The infamous investor and “Shark Tank” judge Kevin O’Leary revealed that he lost nearly all of the $15 million that FTX paid him to be the company’s spokesperson.
O’Leary explained he put about $9.7 million of his spokesperson check into crypto tokens with his FTX account, which wiped out all his money after the exchange collapsed last month.
In addition, he had $1 million tied up in the FTX equity, which isn’t now even worth a dime. In O’Leary’s words, “The total deal was just under $15 million all in. I put about $9.7 million into crypto. I think that’s what I lost. I don’t know. It’s all at zero.” He added, “It was not a good investment.”
O’Leary also said that he spoke with the disgraced crypto tycoon, “Look Sam, I am just one investor, but my account has a zero in it, and there are no accounting records. Where did the money go? I need to find where the money went.”
According to O’Leary, the balance of a little over $4 million was purportedly eaten up by taxation and agent fees. Kevin O’Leary is among celebrities who first began to promote FTX, touting close connections with disgraced founder Sam Bankman Fried, who is facing multiple investigations.
Also, many celebrities came into the radar of investigations soon after FTX went bust. Texas even began probes into NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Golden State Warriors Star Steph Curry for potential securities law violations tied to FTX endorsements. The regulators are investigating payments received by these celebrities to promote FTX US.
