Why Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX wanted to buy island nation Nauru
Why Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX wanted to buy island nation Nauru
Failed crypto exchange FTX’s alleged plans to purchase the nation of Nauru are typical of the wealthy’s doomsday fantasies, experts say.
The “bunker/shelter” would be used for “some event where 50%-99.99% of people die,” said a memo exchanged between Bankman-Fried’s brother, Gabriel, and an officer at FTX’s philanthropy arm, according to the court document. “Probably there are other things it’s useful to do with a sovereign country, too,” it said. Bankman-Fried’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
“This really shows how much billionaire doomsday prepping is really about fantasy,” Calum Matheson, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh who has studied preppers, said of the FTX plans. For the rich, “doomsday is a fantasy to play with, but they can always keep it at a distance.” It is simply “entertainment,” he said.