Back
"FTX Chasing \$5M Spent on 'Right-Wing' Conference Venue" (Jun 19, 2024)
webTangentially relevant to AI safety funding ecosystem; FTX/SBF was a major donor to EA and AI safety organizations, and this bankruptcy clawback case reflects the broader fallout from FTX's collapse on the funding landscape.
Metadata
Importance: 18/100news articlenews
Summary
This article covers the FTX bankruptcy estate's legal efforts to recover approximately $5 million spent on a conference venue associated with right-wing political events, part of broader clawback litigation following the collapse of the crypto exchange. The case highlights how FTX funds, including those donated by Sam Bankman-Fried under an effective altruism and AI safety banner, were allegedly misappropriated or spent on politically motivated ventures.
Key Points
- •FTX's bankruptcy estate is pursuing clawback of ~$5M spent on a conference venue linked to right-wing political gatherings.
- •The litigation is part of broader efforts to recover funds misused by FTX leadership prior to the exchange's collapse.
- •FTX's financial misconduct has implications for EA and AI safety communities that received significant SBF donations.
- •The case illustrates how crypto exchange funds were allegedly directed toward political and ideological venues.
- •Recovery efforts aim to return assets to creditors harmed by FTX's collapse in November 2022.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| FTX Collapse: Lessons for EA Funding Resilience | Concept | 78.0 |
Cached Content Preview
HTTP 200Fetched Mar 20, 20266 KB
Dyslexic Font
Typeface against dyslexia
* * *
* * *
FTX is demanding the return of $5 million that it claims was used to bankroll the purchase of a former hotel that has since hosted events for various right-wing fringe groups.
The property, formerly known as the Rose Garden Inn, is a bright pink manor that is now owned by the non-profit Lightcone Infrastructure in Berkeley, California.
The charity hosts conferences in the former inn for supporters of ‘longtermism,’ ‘rationalism,’ and ‘effective altruism,’ all popular within Silicon Valley.
However, The Guardian [reports](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/16/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-eugenics-scientific-racism) that supporters of eugenics, scientific racism, and other **questionable right-wing movements** have spoken at these conferences.
Picture of the Rose Garden Inn, now the Lighthaven property, [taken](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g32066-d80956-Reviews-Rose_Garden_Inn-Berkeley_California.html) from Tripadvisor.
Last weekend, the venue hosted $499-a-ticket prediction market-focused conference, Manifest 2024. Guests at the event included Jonathan Anomaly, the author of a paper defending eugenics, and Stephen Hsu, a former Michigan State University professor accused of promoting scientific racism.
Other guests included Brian Chau, an executive director of an effective accelerationist non-profit who reportedly has a **long history of racist and sexist online commentary**, and Malcolm and Simone Collins, a pair of pronatalists who agree with Elon Musk that people should have as many babies as possible to save humanity.
## Lightcone ignored attempts from FTX to recover funds
The Guardian reports that FTX is attempting to recover $4.9 million of fraudulent transfers from Alameda sent in 2022. Court filings show FTX sent CFAR, the owners of Lightcone Rose Garden — the specific LLC that owns the property — a $2 million grant in March. Then, up until October, FTX sent another 14 wire transfers totaling **$2.9 million** to CFAR
An additional $1 million was also sent as a deposit for the Rose Garden Inn, which filings say was a loan that was not repaid. FTX also approved a $1.5 million grant to Lightcone Infrastructure in October.
A court filing on May 17 summoned CFAR and Lightcone to appear in court to answer the FTX complaint. The filings also say CFAR repeatedly ignored FTX trustees for months in 2023, and that CFAR only responded after a discovery motion was filed in October.
> [Probe finds Effective Ventures charity acted ‘diligently’ after FTX collapse](https://protos.com/probe-finds-effective-ventures-charity-acted-diligently-after-ftx-collapse/)
Probe finds Effective Ventures charity acted ‘dilige
... (truncated, 6 KB total)Resource ID:
e1da1cfabca7bf71 | Stable ID: ZjM3YjE0ZD