As creditors in FTX’s bankruptcy case seek to recover money from the fallen crypto giant, an uncomfortable spotlight is focused on a well-connected Hollywood insider with ties to the Clintons, Kardashians and Elon Musk.
Michael Kives – a former Tinseltown agent who helped Bill and Hillary Clinton, advised Warren Buffett and helped with Kendall Jenner’s 818 Spirits – runs a venture capital firm called K5 Global that raised $300 million earlier this year thanks to FTX’s now defunct investment arm, Alameda Research, sources familiar with the matter told The Post.
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, also ex-CEO of Alameda, have invested billions of dollars not only in other crypto platforms, but also in media and entertainment facilities. Beneficiaries included Vox – which won a grant for a reporting project – and online news site Semafor, which has faced demands for reimbursement of money it admitted it got from Bankman -Fried, 30, in a $25 million funding round.
But it’s FTX’s massive investment in Kives’ company that makes K5 Global a juicier target for creditors, insiders say. Chatter also shared that Kives has been promoting FTX to his high-profile circle of friends, including talent agents Scooter Braun – who has managed Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato – and Guy Oseary, who has led Madonna, U2 and the Red Hot Peppers. Neither Oseary nor Braun responded to request for comment. Kives did not respond to request for comment.
“Everywhere I go, I hear his name,” a well-connected tech insider said of Kives (pronounced “key-vess”).
As new FTX CEO John Ray III — a restructuring guru who helped sort through the Enron mess — sifts through the bankrupt company’s balance sheet, insiders say he may determine that investments recent FTX transactions amount to fraudulent transfer – the illegal transfer of assets to put them beyond the reach of creditors – and are therefore subject to clawbacks.
“The new management will 100% go after anyone who has been paid by FTX,” said another insider familiar with the matter. “It is well within the statute of limitations to recover K5’s assets.”
“They will 100% go after Kives to get the money back,” the source added.
Adding to the intrigue: Kives is a close personal friend of Musk. When billionaire Tesla stays in Los Angeles, he often crashes at Kives’ mansion in Beverly Hills, according to The New York Times. Kives is known for hosting dinner parties with guests including Bill Maher, Hollywood producer Brian Grazer and Activision boss Bobby Kotick. Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein even joined a dinner via Zoom, the report adds.
K5 Global has been a major backer of companies founded by Musk. According to the Financial Times, at least $225 million of K5 Global’s assets are held by SpaceX, the Boring Co. and other companies led by Musk.
It’s unclear if Musk’s companies could be subject to the clawback, or if the money paid to his companies originally came from FTX, the sources said. However, when Musk was getting funding on Twitter in April, Kives texted Musk, “Might be cool to do this with Sam Bankman-Fried,” according to a trove of text messages that surfaced during the case. Delaware Court of Chancery between Musk and Twitter.
Musk denied a Semafor report claiming Bankman-Fried had $100 million on Twitter, and called out co-founder Ben Smith for not disclosing how much Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, invested in his own company.
Kives worked as an agent at the Creative Artists Agency where he represented clients such as Kate Hudson, Warren Buffett, Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba. From there, he struck out on his own as an investor and launched K5 Global, backing Silicon Valley giants including Uber, Airbnb and Bumble, according to the company’s website.
But Kives’ ties extend beyond Hollywood. A longtime Clinton ally, Kives has helped raise tens of millions for Hillary Clinton. Kives served as acting spokesman for President Bill Clinton after leaving office in 2003; he later served alongside Huma Abedin in Senator Hillary Clinton’s DC office, according to a biography of Kives posted online.
Now, Kives may soon be getting calls from a different kind of fundraiser — a new FTX CEO specializing in collections.
“The only reason you appoint a restructuring manager is to recover money for creditors and investors,” a lawyer familiar with the matter told The Post.
As creditors in FTX’s bankruptcy case seek to recover money from the fallen crypto giant, an uncomfortable spotlight is focused on a well-connected Hollywood insider with ties to the Clintons, Kardashians and Elon Musk.
Michael Kives – a former Tinseltown agent who helped Bill and Hillary Clinton, advised Warren Buffett and helped with Kendall Jenner’s 818 Spirits – runs a venture capital firm called K5 Global that raised $300 million earlier this year thanks to FTX’s now defunct investment arm, Alameda Research, sources familiar with the matter told The Post.
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, also ex-CEO of Alameda, have invested billions of dollars not only in other crypto platforms, but also in media and entertainment facilities. Beneficiaries included Vox – which won a grant for a reporting project – and online news site Semafor, which has faced demands for reimbursement of money it admitted it got from Bankman -Fried, 30, in a $25 million funding round.
But it’s FTX’s massive investment in Kives’ company that makes K5 Global a juicier target for creditors, insiders say. Chatter also shared that Kives has been promoting FTX to his high-profile circle of friends, including talent agents Scooter Braun – who has managed Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato – and Guy Oseary, who has led Madonna, U2 and the Red Hot Peppers. Neither Oseary nor Braun responded to request for comment. Kives did not respond to request for comment.
“Everywhere I go, I hear his name,” a well-connected tech insider said of Kives (pronounced “key-vess”).
As new FTX CEO John Ray III — a restructuring guru who helped sort through the Enron mess — sifts through the bankrupt company’s balance sheet, insiders say he may determine that investments recent FTX transactions amount to fraudulent transfer – the illegal transfer of assets to put them beyond the reach of creditors – and are therefore subject to clawbacks.
“The new management will 100% go after anyone who has been paid by FTX,” said another insider familiar with the matter. “It is well within the statute of limitations to recover K5’s assets.”
“They will 100% go after Kives to get the money back,” the source added.
Adding to the intrigue: Kives is a close personal friend of Musk. When billionaire Tesla stays in Los Angeles, he often crashes at Kives’ mansion in Beverly Hills, according to The New York Times. Kives is known for hosting dinner parties with guests including Bill Maher, Hollywood producer Brian Grazer and Activision boss Bobby Kotick. Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein even joined a dinner via Zoom, the report adds.
K5 Global has been a major backer of companies founded by Musk. According to the Financial Times, at least $225 million of K5 Global’s assets are held by SpaceX, the Boring Co. and other companies led by Musk.
It’s unclear if Musk’s companies could be subject to the clawback, or if the money paid to his companies originally came from FTX, the sources said. However, when Musk was getting funding on Twitter in April, Kives texted Musk, “Might be cool to do this with Sam Bankman-Fried,” according to a trove of text messages that surfaced during the case. Delaware Court of Chancery between Musk and Twitter.
Musk denied a Semafor report claiming Bankman-Fried had $100 million on Twitter, and called out co-founder Ben Smith for not disclosing how much Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, invested in his own company.
Kives worked as an agent at the Creative Artists Agency where he represented clients such as Kate Hudson, Warren Buffett, Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba. From there, he struck out on his own as an investor and launched K5 Global, backing Silicon Valley giants including Uber, Airbnb and Bumble, according to the company’s website.
But Kives’ ties extend beyond Hollywood. A longtime Clinton ally, Kives has helped raise tens of millions for Hillary Clinton. Kives served as acting spokesman for President Bill Clinton after leaving office in 2003; he later served alongside Huma Abedin in Senator Hillary Clinton’s DC office, according to a biography of Kives posted online.
Now, Kives may soon be getting calls from a different kind of fundraiser — a new FTX CEO specializing in collections.
“The only reason you appoint a restructuring manager is to recover money for creditors and investors,” a lawyer familiar with the matter told The Post.