CNBC talked about getting caught up in the story of these founders, like FTX, like Theranos
"He really created quite an extraordinary persona. I loved the sleeping in the office, the attire, he's playing the part, right? I think If he had been driving around a Lamborghini, people would have been like Wow we really gotta look a little more closely."
"But he's this guy in a T-shirt who can't even comb his hair, and you think, he's gotta be a genius."
"He doesn't care about money, he just seems to care about ..."
"His vision. Strategy."
They also pointed out that investing has been as a group in Silicon Valley. Clubby. Fomo. The biggest investors all in the same deals.
Backing up something that was really supporting something that was supported by nothing.
Compound also talked about this. He was heralded as a boy genius, the adult in the room. He tried 20 of the best investors, including Blackrock, Sequoia.
Why wasn't more diligence done? Even what kind of diligence would have uncovered fraud.
However, there were people who were skeptical of SBF. But when you just got the headlines about him. 'Oh he's just like JP Morgan,' and you just accepted it. Social proof. It was the second biggest, so why shouldn't they have so much money?
He bought the naming rights to the stadium (Super Bowl) and made friends with all the celebrities. Simultaneously he was posturing as, "No, we're the compliant ones. We're the ones that are engaging with lawmakers."