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The Lost Gospel of S.B.F.

New revelations illuminating the world-changing ambitions, aborted blueprints, utopian projects, and democracy-transforming money-bombs emanating from S.B.F., Inc., before the crypto billionaire’s house of cards came crashing down.

s.b.f.
S.B.F. aides once talked openly about a 50-year campaign for influence that would transform the state of American politics and policy. Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images
Theodore Schleifer
November 23, 2022

Over the last few months, before FTX filed for bankruptcy and its 30-year-old founder admitted to being a fraud, aides to Sam Bankman-Fried began thinking bigger than just their quotidian work of preventing the next pandemic. The crypto king was at the height of his powers, with a $20 billion net worth and seemingly everyone in Washington begging for an introduction. And so quietly, in private conversations that made their way to me, S.B.F. aides hatched a venture to tackle not just pandemics, but all of the great challenges of the day.