[gentle]

I'm fascinated by how so many comments here seem to assume that Bankman-Fried is playing some long strategy, when the simplest answer is that he's mentally ill and can't stop himself from engaging in compulsive behaviors, even when he's been appraised of the consequences, repeatedly.

[Fezzik]

As long as we’re throwing out random theories, I submit he is just a cocksure asshole who still thinks he’ll get away with his scam based on who mommy, daddy, and their friends are. Pardon the language, but I think it is the most apt.

[smsm42]

This sounds plausible. He probably haven't suffered any serious consequences of his actions ever before, and his bail agreement, which is pretty mild, only reinforced him in the illusion that this is nothing, it'll all be ok, consequences happen to other people.

[ethanwillis]

Another victim of affluenza it seems.

[zamalek]

Mental illness or conspiracy theories also dilute his actions: he's either not guilty by insanity, or extremely intelligent by manipulation. We don't need to make any excuses for him: he's just an asshole sharing someone else's most intimate information.

[jgilias]

I remember watching a body language analysis video of some of his interviews early on. Your assessment seems spot on. He’s a failure of parenting.

[bambax]

He can be both. An entitled schmuck who's not entirely there.

[StackOverlord]

I learned "cocksure" thanks to that comment.

Also I think it runs deeper than his parents. Wasn't it the top contributor to the democrat party during last election ?

[tmpz22]

> so many comments here seem to assume that Bankman-Fried is playing some long strategy

People like to feel that they're in on a conspiracy. I think because it means they're smarter then the others who "can't understand it". Its especially prevalent in technology-enthusiast circles, internet-culture, etc.

Endless validation on the internet reinforces this. If you want to believe the Earth is a simulation you can go find a forum or podcast exactly to that effect. Heck YouTube will put a chain of videos at the top of your recommendations.

[pierrec]

"because it means they're smarter than the others"

That may be part of the reason for conspiracy theories, but I think there's more to it. A lot of people take comfort in the idea that there is some grand order to the world (regardless of it being good or evil). It can be hard to accept the alternative - that the real world is chaotic and that no one is actually in control.

[coldtea]

There's also the fact that history, politics, business, etc. is full of actual conspiracies, just not of the "lizzards and aliens" kind, but of the people acting covertly, intimidating, bribing, working together, etc. to further their private interests kind...

[2devnull]

The most popular conspiracy theory is The Rich People Rule The World Conspiracy Theory. No amount of debunking seems to move the needle. People think a wealthy elite control everything and that all or most human problems can be solved by taking money away from them.

[coldtea]

Yeah, I can't understand how people can think that those in power and riches have power and riches!

[StanislavPetrov]

>No amount of debunking seems to move the needle.

Because it is hard to debunk something that is objectively true and backed up by thousands of years of history.

[chx]

Sometimes it's not even particularly covert just hard to see the big picture as the events unfold.

https://wwnorton.com/books/Invisible-Hands/

[DonHopkins]

Like the conspiracies Trump's going down for!

[coldtea]

This is your second off-topic comment to me, that focuses on Trump, in this thread.

I take it you have taken to some kind of crusade in the comment section, because I wrote something in some other thread and post, potentially months or weeks ago, in support of Trump? God forbid anybody ever does that. Then they are bad people, with bad ideas, and the good people must go from thread to thread to tell them so.

Not that it would be diffucult to just answer: "More like the wining and dining with business owners and oligarchs from several countries, to use your father's influence, with his full support and abuse of his position, to get bribes and do them favors, and then using the same power to thwart the story in the mainstream media for years". Seems like the world is more complex than bad guy vs good guy, "my side, right or wrong", but who cares when there's partisan fun to be had...

[StackOverlord]

Alain Juillet, former head of the French CIA (DGSE) recently claimed in a youtube interview that "if you do not know what is happening in the African freemason circles, you can't understand the current geopolitics of Africa". He was the head of several lodges/masonic confederations.

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/137763/politique/franc-ma-onner...

> discusses the power play between American and French controlled lodges in Ivory Coast.

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/141986/politique/franc-ma-onner...

> In the neighboring countries of Mali and Guinea, the same expansion phenomenon is observed. Amadou Toumani Touré, overthrown on March 21st, and Alpha Condé oversee the destinies of the Grand Lodge of Mali and that of Guinea, respectively. As for Blaise Compaoré, he was - until he gave way to Djibrill Bassolé, his head of diplomacy - grand master of the Grand Lodge of Burkina, which counts among its ranks numerous ministers, diplomats, and businessmen, notably a part of the management of the national chamber of commerce. Further south, Beninese Thomas Boni Yayi, a known evangelist, has always denied his affiliation to Freemasonry but maintains close relations in the field. Togolese Faure Gnassingbé keeps people guessing, causing some of his brothers to smile: "This young president quickly understood the means to control his elite," they note.

[throwaway290]

People who have a lot of money or some other influence do actually have more control. Doesn't imply they always put it to good use...

[stormfather]

And some people take comfort in the notion that there are no conspiracies and everything is as it seems on the surface.

[blitzar]

> Endless validation on the internet reinforces this

Yet they have been wrong time and time again.

First he was never going to face any consequences because something something connected. Then there were never going to be charges. Then he was never going to see the inside of a jail. etc etc etc

Even more delusional than those that cant see they dont have any clue - are the ones who claim "they only pressed charges because "WE" forced them into it by shining a light on the conspiracy"

[re-thc]

> People like to feel that they're in on a conspiracy.

People like to feel that people always make the best informed decisions and so there's always "more to it". That's especially so for established professionals or "successful" people.

