FTX hired private planes to fly Amazon packages from Miami to staff at its Bahamas HQ because it didn't deliver to the country, report says

Pete Syme
Updated ·2 min read
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Sam Bankman-Fried with the Doordash logo and an Amazon Prime airplane
Sam Bankman-Fried gave FTX staff lavish perks for food and Amazon delivery.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; REUTERS/Carlo Allegri; Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

  • Ex-FTX employees spoke to the Financial Times about the lavish perks given to staff at the firm.

  • The US office's 75 employees could spend $200 a day on DoorDash food delivery – a total of $15,000.

  • And when they realized Amazon didn't cover The Bahamas, deliveries were flown privately from Miami.

Staff at the now-bankrupt FTX got luxury perks including $200 each for DoorDash food delivery, and a private air carrier for Amazon deliveries, according to the Financial Times.

Interviews with former employees shed light on the lavish spending at the crypto exchange, which bankruptcy lawyers revealed to have no accounting department.

With around 75 staff based at FTX's American firm per Axios, that would mean a $15,000 allowance in DoorDash food delivery credits every day.

Using Pitchbook's location of the company's Berkeley, California office, the most expensive meal available on the app is a $58.95 Ribeye steak and lobster from Japanese restaurant Hana.

That means every employee could've had three such meals a day, charged to the company.

But former staff said there were even more benefits on offer to those based in The Bahamas, where FTX's main office was located.

They included free groceries, bi-weekly massages, and full-expense trips to any of the firm's offices around the world.

After FTX moved its head office from Hong Kong to The Bahamas in September 2021, employees realized that Amazon didn't deliver to the island.

The solution was a private deal with an air carrier to fly all their orders over from a depot in Miami – about 180 miles away.

In bankruptcy court, it was also revealed that staff submitted expenses through online chat platforms, which were approved with emojis.

One employee told the FT that: "It just kinda went crazy. If Sam said OK, it was good to go. Regardless of the amount."

John J. Ray III, the FTX CEO appointed to oversee its bankruptcy, also said that corporate funds were used to buy "homes and other personal items for employees and advisers."

In an interview with the FT, another employee described the business as "kids leading kids," adding that it was "idiotically inefficient, but equally mesmerizing.

"I had never witnessed so much money in my life. I don't think anybody had, including SBF," they added.

Read the original article on Business Insider