Decoding Sam Bankman-Fried, alleged titan of crypto conmen

In Zeke Faux’s new book on crypto, “Number Go Up”, there is an unflattering portrait of Michael Lewis. The author of “The Big Short” took the stage in the Bahamas in April 2022 to interview Sam Bankman-Fried, a crypto billionaire about whom he was rumoured to be writing a book. “Three years ago, nobody knew who you were,” Mr Lewis gushed. “And now you’re sitting on the cover of magazines. And you’re a gazillionaire. And your business is, like, one of the fastest-growing businesses in the history of the planet.” It made Mr Faux, a writer for Bloomberg who was in the audience, uncomfortable, as “the author’s questions were so fawning.” He began to question whether Mr Lewis was writing the book or whether he was a shill for Mr Bankman-Fried.