Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Rich Handler reckons he could have helped FTX.com avoid its current troubles if only Sam Bankman-Fried had taken his meeting earlier this year.
(Bloomberg) — Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
Chief Executive Officer Rich Handler reckons he could have helped FTX.com avoid its current troubles if only Sam Bankman-Fried had taken his meeting earlier this year.
“Do you know Sam Bankman-Fried?
He seems in over his head and could quickly be in a precarious position,” Handler wrote in a July 7 email to an unidentified colleague that the banking executive posted on his personal Twitter account.
“Our expertise in rescuing financial services companies might make it worthwhile to meet w him and begin a relationship. Just a thought.”
Handler suggested setting up a dinner date. “What he is going through is not going to pass as quickly as he might wish and you can quickly become the rescuee versus the rescuer if you are not careful,” he emailed.
Bankman-Fried appears to have ignored the offer.
“He never responded nor took a meeting,” Handler posted, the latest in a series of social media missives intended to provide business advice to people looking to develop their careers.
A spokeswoman for Jefferies confirmed the thread was authentic.
A spokesperson for FTX declined to comment.
Second Rebuff
Handler, like any good investment banker, was unfazed and in September made another attempt to connect with Bankman-Fried.
“I’m at the Rosewood Hotel in the Bahamas today,” Handler wrote to his colleague in a September 16 email with the subject line ‘Long shot.’ “Do we have a smart way to see if the FTX guy wants to grab lunch?
I believe he is here.”
Once again he was rebuffed. “No response and no meeting/discussion,” Handler tweeted.
Step forward then to this Tuesday. “Sure looks like Sam Bankman-Fried should have taken this meeting.
:),” Handler emailed his colleague.
There followed a tweet listing eight “Conclusions, observations and lessons” from Handler. The final one: “arrogance and hubris destroys everything. Every time.”
–With assistance from Jenny Surane and Yueqi Yang.
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