When FTX, a now-defunct and disgraced crypto company, offered Taylor Swift a sponsorship deal worth $100 million, she didn’t jump at the opportunity like some of her high-profile peers. Instead, Swift did her due diligence, and it paid off. She asked a simple question that ultimately led to her avoiding a potentially disastrous investment.
According to documents obtained by the plaintiff’s attorney , when Swift was approached by FTX, she asked, “Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?” It was a question that FTX apparently couldn’t answer to Swift’s satisfaction, and she quickly cut ties with the company.
In contrast, other high-profile names associated with FTX, such as Tom Brady and Shaq, didn’t question the company’s practices and ended up losing significant amounts of money. Brady and his ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, are believed to have had a total of 2 million shares in the company. The Verge reported that Brady had invested $45 million individually, while Bündchen had invested $25 million.
According to Adam Moskowitz, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against various FTX celebrities and promoters, Swift was the only celebrity who did her research and asked questions. Moskowitz appeared on “The Scoop” podcast and said, “The one person I found that did that [researched and asked questions] was Taylor Swift.” Moskowitz went on to say that during the discovery process, Swift asked FTX whether they were following the law and whether their securities were registered.
It’s worth noting that Swift’s father worked at Merrill Lynch, a financial services firm, and was well-regarded by Elon Musk, who tweeted about him. It seems that Swift’s financial acumen and upbringing may have played a role in her making the smart move of avoiding a potentially risky investment.
