London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

'Shark Tank' host and FTX investor Kevin O'Leary defends Sam Bankman-Fried for demise of his cryptocurrency exchange

'Shark Tank' host and FTX investor Kevin O'Leary defends Sam Bankman-Fried for demise of his cryptocurrency exchange

"Shark Tank" host and FTX investor Kevin O'Leary said he is giving Sam Bankman-Fried the benefit of the doubt in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange. 
Fresh off his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, O'Leary — who received $15 million from FTX as a brand ambassador — appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Friday, where he was grilled about his role in the company and Bankman-Fried's alleged fraud. 

"I don't have the facts," O'Leary said. "[New FTX CEO] John Ray doesn't have them yet. He's going to get them. I'm looking through my records. I'm willing to fund a forensic account of our accounts."

He continued, appearing to defend Bankman-Fried at various points during discussions with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Joe Kernen, and Becky Quick.

"This is America. The justice system provides the presumption of innocence unless proven otherwise," O'Leary said. 

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday, where he is in custody after US federal prosecutors charged the former CEO on eight counts including wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  

Meanwhile, O'Leary is among several celebrity defendants — including NFL star Tom Brady and comedian Larry David — listed in a class-action lawsuit for publicly promoting FTX before its demise.

In the interview, O'Leary defended himself and fellow investors, noting the nature of risk involved in venture capital. 

"Obviously none of us would have wanted to be in this mess if we could've avoided it, but we just didn't know," he said. "Frankly venture investing is you could do all the due diligence you want, eight out of ten go to zero."

O'Leary told CNBC he believes creditors who lost money in FTX should be paid back first, while shareholders who assumed the risk should accept the loss. 

"The shareholders, of which I'm included, I don't think we should get anything back," he said. "We're venture investors, we're big boys, we lost our money, we understand it. I don't want anything back there until the people who had money in their accounts get theirs back."

In the same interview, O'Leary also defended himself against comments from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who called the "Shark Tank" television host a "liar."

"Yesterday on the air, CZ called me a liar. That suggests I perjured myself in front of the US Senate for two hours this week. I can assure you that's not the case," O'Leary said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×