Michael Lewis Was Charmed by Sam Bankman-Fried – But So Was Everyone Else

The guide’s comparatively sympathetic therapy of Sam turns into extra putting in distinction to depictions of his adversaries, akin to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Earlier than the guide was printed, a letter from Artistic Artists Company circulating in Hollywood stated Lewis likened Sam and CZ “to the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader of crypto.” Traces of this characterization nonetheless made it into the completed guide. “Binance was the category bully, FTX the category nerd, and every took pleasure in utilizing its particular powers to torment the opposite,” Lewis wrote. He additionally stated, “Sam thought in regards to the measurement of the pie, whereas CZ cared extra in regards to the measurement of his piece.” There’s additionally some gratuitous shade, akin to, “If CZ ever had an authentic thought he by no means expressed it.”