Despite running a multibillion-dollar global crypto exchange, the 30-year-old drives a Toyota Corolla, lives like a college student, and has a goal of making as much money as possible so that he will have more to give away.
Even with his massive wealth, he says he'll keep only about 1% of his earnings each year, or about $100,000.
"You pretty quickly run out of really effective ways to make yourself happier by spending money," Bankman-Fried said. "I don't want a yacht."
The MIT-grad learned of effective altruism in 2012, his junior year of college. The philosophy uses mathematical calculations to determine how people could do the most good with their money and time.
In particular, Bankman-Fried took to the notion of "earning to give." In line with that approach, he worked on Wall Street for three years after college and gave away 50% of his salary every year to donate to animal welfare
These days, he can be found sleeping on a bean bag, playing video games while giving talks on Zoom at conferences, and living with groups of friends. Nonetheless, his blasé attitude doesn't distract him from what he sees as doing the right thing.
In February after Russia invaded Ukraine, the FTX founder said his crypto exchange gave cash to all of its Ukraine user. He also personally donated $250,000 in tether to Ukraine.
He doesn't second-guess his decision to give most of his money away. "It's not a decision that I constantly reevaluate, because I think it just doesn't do me any good to be constantly reevaluating anything," he said. "It doesn't, minute to minute, feel to me like a decision anymore."
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