Sam-Bankman Fried Reportedly Considered Paying Trump $5 Billion Not to Run in 2024

Disgraced crytpo titan Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly considered paying off former President Donald Trump to the tune of $5 billion to keep him from running in 2024.

That’s according to a new book by Michael Lewis. In an excerpt published by Reuters, Lewis detailed how Bankman-Fried looked into paying off Trump and wanted to know how much it would take to get him to abandon his 2024 presidential bid. Sure enough, Bankman-Fried reportedly was told a number that would get it done.

From the book via Reuters:

“On a separate front, he explained to me, as the plane descended into Washington, he was exploring the legality of paying Donald Trump himself not to run for president,” Lewis wrote.

“His team had somehow created a back channel into the Trump operation and returned with the not terribly Earth-shattering news that Donald Trump might indeed have his price: $5 billion. Or so Sam was told by his team.”

In an.interview on 60 Minutes Sunday, correspondent Jon Wertheim asked Lewis why Bankman-Fried never made the payoff.

“Why didn’t this happen?” Wertheim asked. “Why didn’t he follow through?”

“Well, they were still having these conversations when FTX blew up,” Lewis said. “So why didn’t it happen? He didn’t have $5 billion anymore.”

Watch above, via CBS.