Gabe Bankman-Fried | Guarding Against Pandemics
Gabe Bankman-Fried | Guarding Against Pandemics
A lawsuit filed in Delaware bankruptcy court alleges Gabe Bankman-Fried, the younger brother of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, once sought to buy the island nation of Nauru, purportedly to create a doomsday shelter.
Bankman-Fried sought to buy the nation when he was working as a lobbyist for FTX, which went out of business after it was discovered its leadership allegedly engaged in massive fraud.
A memo on the possible purchase notes a "bunker/shelter" that would be used for "some event where 50%-99.99% of people die [to] ensure that most [effective altruists] survive,” a complaint filed on July 20 said. The island also has a reputation as a tax haven.
"Probably there are other things it's useful to do with a sovereign country, too," the FTX memo reads, according to CNBC.
A lawsuit seeking $1 billion that it says was misappropriated by FTX bosses filed in Delaware bankruptcy court reveals Bankman-Fried considered purchasing the island nation of Nauru in the Pacific to create a fortified bunker state in the event of a major disaster where a significant portion of the population would perish. The plan aimed to protect his philanthropic allies and "to develop 'sensible regulation around human genetic enhancement, and build a lab there.'" Despite the proposal, a representative for Nauru confirmed that the island nation inhabited by 11,000 people was not and has never been for sale.
A New York Post story said that Gabe Bankman-Fried worked for Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill) and although he earned a modest salary, he made substantial campaign donations. Sam Bankman-Fried was a major donor to Democratic PACs and Biden's presidential campaign prior to FTX's financial collapse and the alleged loss of billions in client funds.
“Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., hired Gabe Bankman-Fried and the FTX chief executive’s younger brother joined the staff of the Financial Services Committee in January 2019, (Roman) Jankowski reported," a press release by U.S Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) reads. "Casten was named to the committee that same month after first being elected to the House in November 2018.” Roman Jankowski, is the senior investigative counsel for The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project.
The New York Post said in 2022 Casten's office said they had “no comment at this time” in the wake of FTX’s collapse.
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