greedy, and are willing to suspend critical thought in order to satisfy that greed. He created a place for them to do that. Without effort, without a plan, without even knowing what he was doing.

[@shaunspadafora7943]

SBF became an overnight sensation, and people flocked to him like moths to flame. This is very much a part of the story, and I appreciate Michael Lewis' ability to tell this very nuanced story.

[@user-qj1ex4ui1h]

He doesn’t tho. He just dickrides the guy and fawns over his sloppy neurodivergent ‘genius’ without criticality

[@dousiastailfeather9454]

Let's name drop our way to glory! Laughable...

[@SantosSantos-bf5sz]

Jeff Bayzos

[@danibravo5700]

It's a pitty we wasted time on answering that audiences member's question...

[@pete_roszell]

This excellent, super entertaining I can't wait to read the book.

[@shelleymartin1451]

I couldn't even listen to this after the halfway point, I just turned it off and gave up. She couldn't shut up long enough for him to finish a thought.

[@stephenchen856]

i cant wait for the movie.

[@sarahmalan8946]

INTELLIGENCE DIVIDED...Mike Lewis is NO GENTLEMAN....Absolutely RUDE to the Host...SHAME...SHAME...SHAME!

[@stephenmlangeni1243]

Lewis is full of BS just because SBF is his friend we are supposed to bealive him, Lewis, because he says bealive me, he is no different from SBF they are both full of BS

[@F3RACTION]

Why does everyone discredit Michael when he knows him better than most. Just cos you don't like what you hear don't mean it's not true.

[@Ms.Breedlove]

This guy is just SHAMEFUL

[@AlxzAlec]

This guy stutters a damn lot

[@Redwhite4life]

SFB been clappin’ those cheeks 💯

[@MrTimothybee]

No No No and No

[@timtaylor7066]

Whatever the outcome and whatever one thinks of SBF we should be thankful that the world has someone like Michael Lewis to chronicle characters and events that most people would never understand. The moderator is quite annoying and a little rude.

[@sandworm9528]

Crypto twitter is gonna hate michael lewis for giving a nuanced analysis. The most complex thing they can understand is "line go up", everyone is so traumatized by rug pulls they demand the rest of the world agree that "sam is a scammer" haha sorry guys, its not that simple

[@GEB-yy3ud]

Yeah, he stole in a sophisticated way.

[@SantosSantos-bf5sz]

He got off easy, 25 years. Judge not impressed.

[@Pilgrim812]

A first class financiopath

[@nndlchModi]

This is disgusting

[@ahmedmohamed-bh3sv]

First view

[@Maru-vs9kb]

All the people who think Michael Lewis takes SBF at face value have not read the book. They also don`t "read" Michael Lewis in general, which is their loss.