Sam Bankman-Fried Girlfriend Caroline Ellison’s life seemed like a dream come true. She hailed from a financially comfortable family, excelled in academics, and had a bright future ahead of her.
After graduating from Stanford with a math degree, she landed a prestigious job at a top trading firm on Wall Street.
It was there where she met her future boyfriend, Sam Bankman-Fried, who would change the course of Ellison’s life forever.
In this article, we will delve deeper into the life of Caroline Ellison, her rise to power as the co-CEO of Alameda Research, her involvement in the fraud allegations of the company, and its repercussions on her life.
Early life and academic achievements
Ellison was born to Glenn and Sara Fischer Ellison, both renowned economists at MIT.
Her childhood was filled with love, comfort, and a passion for numbers.
She excelled academically, and her love for math was evident from a young age.
She was described as a bright and focused student who was “very mathy” by her former math professor Ruth Starkman.
Ellison’s love for math led her to Stanford, where she graduated with a math degree.
She was a brilliant student and was even learning about Bayesian statistics before middle school.
Her academic achievements were not limited to just math, as she was also an excellent athlete and even played on the Stanford women’s rugby team.
Caroline Ellison’s career path
After graduating from Stanford, Ellison landed an internship at the trading firm Jane Street.
It was at Jane Street where she met Sam Bankman-Fried, who later founded FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange company.
Ellison immediately joined him as FTX’s CFO, and they both bonded over the concept of effective altruism.
The co-founders believed in earning money to give it away to those in need, and FTX became one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
However, their success came at a cost.
The duo’s cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research, which was a part of FTX, came under scrutiny for fraud allegations.
The rise & fall of Caroline Ellison at Alameda research
In 2021, Alameda Research promoted Caroline Ellison to co-CEO alongside Sam Trabucco.
Ellison, Trabucco, and other employees of FTX lived a luxurious penthouse lifestyle in Nassau, Bahamas, engaging in a polyamorous lifestyle fueled partially by uppers.
However, their extravagant lifestyle came under scrutiny when Trabucco stepped down and Ellison stepped up as the CEO of Alameda.
Ellison claimed that she was unaware of the fraud allegations and that Sam Bankman-Fried had no involvement in Alameda’s operations.
However, the Washington Post reported that Alameda had unfettered access to FTX’s exchange and would use those funds for trading.
Alameda would borrow freely without having to pay back loans, and if it lost money on trades it made with borrowed funds, they would not face the same consequences.
Ellison’s previously unpublished interview with Forbes surfaced in November 2022, where she was described as a huge fan of Harry Potter, loved Live Action Role Playing (LARP), and was once a camp counselor.
The contrast between her interests and her alleged involvement in fraud was striking, and her past achievements now seemed dubious.
Repercussions & implications
Ellison’s involvement in the fraud allegations has led to a tarnished reputation, a potential jail sentence, and financial ruin.
As she quickly deletes and cleans up her social media, more information continues to surface about her past activities.
Ellison was a brilliant mathematician who had the world at her fingertips.
Still, her involvement in fraudulent activities, despite all her financial and academic privileges, was a cautionary tale about the perils of power and excess.
The consequences of her actions will be long-lasting, and she will have to face the repercussions of her decisions for the rest of her life.
Caroline Ellison’s rise to power from a strong mathematically-inclined family to co-CEO of Alameda Research is an intriguing journey.
However, her life took a drastic turn when she got embroiled in the fraud allegations of the company.
Her involvement with Sam Bankman-Fried and Alameda’s operations will have long-lasting effects on her personal and professional life.
Ellison’s bright future turned sour, showing us that financial privilege and academic accomplishments are no guarantees for ethical behavior.
Her cautionary tale serves as a reminder that the choices we make shape our destiny and that no amount of privilege can prevent us from the consequences of our actions.