"Not a single dollar that I lost is anybody else’s money except mine"
Canadian reality TV titan Kevin O’Leary has admitted he was burned for $15 million in the crypto kids’ FTX market meltdown.
O’Leary — AKA Mr. Wonderful — joins a long list of celebs, jocks and tech tycoons left holding the bag
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The Shark Tank star made a deal for $15 million when he signed as an “ambassador” for Sam Bankman-Fried’s dodgy digital enterprise in 2021, O’Leary told CNBC.
Once fees were worked out, the former Dragon’s Den star was left with about $9.7 million in his FTX crypto account, along with $1 million equity.
Whoops. FTX filed for bankruptcy and now O’Leary has been left with nothing.
The businessman admitted on the financial network he joined the “groupthink” and said he and other institutional investors “look like idiots.”
“(The) total deal was just under $15 million all in, including a bunch of agents that I had to pay,” he told CNBC on Thursday.
“I put about $9.7 million into crypto, I think that’s what I’ve lost, it’s all at zero. I don’t know because my account got scraped a couple of weeks ago — all the data, all the coins, everything.”
He added: “Then I lost the money that I invested in the equity as well. Those are zeros too. It was not a good investment.”
Indeed. Now O’Leary finds himself named with other celebrity backers — including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Shaquille O’Neal, Steph Curry and Larry David — in a lawsuit. They are accused of being responsible for “billions of dollars in damages.”
For his part, Mr. Wonderful hasn’t finished his self-flagellation.
“I obviously know all of the institutional investors in this deal. We all look like idiots — let’s put that on the table,” he said.
“Not a single dollar that I lost is anybody else’s money except mine. That’s important for me, because that’s an issue.”
Now, FTX is under investigation as a multitude of compliance issues emerge, not to mention that the company’s Bahamas headquarters operated like a frat house, including drug use and orgies.
Meanwhile, industry news site CoinGeek reports that Bankman-Fried’s Harry Potter-loving romantic partner and business associate, Caroline Ellison, may be ready to flip on her former paramour.
The 28-year-old “Chinese harem” enthusiast and former CEO of Alameda Research was reportedly spotted in New York City earlier this week at a cafe just blocks from FBI headquarters.
After FTX imploded, Ellison was believed to have fled to either Dubai or Hong Kong. As Coin Geek noted, that she wasn’t escorted home in cuffs by the U.S. Marshals speaks loudly.
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
