FTX executives, including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, spent at least $1 million on contributions across the political spectrum in the weeks before the company’s bankruptcy, including a large donation to Senate Republican leadership.
From the end of September to the November midterm elections, which fell just days before FTX declared bankruptcy, almost 180 candidates reported donations from top FTX executives, who in many cases maxed out their contributions to campaigns and leadership political action committees.
That flurry of spending was the cap to at least $72.1 million in campaign and PAC donations over the two-year midterm cycle from the company and its executives, according to Federal Election Commission filings. More than 40 percent of the members of the 118th Congress received financial support from FTX executives and staff in the two years through direct contributions or money spent by super PACs in favor of their campaigns.