Sam Bankman - Fried was recently sentenced to 110 years in jail by a US court. He joins a bunch of other illustrious intellectuals who are either in jail or have been destroyed by the system. To name just a few:
- Elizabeth Holmes of Therano
- Julien Assange of Wikileaks
- Alexey Navalny
- Edward Snowden (free, but forced to stay in Russia)
- Jeffrey Epstein (suicided with(out) help in jail)
SBF was a gambler. He gambled everything, and won many times. All the way to 28 billion dollars. He even did the right thing and leave the US, when the whole thing collapsed. The mistake was that he didn't go far enough. Russia or China would have been viable options, whereas Bahamas proved to be too close and too easily influenced by the US.
His investors judged him. They judged him to be good enough to invest 28 billion in him. There are very many people who don't break the law and don't get 28 billion dollars to play with. Do the courts have a right to get between SBF and his investors and put him in jail?
If we put people like SBF in jail, who will be next? People like Elon Musk? Donald Trump and family? or are they too famous to be in jail, i.e., do they make enough money for the press outside jail, to stay out? When is that line crossed?
So, what is a life worth? . Most criminals would easily risk their lives for $1000. What do they lose by going to jail? Maybe $10 000? Or maybe they get free housing for the time they spend in jail and will find enough connections there to gain money when they get out.
SBF is a bigger fish. If indeed, he did commit fraud, why was this not discussed in a timely manner? That is, before he reached the 28 billion.
How could SBF have prevented this arrest? After all, he had what amounted to unlimited resources. What could he have invested his 30 billion in? What would have been immune to the current onslaught? Assets in China? Russia? A combination of different countries? Bitcoin? Locked behind passwords and hidden on secret hard drives? In support of the right politicians? After all Berlusconi was even relected after all sorts of shady business. or in buying or controlling the media? making friendships with actors like Elon Musk and Prince Harry do?
Or, maybe, something more human? Children? Surrogacy is legal in the US. What if he had 100 000 children? At 100 000$ each, this would cost 10 billion. Would these children survive and have a world changing effect despite his death or destruction in jail? Would they be strong enough to get him out of jail 20 years later? Elon Musk has a number of children. Will they amount to anything? Donald Trump's do.
He must have known that he was not going to be able to keep the money. So do people like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. Why not diversify the risk in an area that is immune to bankruptcy?
If we choose to put people like SBF in jail, who will have the courage to make the next FTX? How do we ensure we stay at the forefront of innovation? Last, but not least, is the world better off with SBF in jail? Or would be better for society to use his mind to something constructive? He's a Standford graduate. Just months ago, he could command millions an hour, as consulting fee. Maybe, the heavy arm of the law could make him cheaper. However, it does NOT make sense to waste him altogether.
Russia has liberated all criminals who want to fight in Ukraine. Why? Well, essentially, every liberated conscript provides the state with the savings that arise from hiring a paid soldier. Maybe 50 000? If that.
Could the US, maybe, too, find something worth enough to let people out of jail for? Maybe put a price on it? Shouldn't be as cheap as Russia, but, maybe, the American society could do with an SBF free, who will produce something to be taxed (FTX did generate billions in paid and, perhaps, more billions in unpaid taxes).
I have asked a lot of questions in this post, and provided very few answers. I want to conclude with one thought, which dwarfs all others. When we jail people like SBF and Julien Assange, we should remember that a society that kills its best and brightest will not get very far and that we are that society. Maybe our children will live long enough to wonder at how silly our society was, and how incompetent our justice system is. I hope they will, but the more I marvel at its stupidity the less certain I am.
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