Inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s $300M Bahamas property empire

The spectacular collapse of crypto exchange FTX has left behind a tangled web of Bahamas real estate holdings tied to the company, its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and others in his inner circle – as it’s revealed that they splashed out $256.3 million this year alone.

Attorneys for FTX said recently that the company spent $300 million buying properties in the Bahamas for its senior staff, noting that FTX was run as a ‘personal fiefdom’ of Bankman-Fried, who is also known by his initials SBF.

A separate review of property records by Reuters estimated that FTX, its senior executives, and Bankman-Fried’s family bought at least 19 properties worth nearly $121 million in the Bahamas over the past two years. 

Bankman-Fried, who was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday night and charged by the SEC this morning, splashed out $74million on his own. FTX also bought 35 different properties in the island nation. 

‘They were snapping up real estate sight unseen practically,’ one Bahamas businesswoman told DailyMail.com, requesting anonymity for fear of professional backlash. ‘The company’s spending in the Bahamas was extraordinary.’ 

Now Bahamas regulators are trying to claw back the properties, telling a Delaware federal bankruptcy judge that allowing the properties to be administered in US courts would be both administratively ineffective and illegal under Bahamas law.

A map shows some of the known Bahamas properties tied to FTX, its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and others in his inner circle. Attorneys for FTX said that the company spent $300 million buying properties in the Bahamas

FTX was run as the ‘personal fiefdom’ of 30-year-old Bankman-Fried (above), attorneys for the company said recently

In a filing lodged on Monday night, Bahamian lawyers asked a US judge to dismiss the proceedings for FTX’s property subsidiary.

They told the court that because the property was in the Bahamas, it doesn’t ‘allow recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding’ and are now calling for the US bankruptcy hearing to be suspended. 

Bahamas regulators say they should be allowed to assume full control of the process – which is likely to spark pushback from current FTC attorneys and CEO John Ray. 

FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11 after it was revealed that there were significant irregularities in their sister hedge fund Alameda Reacher’s balance sheets. 

According to government documents cited by The Block, one of FTX’s units spent $74 million on Bahamas properties in 2022 alone, including a number of condos in the luxury resort of Albany.

FTX’s vast real estate portfolio on New Providence island, home to the Bahamas capital city Nassau, also included a $30 million penthouse where Bankman-Fried lived with nine colleagues, condos across the island for top execs, and a five-acre site where the company planned to build a massive corporate headquarters.

Any properties owned by FTX will now likely be sold off to pay the company’s creditors, who number more than one million and face collective losses in the billions of dollars.

As the FTX bankruptcy case makes its way through US federal court, additional details about the portfolio may emerge, but here are some of the key properties that have been tied to the company and its founder:

SBF’s lavish $30M penthouse 

A Reuters review of property records at the Bahamas Registrar General’s Department found that FTX Property Holdings Ltd, an FTX subsidiary unit, bought 15 properties worth nearly $100 million in 2021 and 2022.

The most expensive purchase was a $30 million penthouse at the Albany Bahamas, a resort where Tiger Woods hosts a golf tournament every year. 

Located on the penthouse floor of a building called the Orchid, the 12,000-square-foot, a six-bedroom penthouse was reportedly shared by Bankman-Fried and nine of his colleagues.

The most expensive FTX purchase was a $30 million penthouse in a building called the Orchid (pictured) at the Albany Bahamas, a resort where Tiger Woods hosts a golf tournament every year

The penthouse residence was ‘meticulously designed with Venetian plaster walls matching Italian marble accents throughout,’ its listing says. The 12,000-square-foot, six-bedroom penthouse was reportedly shared by Bankman-Fried and nine of his colleagues

The penthouse roommates included Bankman-Fried’s rumored off-and-on lover Caroline Ellison, who headed up his trading firm Alameda Research, which was at the center of FTX’s financial collapse. 

Others among the penthouse roommates were also reportedly engaged in tangled romantic relationships, suggesting professional and personal boundaries at FTX were extremely blurred.  

The lavish penthouse flew in the face of Bankman-Fried’s public image as a humble minimalist. In press interviews, he often boasted of his frugal ways, pointing out that he drove a Toyota Corolla and used his parents’ Netflix account. 

The massive apartment, served by two separate elevators, boasts a private terrace area with a bar and Jacuzzi spa, according to the resort’s website. 

The property records for the penthouse, dated March 17, were signed by Ryan Salame, the president of FTX Property, and showed it was intended as ‘residence for key personnel,’ according to Reuters.

Albany Bahamas Resort: Seven condos worth $72M

The Albany resort, located on the southwestern coast of New Providence island, was the epicenter of FTX’s real estate spending spree. 

The company purchased seven condominiums in the expensive resort community, costing almost $72 million. 

