In the wake of a lawsuit targeting the parents of Sam Bankman-Fried, Stanford University’s spokesperson has announced intentions to give back the millions garnered from FTX and its affiliates. Records indicate that a whopping $5.5 million in gifts to Stanford traces back to the FTX empire.
FTX’s Pandemic Protection Push Pauses: Stanford Announces Donation Reversal Amid Legal Drama
Nestled in Stanford, California, Stanford Law School ranks among the nation’s premier law institutions, renowned for its progressive stance. A recent Bloomberg report reveals that FTX is retracting $5.5 million in contributions made to the university through both the company and its high-ranking officials.
The parents of Sam Bankman-Fried, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, forged their relationship at Stanford University, crossing paths as educators in 1988. Bankman presently holds the title of Ralph M. Parsons professor of Law and Business at Stanford Law School, while Fried is designated as the William W. and Gertrude H. Saunders professor at the university.
“We have been in discussions with attorneys for the FTX debtors to recover these gifts and we will be returning the funds in their entirety,” a university spokesperson told Bloomberg reporters Amelia Pollard and Jonathan Randles on Tuesday. The school’s spokesperson added:
Stanford received gifts from the FTX Foundation and FTX-related companies largely for pandemic-related prevention and research.
FTX’s commitment to pandemic prevention runs deep, notably with SBF’s sibling, Gabe Bankman-Fried, at the helm of “Guarding Against Pandemics” (GAP). Reports suggest that FTX’s substantial financial backing powered GAP, and as the Washington Post highlighted, the group allocated $1 million to influence Congress and brought on 26 lobbyists.
The latest revelation from Stanford comes on the heels of a lawsuit targeting Bankman-Fried’s parents, alleged to have profited handsomely from FTX’s coffers. The pair of Stanford law professors staunchly refute the allegations aimed at them.
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