Gary Wang (American businessman)

Gary Wang
Born1993 (age 31–32)[1]
China
NationalityAmerican
Other namesZixiao Wang[2]
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
Occupation(s)Computer programmer
Entrepreneur
Known forFTX

Gary Wang (born c. 1993)[1] is an American computer programmer who co-founded the crypto currency exchange FTX with Sam Bankman-Fried. At the height of his success in 2022, Wang was ranked the 227th richest American in the Forbes 400, and the 431st richest person in the world by The World's Billionaires.[3] After FTX collapsed into bankruptcy, caused by massive fraud perpetrated by Wang, Bankman-Fried and a few others, Wang plea bargained a guilty charge in exchange for testifying against his former college roommate and FTX cofounder, Bankman-Fried.[4] Before co-founding FTX, Wang worked at Google Flights, building systems for the aggregation of ticket prices.

Early life and education

Wang was born in China and moved to the U.S. when he was 8-years-old with his parents. He graduated in 2011 from Cherry Hill High School East in New Jersey.[2] He attended Canada/USA Mathcamp, where he met his future classmate and cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried in 2010.[5][6] After high school, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he studied mathematics and computer science.[7] At MIT, he was the roommate of Sam Bankman-Fried for three years, and he was a member of Epsilon Theta, a coed fraternity that also included Bankman-Fried.[5][8] After graduating from MIT, he worked at Google Flights, building systems for the aggregation of ticket prices.[9] When Bankman-Fried cofounded Alameda Research in 2017, Wang reportedly left his role at Google to join his former roommate in that business.[5] In 2019, Bankman-Fried and Wang cofounded FTX.[5]

FTX

At FTX, he was the chief technology officer. He was the second-largest shareholder of FTX at the time of the collapse of the company.[5] Wang owned 17% of FTX and 10% of Alameda Research, a sister firm of FTX and co-founded by Bankman-Fried.[6][10] Wang was a somewhat reclusive figure, per reports.[5] He was described as brilliant "beyond belief", and so integral that if he left FTX it would collapse.[5] He was happiest when computer programming from home.[5] According to an interview with his parents, Wang "wasn't interested in the communication or management parts of the company. He was only interested in his part of work, [which was] coding.”[11]

On December 18, 2022, Wang pleaded guilty in a plea bargain[12] in the Southern District of New York to wire fraud and three counts of conspiracy involving wire, securities and commodities fraud relating to helping Bankman-Fried defraud FTX customers, for which SBF was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.[6] His lawyer, Ilan Graff, stated that "Gary has accepted responsibility for his actions and takes seriously his obligations as a cooperating witness."[13][14]

As part of his plea bargain, Wang testified in United States v. Sam Bankman-Fried that "with some simple tweaks to computer code," he helped Alameda Research misappropriate as much as $65 billion from FTX customers and that he "lied about this to the public."[6] He said he was directed to alter FTX's code between 2019 and 2022 despite knowing that it would give Alameda Research "special privileges."[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Benny-Morrison, Ava (February 16, 2023). "From Math Camp to Handcuffs: FTX's Downfall Was an Arc of Brotherhood and Betrayal". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024. they attended summer camp in 2008 .. Wang was 15
  2. ^ a b Boiskin, Asher; Zhang, Alena; Lampf, Brielle. "We found Gary Wang. Here's what we know". Eastside Online. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Gary Wang". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  4. ^ Mckenzie, Ben; Silverman, Jacob (2023). Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud. New York, New York: Abrams Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-1-4197-6639-8.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Nolan, Beatrice. "Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Here's what we know about the key player in the failed crypto empire". Business Insider. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d Gura, David (October 21, 2023). "They were Sam Bankman-Fried's friends. Now they could send him to prison for life". NPR. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "Gary Wang". garywang.scripts.mit.edu. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  8. ^ Gardizy, Anissa. "Here's what you need to know about Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang agreeing to plead guilty to FTX charges - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  9. ^ "Gary Wang". Forbes. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  10. ^ Goldstein, Matthew; Stevenson, Alexandra; Farrell, Maureen; Yaffe-Bellany, David (November 18, 2022). "How FTX's Sister Firm Brought the Crypto Exchange Down". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 18, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Zhang, Alena (January 13, 2023). "Exclusive Interview With Crypto-Mogul Gary Wang's Parents". Eastside Online. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  12. ^ Goswami, MacKenzie Sigalos,Rohan (December 22, 2022). "FTX's Gary Wang, Alameda's Caroline Ellison plead guilty to federal charges, cooperating with prosecutors". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Yaffe-Bellany, David; Goldstein, Matthew; Weiser, Benjamin (December 21, 2022). "Two Executives in Sam Bankman-Fried's Crypto Empire Plead Guilty to Fraud". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022.
  14. ^ Newmyer, Tory; Jacobs, Shayna (December 21, 2022). "Two Bankman-Fried colleagues plead guilty to fraud". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.