Taken from JRE #1951 w/Coffeezilla:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1hw977sKwkqrmtnvpgEaHL?si=90819e14fb2d4976

and in the FTX case how much of it was getting celebrities to endorse the platform?

This is what I wanted to say like the more I study this stuff and you start to have repeat Occurrences Like I just cover stuff all the time and you see echoes of the same thing.

I just had somebody just a couple days ago I was interviewing for this for this news scheme We're looking at and and he said, you know I never understood how Bernie Madoff got people because it seems so preposterous and then I fell for something very similar And what I noticed with all of these things the threat is you believe you know it's kind of too good to be true, but the social proof is overwhelming and it overwhelms your kind of like alarm bells.

So the social proof is a combination of things.

So first of all, it's like it's this guy who drives a Toyota.

So you go like, well, why does he need to scam me if he's driving a Toyota, right?

Then it's like, which Sam Bankman Freed did.

Then it's like, okay, Tom Brady backs him.

Well, Tom Brady's got to have some guys who are looking into this.

And then it's like, well, BlackRock backed him.

Well, BlackRock definitely has some guys who looked into

They said he was, might be 1 of the first, like, trillionaires or whatever, like, like he's such a great entrepreneur.

I actually, it might've been 1 of the A1Z guys, or I'm blanking on the name right now,

no no I'm sorry I'm blanking on it's this famous I'm gonna remember it right after I get out of here.

It's 1 of the famous like investment funds They invested in a bunch of NFT projects the mark and reason I think is the guy who runs it

A 16 z a 16 a 1 z a 16 z I can't it was 1 of those, Sequoia A16Z.

1 of them wrote this glowing review of Sam basically saying he's going to be 1 of the first trillionaires.

So all these guys basically, a lot of these people backed Sam with the highest endorsements.

And so if you're just an average person, you're thinking, well, how much more due diligence can I do than all these other guys?

And like, and then they themselves are kind

of also looking at each other being like, well, that guy did it like what?

So, so you kind of think you're swimming safely with like other savvy investors.

And that's what ultimately gets you to buy in.

I mean he was you know really well regarded in Wall Street.

So when people invested with him they didn't they knew the like returns were insane but it wasn't like he was some random fly-by-night guy.

He was well-respected in the Wall Street space.

People thought he might take over the SEC after the current person had stepped down.

They thought he was going to take it over.

And so you thought, well, I invest with Bernie, like I can't lose.

So when FTX was taking off, it just seemed like everyone who was a someone was backing him.

And then I think a lot of these people deferred to their other friends.

They're all saying, it's okay, let me put money in.

And it's just a huge case study that just because other people fall for something doesn't mean you're safe.

You have to do, I hate to say do your own research, because that's such

It's actually such a phrase that it's almost useless.

to be true, if they're offering market returns that you want to believe in, you go, man, I want to believe

Just like they were calling, there were, there was a few people that were wary that were calling bullshit on Bernie Madoff.

And there was a few people that were standing out and saying, none of this makes sense.

There was a Matt Levine interview with Sam Bankman-Free.

it seems like you're in the Ponzi business, and business is good.

He's like, well, you know, like, think of it like a box, and you know, you tell a bunch of investors, you know, hey, if you put money in this box, we can get some money out, we can give you this yield.

He starts explaining like this thing that sounds exactly like a Ponzi scheme.

And so ultimately, Matt Levine's like, oh yeah, this doesn't really make a lot of sense, but again, it stops short of, this is a fraud because, you know, no 1 knew, there's a bunch of backing.

So I made a video at the time being like, this crypto CEO just describes a Ponzi scheme.

And that video has aged so well because it's like, people are like, oh, it was all true.

But like, but people were outright calling it a fraud like Mark Cahotis, he's a famous short seller.

I have a buddy of mine, he goes by Dirty Bubble Media on Twitter, He's like 1 of the anon Twitter accounts.


Speaker 0: The Joe Rogan experience

Speaker 1: and in the FTX case how much of it was getting celebrities to endorse the platform?

Speaker 0: It's huge. This is what I wanted to say like the more I study this stuff and you start to have repeat Occurrences Like I just cover stuff all the time and you see echoes of the same thing. I just had somebody just a couple days ago I was interviewing for this for this news scheme We're looking at and and he said, you know I never understood how Bernie Madoff got people because it seems so preposterous and then I fell for something very similar And what I noticed with all of these things the threat is you believe you know it's kind of too good to be true, but the social proof is overwhelming and it overwhelms your kind of like alarm bells. So the social proof is a combination of things. So first of all, it's like it's this guy who drives a Toyota.