The idea is if so and so is successful they must be doing things right - at every step.

[no_butterscotch]

> when the simplest answer is that he's mentally ill and can't stop himself from engaging in compulsive behaviors

This is the new favorite reason to let people off the hook. Classifying themselves as ill to distance their own behavior. "It was Jekyll not Hyde".

[eschaton]

Where did anyone say he (or anyone else) should not be held responsible for his unlawful conduct?

Even in the so-vanishingly-rare-it-almost-doesn’t-exist-outside-fiction case of someone being found not legally culpable for a crime by reason of insanity, that almost always comes with things like compelled inpatient mental health treatment instead.

The Dan White “Twinkie Defense” was so astounding because for once something like that worked. (One guess as to why it happened to work for him, but here’s a hint: Cops celebrated when the verdict was announced.)

[nikanj]

Elizabeth Holmes is playing this very strategy https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/09/elizab...

[dns_snek]

> when the simplest answer is that he's mentally ill

I'm sure his lawyers would love to claim otherwise, but affluenza isn't a real medical condition. The simplest answer is that he's lived his life believing that he can do anything he wants. These "consequences" people talk about are for poor people, not people like him. His behavior makes perfect sense with that in mind.

[1vuio0pswjnm7]

Sounds like a perfect candidate to run a large, unregulated financial institution. /s

The government has said it is going to show he was conducting a "political influence campaign" using customer deposits and using "political straw donations" as part of a money laundering scheme.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.59...

If SBF was incapable of orchestrating such a campaign himself, perhaps his parents were assisting him.

[pard68]

My baseless theory is that he hasn't realized his minders have cut the cord. This stuff happens from time to time. Someone who is propped up and aided by a government agent begins to feel like they are an insider. When they screw up, their agent goes to bat for them. But if they screw up and are no longer needed, the agent acts like they've never met.

At least that's how it works in all the $7.99 paperback thrillers!

[CPLX]

It’s even simpler, he’s addicted to stimulants. Watch the final act of Scarface or Goodfellas for context.

[leptons]

> the simplest answer is that he's mentally ill

Or he's just a crook and trying desperately to avoid consequences of his illegal actions.

[styren]

He can be both, it's not an either or.

[leptons]

Calling him mentally ill without any professional diagnoses minimizes his culpability and criminality.

[themitigating]

Does he have to be mentally ill? He's stupid, that's it

[hackerlight]

Which mental illness are you speculating that he has? I listened to and read a lot of his words in the months leading up to the FTX collapse and he came across as sharp as a tack and not unstable.

[sirsinsalot]

I think people are conflating diseases of the mind (mental illness) with being mentally unhealthy (toxic, impulsive, egotistical, narcissistic,...)

An unhealthy mind can be trained to be healthy. Like going to the gym.

Mental illness is chronic and medical and requires medical intervention.

Neither absolve the person of responsibility except in very narrow cases (imho) where a medical issue has impaired cognition in such a way the person committing the crime saw the actions in such a radically opposite way to how society (composed of people with varying mental health) sees those actions.

Both mental illness and being mentally unhealthy require compassion. Let's face it, anyone whose pursuit of wealth at all costs has this outcome is unlikely to be very happy or feel very good much of the time.

It isn't healthy behaviour

[H8crilA]

Elon Musk vibes. For example when he was shilling dogecoin, or bragging about not caring at all about the $420 SEC settlement. It's oddly fun to watch such exceptional narcissists, both when they rise and when they fall. They're so invested in their image.

[chmod600]

Elon has been important in at least 3 major companies that have real products that are delivering real value today.

I can't speak to his mental health, but SBF is simply not comparable.

[IOT_Apprentice]

Important in being a source of money. The rest? Not so much.

[fastball]

One of the three he certainly wasn't important as a source of money (X/PayPal), as that is where he got the seed money for the other ventures you are diminishing his involvement in.

For Tesla he was an original source of money but has also been the CEO since 2008 (the same year they began production of the original roadster). So all the things people know Tesla for today (and have made it a hugely valuable company) happened under his direct leadership as CEO.

For SpaceX the idea that he is just a source of money is clearly ludicrous, given that it is entirely his brainchild. Since founding the company, he has done an excellent job of hiring all the right people that have made the company what it is today, and is clearly leading the vision and focus of the company.

[dotnet00]

Being a source of money alone was not enough to establish a successful private space launch company. There were plenty with even more money available and even actual institutional support that never got anywhere.

[dns_snek]

Elon has also engaged in crypto market manipulation by shilling and dumping DOGE regularly. They're absolutely comparable.

[zirgs]

DOGE is a joke and anyone who thinks that it's a serious investment deserves to lose money. It's an idiot tax.

[dns_snek]

Ponzi schemes are a joke, too. Obviously they're not going to scale -- but people running them are often caught and sent to prison.

I find it baffling that you're defending his antisocial and exploitative behavior.

[zirgs]

The creator of DOGE straight up told everyone that he created it as a joke. Ponzi schemes, on the other hand, are marketed as legitimate investments.

[harry8]

I've loathed Elon since the Thai cave fiasco but I think this is entirely fair.

[H8crilA]

It was a judgement of personality traits/disorder. Not of commerical success.

SBF, Musk or Trump behave like privileged children that believe rules/law do not apply to them. They want everyone to know and admire them for their awesomeness, in fact it's their awesomeness that buys them an infinite number of get-out-of-jail cards.

Yes, Musk is the most useful out of all of them, by a mile. Still, the personality type/disorder is the same.

[samstave]

I think he's the Human form of a Ferengi.