Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX team among top political donors before bankruptcy

livemint.com:

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and members of his team rose from relative obscurity in Washington to be among the biggest donors in US politics, contributing more than $70 million to election campaigns in less than 18 months.

Mr. Bankman-Fried personally gave $40 million to politicians and political-action committees ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, mostly to Democrats and liberal-leaning groups, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign donations. Ryan Salame, another top FTX executive, donated more than $23 million, mainly to Republicans and conservative groups.

With FTX’s contributions, crypto became one of the biggest-spending industries in politics during the most-recent election cycle, with campaign donations that exceeded those of the defense and auto industries combined, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. FTX’s financial collapse unfolded the same week as the midterm elections, followed by Mr. Bankman-Fried’s resignation.

“I’m not going to pass judgment until we see what the details are," said Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.), one of dozens of politicians whose campaigns received money from FTX and its executives, on the firm’s conduct leading up to its bankruptcy filing. He said Mr. Bankman-Fried is “a very likable young man."

FTX-related political donations accounted for most of the crypto industry’s spending.

The recipients of FTX’s largess included official campaigns and fundraising committees affiliated with either political party, as well as PACs. The biggest single recipient was Protect Our Future, a group that said it is “an organization designed to help elect candidates who will be champions for pandemic prevention," but that also supported