Ryan Salame (born 1992 or 1993[1]) is an American business executive who operated an illegal money-transmitting business. He was the CEO of FTX Digital Markets, the FTX subsidiary based in the Bahamas. He was the founder of the American Dream Federal Action super PAC.[2]

Early life and education

Salame grew up in Sandisfield, Massachusetts.[3] He attended high school at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.[4] He received a BBA (bachelors in business administration) from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015.[5] He received a Masters in Finance from Georgetown University in 2019.[6][2]

Career

Salame worked briefly for Ernst & Young.[2] In 2019, he started working for Alameda Research in Hong Kong.[2] He later became co-chief of FTX Digital Markets, FTX's Bahamas unit.[7]

During the primaries of the 2022 United States elections, Salame donated millions of dollars to Republican candidates.[8]

Salame invested over $6 million in Lenox, Massachusetts restaurants and real estate.[9]

During the 2022 bankruptcy proceedings of FTX, it was revealed that the company loaned Salame $55 million.[3] Salame’s girlfriend Michelle Bond received $400,000 in consulting fees from FTX Digital Markets.[10] Salame claimed to have learned about the impending collapse of FTX in the week before it filed for bankruptcy and to have vomited upon hearing the news.[11] In April 2023 the FBI raided Salame’s Potomac, Maryland home.[12]

In September 2023, he pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws and operating an illegal money-transmitting business. He agreed to forfeit two properties in Lenox, MA along with a Porsche automobile, and to pay a $6 million fine and more than $5 million in restitution to FTX.[13][7]

References

  1. ↑ Kelley, Lora (September 11, 2023). "An FTX Executive Who Broke With the Others". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Goldstein, Matthew; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Yaffe-Bellany, David (December 17, 2022). "Restaurateur, Political Donor, Tipster: The Many Roles of FTX's Ryan Salame". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Parnass, Larry. "His crypto firm loaned Berkshires native Ryan Salame $55 million. The FTX unit he led is under new management". The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ Fanto, Clarence (November 30, 2021). "At 28, Bitcoin tycoon Ryan Salame owns nearly half the full-service restaurants in Lenox". The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ Wanna, Carly (December 15, 2022). "Former FTX exec Ryan Salame invested $6 million in Massachusetts restaurants - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Ryan Salame : Isenberg School of Management : UMass Amherst". www.isenberg.umass.edu. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Another FTX executive Ryan Salame pleads guilty". BBC News. September 8, 2023. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ Rojas, Warren. "Crypto donor dead set on preventing the next global pandemic gave millions to Trump-backed candidates who opposed COVID regulations to court MAGA base". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  9. ↑ correspondent, Clarence Fanto, Eagle. "Crypto meltdown: What does it mean for FTX executive Ryan Salame's $6 million investment in Lenox?". The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Robins-Early, Nick. "FTX's Bahamas unit paid co-CEO's MAGA Republican congressional candidate girlfriend $400,000". Insider.
  11. ↑ Dean, Grace. "An executive at an FTX affiliate threw up when he learnt of the crypto exchange's impending collapse, report says". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  12. ↑ Goldstein, Matthew; Yaffe-Bellany, David (April 27, 2023). "F.B.I. Searches Home of Top FTX Executive". Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023 – via NYTimes.com.
  13. ↑ Yaffe-Bellany, David; Goldstein, Matthew (September 7, 2023). "Fourth Top FTX Executive Pleads Guilty Ahead of Sam Bankman-Fried Trial". Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023 – via NYTimes.com.
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