Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Sam Bankman-Fried was reported to own a $100 million stake in Elon Musk's Twitter. Musk says that's a lie.

Sam Bankman-Fried was reported to own a $100 million stake in Elon Musk's Twitter. Musk says that's a lie.

Musk denied that Sam Bankman-Fried or FTX own shares of Twitter since the Tesla CEO took the company private, refuting a recent report from Semafor.
Elon Musk is denying that embattled FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried or FTX own shares of Twitter since the Tesla CEO took the company private, rejecting a recent report from Semafor.

On Tuesday, Semafor reported that the Tesla CEO had texted Bankman-Fried on May 5, inviting him to roll over his public Twitter shares into a stake in Musk's privately-held company, a few weeks after Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion.

"As I said, neither I nor Twitter have taken any investment from SBF/FTX," Musk tweeted on Wednesday in response to Semafor and its editor-in-chief Ben Smith. "Your article is a lie."

"He may have owned shares in Twitter as a public company, but he certainly does not own shares in Twitter as a private company," Musk said in a separate tweet.

Semafor reported that Musk's text in May followed a message from Bankman-Fried in which he expressed his support for Musk's plans for Twitter and said he wouldn't be able to invest new money in Twitter. According to the report, the crypto founder added he had about $100 million in stock he could roll over into the deal.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that an FTX balance sheet dated November 10 listed Twitter shares as an "illiquid" asset.

Spokespeople for Twitter and FTX did not respond to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication.

Musk initially responded to Insider's story on Semafor's report in a tweet, calling it "False." One person familiar with the deal also told Insider that it was "totally false" to say SBF had a stake in Twitter.

Musk also has pointed out that Bankman-Fried was an investor in Semafor, the media outlet that reported that Bankman-Fried had a stake in Twitter.

The site's editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, acknowledged the investment. "Like you and many others, we took an investment from him," Smith said in a response to Musk on Twitter. "We have covered him aggressively, and disclose it every time we write about him, including here."

In a later response to Musk on Twitter on Wednesday, Smith posted a screenshot of a text conversation he said was between Musk and Bankman-Fried: "Here's the text message from @elonmusk telling SBF he's 'welcome' to roll his public shares into Musk's twitter, as Liz reported," he said, referring to the Semafor reporter Liz Hoffman.


A regulatory filing from May of this year listed 18 investors that had committed to invest in Musk's private Twitter, including FTX rival Binance and investors like Sequoia and Fidelity. FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried weren't on the list.

Several texts between Musk and Bankman-Fried regarding the Twitter takeover were previously revealed in September during the pretrial discovery process for Twitter's lawsuit against Musk over his attempts to ditch his purchase of the social app.

Bankman-Fried's adviser, Will MacAskill, had reached out to Musk in March saying the FTX founder had considered buying Twitter himself and would be willing to contribute as much as $8 billion to $15 billion to Musk's purchase.

The two men connected over the phone, and Bankman-Fried later decided not to invest in the acquisition, Axios previously reported.

Since then, Musk has repeatedly dissed Bankman-Fried on Twitter. Earlier this month, Musk said on Twitter Spaces that his "bullshit meter was redlining" when he first met the FTX founder.


"Man, everyone including major investment banks — everyone was talking about him like he's walking on water and has a zillion dollars, and that was not my impression," Musk said. "That dude is just — there's something wrong, and he does not have capital, and he will not come through. That was my prediction."

Musk's made the comments shortly after news broke on that FTX was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to secure emergency funding. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO and lost 94% of his net worth the same day, per Bloomberg.

Bankman-Fried isn't the only one to roll over his public shares. Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey transferred about $1 billion into the private company.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×