London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 12, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
×