SBF’s $250 Million Bail Is One of the Largest in US History. It Doesn’t Mean He Has That Much

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail package is one of the largest in US history, but it doesn’t mean he actually has to put up that kind of money.

At Bankman-Fried’s bail hearing on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, both the prosecution and defense agreed that the former billionaire’s assets have “diminished significantly.” Bankman-Fried has said he may have only $100,000.

The $250 million personal recognizance bond approved by the judge was secured by the equity in Bankman-Fried’s parents home in Palo Alto, California, which is almost certainly not worth anywhere near that amount. But outsized bonds are more a means of establishing harsh financial consequences for bail-jumping and are often backed by assets worth only around 10 per cent of the stated amount.

Such bonds also signal the seriousness of the crime being charged, and federal prosecutor Nicholas Roos made that point in court.

“Mr. Bankman-Fried perpetuated a fraud of epic proportions stealing billions for customers lenders and defrauding investors,” Roos said.