O’Leary’s FTX Journey

Kevin O’Leary, affectionately known as Mr. Wonderful, recently shared a candid reflection worth $15 million—his unfortunate investment in FTX. During a lively segment on CNBC’s Squawk Box, O’Leary, the star investor and Shark Tank celebrity, detailed how the stellar sum quickly fell into a black hole of crypto chaos.

Crunching the Numbers

After dissecting his financial fiasco, O’Leary highlighted how taxes, agent fees, and a quaint $1 equity investment into FTX chipped away at his initial fortune. The crux of his woes? A whopping $9.7 million sunk into crypto that now sits frozen in the void of the FTX exchange. “It’s all at zero. I don’t know because my account got scraped a couple of weeks ago,” he noted.

The ‘Bad Investment’ Confession

Despite the financial fallout, O’Leary graciously sized up his blunder by stating, “It was not a good investment. I don’t make good investments all the time, luckily I make more good ones than bad ones, but that was a bad one.” Casual, right? At 68, worth around $400 million, he’ll likely survive this hiccup, but it’ll surely be a story for the grandkids!

Pondering the Reason Behind the Jump

When asked why he hopped on the FTX train in the first place, O’Leary owned up to his misjudgment: “I obviously know all the institutional investors in this deal, we all look like idiots.” And why did he trust Sam Bankman-Fried? O’Leary pointed to Bankman-Fried’s American roots—his parents being compliance lawyers—as part of a misguided comfort factor for institutional investors.

Future Aspirations and Senate Hearings

Looking ahead, Mr. Wonderful is on a quest to track down exactly where his precious capital went and how he might reclaim it. He has also committed to testifying in the upcoming Senate Committee hearing, a move that may well sound like his own episode of “Shark Tank: Senate Edition.”

Staying Loyal Despite Scandals

Despite the mess, O’Leary hasn’t entirely washed his hands of Bankman-Fried. He expressed that he’d still want him on his team, asserting that “failure is often the best teacher.” However, social media users had other thoughts, responding with gems like, “You invested in a fraud – not an entrepreneur.” Ouch! That’s like calling out a contestant for producing sour lemonade on the show.

A Call for Due Process

In light of the chaos, O’Leary preached due process during a separate interview, insisting that Bankman-Fried should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. He emphatically believes in vetting the facts, stating, “I am of the ilk and of the group of people that says, ‘You’re innocent until proven guilty.’” With a situation like this, we might all need a cold brew while we wait for the dust to settle.