Insider Finance - Business - Crypto kingpin goes down

Nicholas Carlson November 9, 2022

Hello, Insiders. There was no big “red wave,” although Republicans could still take control of the Senate and House. Our absolutely incredible politics team has been covering all the latest developments since the polls closed last night — keep up with their live coverage here. 

But as for this newsletter, a million publications are going to tell you what happened last night in American politics. So allow me to zig while everyone else zags … and share some fascinating stories about what else is going on, from Meta layoffs to crypto chaos.

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The latest

• Meta is laying off more than 11,000 employees, as Mark Zuckerberg told staff, “I got this wrong.” Read his full memo here.

• A gas station owner received $1 million for selling a winning Powerball ticket. More on that here.

• Adidas has halved its earnings forecast after parting ways with Kanye West following his antisemitic comments. What to know.

The big story

FTX

Crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried lost 94% of his fortune overnight. Let’s break down what happened.

The 30-year-old shocked the cryptocurrency world on Tuesday after he announced that his exchange FTX had entered into a transaction to be acquired by rival Binance. It was a stunning turn of events, as Bankman-Fried (a.k.a. SBF) and his exchange were both viewed as saviors of the crypto market.

Before all of this, SBF was one of the world's wealthiest people, with a net worth of $16 billion. Today, per Bloomberg, most of his wealth was likely gutted by the deal. This marks the biggest one-day wealth collapse among billionaires on record.

To really unpack what happened with FTX, check out the helpful rundown from our markets newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell. (And be sure to sign up to get the newsletter here.)

Dig into SBF’s reversal of fortune here.

Top reads

IStock

• We’ve got an inside look at how much law firms pay their young talent. We asked 19 law firms from Altshuler to Wigdor how much they pay young lawyers, and their answers were all over the map. Here’s what they told us.

• The best job candidates ‘flip’ the interview and ask incisive questions. Microsoft’s former VP of HR Chris Williams says the most impressive interviewees not only answer questions well, but ask for in-depth anecdotes about bosses and teams to get the lowdown on a company. Here’s his interviewing playbook.

• A 21-year-old explains how she makes money selling feet pictures. Using a pseudonym and a VPN to protect her identity, this woman has been selling feet pics for three years. A look at how she does it.

• Most Americans’ jobs aren’t at risk of mass layoffs. Despite forecasts for a recession next year and big cuts at firms like Twitter and Meta, there are few signs of widespread layoffs in the short term. Why Americans shouldn't be too worried about job security.

• Google is secretly working on a new wearable device targeted at preteens. Nicknamed Project Eleven, the device is intended to help older kids develop healthier relationships with their phones — and help Google match the Apple Watch. What we’ve uncovered.

Today’s sound bite

“Instead of paying a fee for a working artist, you can get something that’s not as good, but vaguely in their style for basically nothing.” 

Insider’s Beatrice Nolan on the murky ethics behind AI-generated art. Check out the full segment in today’s episode of The Refresh from Insider.

Watch this

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has quickly become an influencer in the Republican Party and experts say he’s deployed a carefully crafted image to get there. We decoded how DeSantis made it to the top.

Today's team

Nicholas Carlson (@nichcarlson), Lisa Ryan (@lisarya), Jordan Parker Erb (@jordanparkererb), and Shona Ghosh (@shonaghosh).

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