So you go like, well, why does he need to scam me if he's driving a Toyota, right? Then it's like, which Sam Bankman Freed did. Then it's like, okay, Tom Brady backs him. Well, Tom Brady's got to have some guys who are looking into this. And then it's like, well, BlackRock backed him.

Well, BlackRock definitely has some guys who looked into

Speaker 1: it.

Speaker 0: It's Sequoia Capital. They said he was, might be 1 of the first, like, trillionaires or whatever, like, like he's such a great entrepreneur. They think he's such a genius. I actually, it might've been 1 of the A1Z guys, or I'm blanking on the name right now,

Speaker 1: but a1z

Speaker 2: no no I'm sorry I'm blanking on it's this famous I'm gonna remember it right after I get out of here. It's 1 of the famous like investment funds They invested in a bunch of NFT projects the mark and reason I think is the guy who runs it

Speaker 1: Jamie's looking it up

Speaker 0: A 16 z a 16 a 1 z a 16 z I can't it was 1 of those, Sequoia A16Z.

Speaker 2: 1 of them wrote this glowing review of Sam basically saying he's going to be 1 of the first trillionaires. So all these guys basically, a lot of these people backed Sam with the highest endorsements. And so if you're just an average person, you're thinking, well, how much more due diligence can I do than all these other guys? All these other guys buy into him.

Speaker 0: And like, and then they themselves are kind

Speaker 2: of also looking at each other being like, well, that guy did it like what? It's the hottest deal around, right? Kevin O'Leary's in. So, so you kind of think you're swimming safely with like other savvy investors. And that's what ultimately gets you to buy in.

Bernie Madoff is very similar. I mean he was you know really well regarded in Wall Street. So when people invested with him they didn't they knew the like returns were insane but it wasn't like he was some random fly-by-night guy. He was well-respected in the Wall Street space. People thought he might take over the SEC after the current person had stepped down.

They thought he was going to take it over. He's 1 of the leaders of the NASDAQ. He was 1 of the go-to guys. And so you thought, well, I invest with Bernie, like I can't lose. It's like almost betting on the house.

The house always wins, right? So when FTX was taking off, it just seemed like everyone who was a someone was backing him. So then it was okay. And then I think a lot of these people deferred to their other friends. They're all saying, it's okay, let me put money in.

And it's just a huge case study that just because other people fall for something doesn't mean you're safe. You have to do, I hate to say do your own research, because that's such

Speaker 0: an overused, scammy phrase.

Speaker 2: It's actually such a phrase that it's almost useless. Chemtrails. Let me say this.

Speaker 0: If it's too good

Speaker 2: to be true, if they're offering market returns that you want to believe in, you go, man, I want to believe

Speaker 0: this is

Speaker 2: real. Don't invest. Like that's a bad idea.

Speaker 1: People were calling bullshit though. Just like they were calling, there were, there was a few people that were wary that were calling bullshit on Bernie Madoff. And there was a few people that were standing out and saying, none of this makes sense. And who were those people? So there were a

Speaker 0: few people. There was a Matt Levine interview with Sam Bankman-Free. He didn't call him

Speaker 2: a fraud outright, but he's like, hey,

Speaker 0: it seems like you're in the Ponzi business, and business is good.

Speaker 1: Whoa, and what did he say to that?

Speaker 0: He's like, well, you know, like, think of it like a box, and you know, you tell a bunch of investors, you know, hey, if you put money in this box, we can get some money out, we can give you this yield. He starts explaining like this thing that sounds exactly like a Ponzi scheme. And so ultimately, Matt Levine's like, oh yeah, this doesn't really make a lot of sense, but again, it stops short of, this is a fraud because, you know, no 1 knew, there's a bunch of backing. So I made a video at the time being like, this crypto CEO just describes a Ponzi scheme. And that video has aged so well because it's like, people are like, oh, it was all true.

But like, but people were outright calling it a fraud like Mark Cahotis, he's a famous short seller. He was calling that a fraud early. I have a buddy of mine, he goes by Dirty Bubble Media on Twitter, He's like 1 of the anon Twitter accounts. He was calling it a fraud.

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How Did Celebrities Fall for the FTX Scam? w/Coffeezilla