Canadian businessman and investor Kevin O’Leary revealed on Dec. 8 in an interviu with CNBC that he lost all of the $15 million FTX paid him to represent the now-defunct crypto exchange.
BREAKING ‼️Kevin O’Leary got paid $15 Million to be FTX spokesperson.
That money belongs to FTX customers. 🤨
- „Bitcoin“ archyvas @ (@BTC_Archive) Gruodis 8, 2022
During CNBC’s pre-market morning news program “Squawk Box,” the hosts confronted O’Leary for not properly assessing the risks associated with investing and promoting FTX. In response, O’Leary said he fell victim to “groupthink,” stating that none of his investors lost money.
“The institutional interest in FTX on the US equity was unbelievable. The amount of people that approached me saying, ‘How do I get a piece of this deal?’ And I said at that time, ‘I’m a paid spokesperson, I cannot bring you in as an LP,” O’Leary said.
Speaking about the $15 million deal loss, he said he put about $9.7 million into crypto, had about $1 million of FTX equity, and a little over $4 million was cut due to taxes and agent fees.
However, some Twitter users are skeptical that he lost all his investments.
The money conveniently vanished to zero. Funny how that happens. He won’t be returning a single red cent. pic.twitter.com/RaNa63hX7K
— 𝐓𝐗𝐌𝐂 (@TXMCtrades) Gruodis 8, 2022
Nevertheless, the Canadian investor acknowledges that his investment was a bad one, as FTX mismanaged billions of dollars.
Even though the FTX vaporized billions of dollars, O’Leary refused to condemn Sam Bankman-Fried, without an audit.
“There’s only the murder of my money in this case… If you want to say he’s guilty before he’s tried, I just don’t understand it,” O’Leary said.
Earlier, Kevin O’Leary supported Bankman-Fried after the ex-FTX CEO denied any connection to Alameda’s activities that brought down the whole market.
Aš praradau milijonus kaip investuotojas @FTX ir gavau smėliasrovę kaip apmokamas firmos atstovas, bet išklausęs tą interviu aš esu @billAckman stovykla apie vaiką! https://t.co/5lWzTT7JEv
- Kevinas O'Leary, dar žinomas kaip ponas nuostabus (@kevinolearytv) Gruodis 1, 2022
Moreover, the Canadian businessman recently tweeted that he is not afraid of investing in failed entrepreneurs.
Nebijau investuoti į verslininkus, kurie patyrė katastrofiškų nesėkmių. Nesėkmė dažnai yra geriausias mokytojas.
- Kevinas O'Leary, dar žinomas kaip ponas nuostabus (@kevinolearytv) Gruodis 8, 2022
Source: https://cryptoslate.com/kevin-oleary-claims-he-was-paid-15-million-to-act-as-a-ftx-spokesperson-but-lost-all-of-it-when-the-exchange-collapsed/