What is Caroline Ellison's Net Worth?
Caroline Ellison is a business executive who has a net worth of $5 million. Caroline Ellison earned her fortune and a level of infamy thanks to her former role as the CEO of the cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research. Alameda was co-founded by disgraced entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
In late 2022, Caroline was fired from her position after Alameda and over 100 other crypto-affiliated companies, including most notably Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on the back of a massive financial scandal. The scandal wiped FTX, which had at one point been valued at more than $30 billion, down to zero. It has been alleged that FTX transferred $10 billion worth of client money to Alameda to plug an enormous trading loss that the hedge fund reportedly incurred. In December 2022, she pleaded guilty to seven charges, including wire fraud and money laundering. In September 2024, Caroline was sentenced to two years in prison.
In the months leading up to the collapse of both Alameda and FTX, Caroline allegedly transferred $22.5 million from Alameda to a personal account. She labeled a single $10 million transfer as a "bonus." In addition to her professional involvement, Ellison is a noted polyamorist, and was reportedly romantically involved with Bankman-Fried.
Caroline Ellison testifying in Oct 2023 (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Early Life and Education
Caroline Ellison was born in November of 1994 to Glenn and Sara, both economists working at MIT. She was raised in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. As a teenager, Ellison went to Newton North High School, where she represented the US in the 2011 International Linguistics Olympiad. She went on to attend Stanford University, graduating in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. While in college, Ellison competed in the annual Putnam Competition.
Career Beginnings
Following her graduation from Stanford, Ellison worked for the global proprietary trading firm Jane Street, based in Berkeley, California. Serving as a junior trader there for about a year and a half, she met entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
Alameda Research
In March of 2018, Ellison joined the cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research, which had been co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Tara Mac Aulay the previous year. Ellison became co-CEO of the company alongside Sam Trabucco in October of 2021. After Trabucco stepped down in the summer of 2022, Ellison took over as the sole CEO of Alameda. She also played a critical role in helping Bankman-Fried build his cryptocurrency exchange and hedge fund FTX.
In late 2022, an anonymous source claimed that Alameda owed $10 billion to Bankman-Fried's FTX, which was alleged to have lent the firm money from its own customer funds. Ellison admitted to this activity, and said that she, Bankman-Fried, and FTX executives Gary Wang and Nishad Singh all knew that FTX had taken customer assets and concealed information about their misuse.
Below is an interview with Caroline on a YouTube channel called El Momento which later went viral thanks to some of her comments, which in retrospect come across as quite ridiculous:
Effective Altruism
Ellison and Bankman-Fried were followers of "effective altruism," which is a philosophy that states you should make as much money as possible so you can give the most money possible away to charity.
Forbes 30 under 30
Caroline and her Alameda co-CEO Sam Trabucco were both named as members of Forbes's "30 under 30" list. At the time, she was 27, and he was 29. In the glowing write up, Forbes purported that Alameda was making $3-4 million per day and then made additional outsized gains, investing the profits into blockchain platforms like Uniswap and Compound.
Aftermath
In the aftermath of the solvency crisis and financial scandal, Ellison was terminated from her position as CEO of Alameda. Moreover, Alameda, FTX, and more than 100 affiliated companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For his central role in the massive financial mismanagement of FTX, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December of 2022 and indicted on various counts, including wire fraud and conspiracy.
Testimony Against Bankman-Fried
On October 10, 2023, Caroline Ellison testified against her former boss/lover Sam Bankman-Fried. Almost immediately she testified that she committed fraud with Bankman-Fried, Gary Wang and Nishad Signh. She indicated the approximate size of the fraud was $4 billion.
She claimed to have raised concerns about creating fake balance sheets, fearing an audit, but Sam told her not to worry.
Salary
Caroline testified that during her time at Alameda she earned a base salary of $200,000 per year and received a $20 million bonus in 2021. She claimed to have immediately invested $10 million in an unnamed startup, gave $100,000 to her parents and transferred $2 million to a donor-advised fund.
Personal Life
According to former employees of both Alameda and FTX, Ellison was in a romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried. She has declared herself a polyamorist, and reportedly lived with him and eight others in a luxury penthouse in the Bahamas.
