Gary Wang

Gary Wang is a notable cryptocurrency tech mogul and entrepreneur who is best known for his tight relationship with Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of both FTX and Alameda Research. Wang is regarded as a pivotal figure in the growth and fall of FTX, yet little is known about him, and he is frequently described as a shadowy figure.

Wang and Bankman-Fried met at a high school math camp and then became roommates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wang holds degrees in mathematics and computer science, whilst Bankman-Fried holds a bachelor's degree in physics. Prior to co-founding Alameda Research and FTX, Wang worked at Google, where he claims to have built a system to aggregate prices across public flight data.

In 2017, following Bankman-Fried's resignation from the Jane Street Hedge Fund to establish Alameda, Wang also departed Google to join him. With the demise of FTX and the subsequent theft of $400 million, suspicions arose about who may have abused client funds. According to The Block, Wang is a prominent suspect because of his "root access" to the code base of the exchange.

Wang also serves on the board of FTX Future Fund, a charity governed by the philosophy of "effective altruism" that seeks to utilize reason and evidence to achieve the best for the most people possible. Wang is apparently one of the four individuals named by Caroline Ellison who was aware of the decision to send client assets to Alameda, according to Wall Street Journal sources.

Despite the limited public information available about Wang, he remains a central figure in the world of cryptocurrency and is widely regarded as one of Bankman-Fried's closest associates. Wang was listed as one of Forbes' World's Billionaires in 2022, with an estimated net worth of nearly $6 billion.