Alameda co-chief Caroline Ellison got 75% less in bonuses than male counterpart

2:22 PM • Mar 16, 2023

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New court filings reveal that FTX and Alameda Research executives received $3.2 billion in payments and loans before the crypto firms collapsed — but the sole female exec, Caroline Ellison, got just $6 million.

Founder Sam Bankman-Fried was given $2.2 billion, a disclosure of assets and liabilities revealed on Wednesday; former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh got $587 million and founder Gary Wang received $246 million. Next on the list is former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets Ryan Salame with $87 million in payouts, followed by $25 million to former co-CEO of Alameda, Sam Trabucco.

Ellison’s $6 million is less than a quarter of what her male counterpart received. She was the former co-CEO of Alameda, alongside Trabucco.

In addition to the $3.2 billion in payouts and loans, FTX disclosed more than $240 million spent on luxury condos and homes in the Bahamas, political and charitable donations, and “substantial transfers” to non-Debtor subsidiaries.

Caroline Ellison’s meager FTX payout

FTX acknowledged that these filings don’t paint a whole picture of the crypto exchange’s shady dealings. “Ongoing efforts by the FTX Debtors are expected to result in the further identification of assets, liabilities and transfers, including a description of intercompany claims among the FTX Debtors and their subsidiaries.”

It’s hard to understand the way these exorbitant executive payouts worked at FTX and Alameda — if there was any rhyme or reason at all.

Perhaps there is a sound explanation for Ellison’s smaller cut. But the stark contrast certainly suggests a gender inequality that, unfortunately, would be far from surprising in a crypto operation — let alone a criminal one.

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