Less than a year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was flying high. The then-30-year-old had founded the crypto exchange FTX—once valued at $32 billion—making him one of the richest people in the world and landing him on billboards and magazine covers.
His downfall has unfolded like a Shakespearean tragedy, with friends and lovers turning against each other and a once-mighty empire reduced to ashes. On Tuesday, Bankman-Fried's first criminal trial is set to begin, with federal prosecutors accusing him of seven counts related to the collapse of FTX and the alleged misappropriation of billions of dollars worth of customer funds.
