Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen have recently discovered that their substantial investments in the cryptocurrency exchange FTX are on the verge of evaporating. Bankruptcy filings have revealed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback holds over
1.1 million common shares, while his model ex-wife has around 680,000, as reported by Bloomberg and Insider.
The former power couple served as brand ambassadors for FTX since 2021, featuring in a series of commercials promoting the exchange which saw them both make heavy investments in it. According to Forbes’ estimates, Brady’s stake was valued at $45 million and Bündchen’s at $25 million. Unfortunately however, due to bankruptcy filing proceedings, equity investors like Brady and Bündchen are not likely to recuperate any of their losses.
FTX CEO John Ray III spoke before the US House Financial Services Committee in December with a statement that suggests no investor stands any chance of reclaiming their losses: “At the end of the day, we’re not going to be able to recover all of the losses here”. He took control after former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged with money laundering and fraud following their filing for bankruptcy in November.
It remains to be seen what becomes of this once promising venture for Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen in terms of recouping some or any part of their hefty investments. However, regardless of whether or not they do so successfully, it appears clear from FTX’s tumultuous restructuring process that more attention needs to be paid toward preventing similar cases of fraud and money laundering from occurring ever again.
Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen are only two of the many high-profile names listed as equity holders in FTX. Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, and Kevin O’Leary, a star on Shark Tank, have also been linked to investments in the crypto exchange. Unfortunately for O’Leary, he lost all of his $15 million investment when he became a spokesperson for FTX.
FTX’s current situation is currently being evaluated by the District of Delaware Bankruptcy Court in a hearing that is streaming live on YouTube. So far, FTX has recovered some assets in cash and liquid cryptocurrency, worth over $5 billion altogether. However, this sum doesn’t take into account any potential returns from an extra $425 million in seized crypto still held by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.
As it stands now, there is little prospect of FTX customers recovering most or all of their lost money due to bankruptcy proceedings. The same appears true for Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen as well; although their individual stakes were valued at tens of millions between them, they may not see any return out of their investments.
The real tragedy behind this story is that it could have been avoided had proper measures been put in place from the outset to prevent fraudulent activities such as money laundering schemes from taking place. Regulators should have seen warning signs much earlier about bad actors infiltrating the system which led to FTX’s downfall; had better steps been taken early on to protect investors’ funds from criminal organizations like FTX then investors would have been able to avoid major losses like those suffered by Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen.
In addition to increased oversight for exchanges going forward, stronger consumer protections should be put into place so that more people can trust digital platforms with their financial investments without fear that these funds might disappear altogether or be subject to criminal fraudsters. In light of recent events like those involving FTX and Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen’s staggering losses, this becomes even more pressing an issue than ever before if we want future financial based transactions involving digital platforms or cryptocurrency exchanges to be safe and secure for everyone involved.
It’s unfortunate news for Tom Brady & Gisele Bündchen who have lost almost 2 million shares in FTX – an online cryptocurrency exchange – due to bankruptcy proceedings not allowing any equity investors to recoup some of their losses as only bond holders can do so during typical bankruptcy proceedings. Despite being brand ambassadors for the company since 2021 they won’t be able to recover all of their losses due to these proceedings which goes to show how important it is for individuals investing any sort of money into companies or markets should always research the implications involved priorhand before making any big moves.
