At his peak, crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was worth $26 billion. At the start of this week, he still had $16 billion. Now: a whole lot less. The collapse of FTX.com—the biggest bankruptcy of the year—provides another lesson in what happens when the hype of personality meets the cold wind of reality. Digital assets were supposed to revolutionize finance, but the same old mistakes have been committed, Bloomberg’s editors write. SBF made all sorts of lofty promises, including big plans to donate his crypto wealth as part of a movement called “effective altruism.” For many retail traders who poured their life savings into digital assets, the collapse of his empire marks the end of the line. The venture capital firms who gave the digital wunderkind a pile of money without demanding he establish oversight over FTX could arguably bear some of the responsibility. And all of this is just the beginning. With the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department now investigating, and people like ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers making Enron comparisons, the road ahead for SBF and what remains of FTX may be bumpy indeed.

Big Tech is getting smaller everywhere. Mark Zuckerberg issued a rare mea culpa in announcing plans to fire 11,000 people at Meta. And Twitter began its second week under Elon Musk trying to rehire some of the 3,700 people he terminated. Parmy Olson writes in Bloomberg Opinion that the industry is entering an age of austerity, and companies can no longer afford their billionaire bosses’ obsessions.

It looks as if Georgia may decide control of the US Senate following the mixed verdict of the midterm elections, and with it, any chance President Joe Biden might find compromise on the parts of his domestic agenda he has yet to pass. The GOP now faces deep soul-searching: Donald Trump’s favored candidates flopped as voters rejected hundreds of Republicans at state and federal levels who falsely claim fraud tipped the 2020 election. And following his decisive re-election as Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis—and not Trump—is increasingly being touted as the GOP’s best hope for winning back the White House.

Two recent events could highlight Vladimir Putin’s dwindling clout: The Russian military’s humiliating retreat from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, and his decision not to go to next week’s Group of 20 summit in Indonesia. However, there are disturbing signs the conflict is far from over. Bomb shelters across Russia are being brought back to life after more than three decades of neglect since the end of the Cold War.

The world’s dash for gas to replace Russian supplies could result in the planet overshooting the crucial 1.5 degree Celsius goal needed to avert catastrophic climate damage, according to a report. And emissions are still rising—for evidence, look no further than a methane cloud in Alabama last month that was visible from space. The risk of climate overshoot is real, but hitting the target isn’t impossible.

Sixty works from the estate of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen hit the block at Christie’s and, in just two-and-a-half hours, sold for an unprecedented $1.5 billion. If you missed out, you can at least check out 85 decadent gifts to bulk up your holiday shopping list. Boucheron’s Leopard Cat Ring is a steal at $43,400.

Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version) (1888) by Georges Seurat was the most expensive lot of the evening, at $149 million. Source: Bloomberg 

• Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum will take on the US-China rivalry.
• The G-20 meeting convenes in Bali.
• The Ukraine-Russia grain deal expires, but may get rolled over.
• Britain will look to fill a £50 billion hole in its finances.
• Elon Musk faces trial on his $55 billion Tesla pay package.

Mississippi River Is Slowing US Food Exports

Record-low water levels on the Mississippi River are causing major shipping jams just as the US needs to export critical supplies of food, wood, coal and steel to global markets. The problem has been building for months, and now it’s harvest time, just as farms bring in their grain and lay down fertilizer before winter snows. This year has seen rivers across the US, Europe and China shrinking amid scarce rains and high heat.

A towboat moves through backed up barges at the Port of Greenville in Greenville, Mississippi, on Nov. 1. Photographer: Rory Doyle/Bloomberg

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