$72 million: The Albany Bahamas Resort community where FTX reportedly bought seven apartments for its employees, described in a listing as ‘the ultimate in luxury waterfront living in the Caribbean’

FTX purchased seven condominiums in the expensive Albany resort community, costing almost $72 million, records show

The deeds show these properties, bought by a unit of FTX, were to be used as ‘residence for key personnel’ of the company, according to Reuters. It was unclear who lived in the apartments. 

Albany, an exclusive gated community sprawling over 600 acres, is owned in part by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake.

A neighbor told DailyMail.com that FTX turned Albany into a playground for its employees, paying to operate a 24/7 restaurant just for company staff, so they could eat and drink around the clock. 

FTX also provided an ‘in-house Uber-like’ service to whisk employees around the island, Bankman-Fried has said in prior interviews. 

In a court filing, John Ray, FTX’s new chief executive charged with leading the company through bankruptcy, said he understood that corporate funds of the FTX Group were used to ‘purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors.’

Albany, an exclusive gated community sprawling over 600 acres, is owned in part by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake

A neighbor told DailyMail.com that FTX turned Albany into a playground for its employees, paying to operate a 24/7 restaurant just for company staff, so they could eat and drink around the clock

It’s unclear where the funds came from to purchase the properties, though FTX was at one time flush with cash, claiming annual revenue of more than $1 billion. 

The company reported having $1.24 billion cash on hand, more than its liquidators had expected. 

However, court filings indicate that FTX owes some $3 billion to its many creditors.

Old Fort Bay: $16.4M vacation home owned by SBF’s parents

The documents for another home with beach access in Old Fort Bay show Bankman-Fried’s parents, Stanford University law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, as signatories. 

The property, one of the documents dated June 15 said, is for use as a ‘vacation home.’

Old Fort Bay is an exclusive gated community that was once the site of a British colonial fort built in the 1700s to protect against pirates who roamed the Caribbean.

$16 million: The entrance to Old Fort Bay, the exclusive gated community where records show Bankman-Fried’s parents owned a ‘vacation home’

Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents, law professors Barbara Frieds and Joseph Bankman, said they had been trying to return the property to FTX since before the company entered bankruptcy

The original fort has been restored into a private clubhouse for the resort community, and an antique cannon still sits on the lawn. 

It’s unclear whether the vacation home was paid for by Bankman-Fried’s parents in cash, with a mortgage or by a third party such as FTX. 

A spokesman for the professors told Reuters only that Bankman and Fried had been trying to return the property to FTX.

‘Since before the bankruptcy proceedings, Mr. Bankman and Ms. Fried have been seeking to return the deed to the company and are awaiting further instructions,’ the spokesperson said, declining to elaborate.

One Cable Beach: Three condos for top FTX execs

Property records also show three condos purchased by top FTX executives at One Cable Beach, a beachfront enclave in Nassau. 

The condominiums cost between $950,000 and $2 million and were bought by Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at FTX, Gary Wang, an FTX co-founder, and Bankman-Fried for residential use, according to Reuters. 

$2 million: View of the beachfront condominium complex ONE Cable Beach, where FTX executives reportedly bought three homes for between $950,000 and $2 million each

FTX employees Nishad Singh (left) and Gary Wang each purchased properties in the ONE Cable Beach complex for up to $2 million each, according to records

The luxury condominium offers access to a private beach, an infinity pool, and an upscale private gym, among other amenities, according to promotional materials.

One Cable Beach is located on the northern coast of Nassau, not far from where FTX planned to build a massive headquarters complex. 

It’s unclear whether the condos were purchased by the executives using personal funds or company funds.

Bayside Executive Park: $4.5M site for corporate HQ

Records show that FTX also spent $4.5 million on a parcel of land on Nassau’s famed Bay Street, where the company planned to spend $60 million building a massive headquarters complex.

The five-acre parcel is located in Bayside Executive Park, and FTX boasted in April that the planned complex would include ‘FTX’s headquarters, a boutique 38-room hotel, gym facilities, and a building for commercial use.’ 

Bankman-Fried tweeted a photo from the site on April 25, showing shovels lined in a row for the official groundbreaking ceremony.

Records show that FTX also spent $4.5 million on a parcel of land at Bayside Executive Park (above) on Nassau’s famed Bay Street, where the company planned to spend $60 million building a massive headquarters complex

Bankman-Fried tweeted a photo from the site on April 25, showing shovels lined in a row for the official groundbreaking

The site remains virtually empty today, and construction is unlikely to continue as FTX navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

A separate $8.55 million cluster of houses served as FTX’s temporary headquarters, according to Reuters.

The Tribune, a Bahamas newspaper, reported that FTX also purchased a cluster of offices at the Veridian Corporate Centre for $2.29 million.