As one of the most talked-about figures, Caroline Ellison has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.
What is Caroline Ellison's Net Worth?
Following her graduation from Stanford, Ellison worked for the global proprietary trading firm Jane Street, based in Berkeley, California. Serving as a junior trader there for about a year and a half, she met entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried.
Caroline Ellison testifying in Oct 2023 (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
In late 2022, Caroline was fired from her position after Alameda and over 100 other crypto-affiliated companies, including most notably Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on the back of a massive financial scandal. The scandal wiped FTX, which had at one point been valued at more than $30 billion, down to zero. It has been alleged that FTX transferred $10 billion worth of client money to Alameda to plug an enormous trading loss that the hedge fund reportedly incurred. In December 2022, she pleaded guilty to seven charges, including wire fraud and money laundering. In September 2024, Caroline was sentenced to two years in prison.
Caroline Ellison is a business executive who has a net worth of $5 million. Caroline Ellison earned her fortune and a level of infamy thanks to her former role as the CEO of the cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research. Alameda was co-founded by disgraced entrepreneurSam Bankman-Fried.
In late 2022, an anonymous source claimed that Alameda owed $10 billion to Bankman-Fried's FTX, which was alleged to have lent the firm money from its own customer funds. Ellison admitted to this activity, and said that she, Bankman-Fried, and FTX executives Gary Wang and Nishad Singh all knew that FTX had taken customer assets and concealed information about their misuse.
In the months leading up to the collapse of both Alameda and FTX, Caroline allegedly transferred $22.5 million from Alameda to a personal account. She labeled a single $10 million transfer as a "bonus." In addition to her professional involvement, Ellison is a noted polyamorist, and was reportedly romantically involved with Bankman-Fried.
Caroline Ellison was born in November of 1994 to Glenn and Sara, both economists working at MIT. She was raised in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. As a teenager, Ellison went to Newton North High School, where she represented the US in the 2011 International Linguistics Olympiad. She went on to attend Stanford University, graduating in 2016 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. While in college, Ellison competed in the annual Putnam Competition.
In March of 2018, Ellison joined the cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research, which had been co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Tara Mac Aulay the previous year. Ellison became co-CEO of the company alongside Sam Trabucco in October of 2021. After Trabucco stepped down in the summer of 2022, Ellison took over as the sole CEO of Alameda. She also played a critical role in helping Bankman-Fried build his cryptocurrency exchange and hedge fund FTX.
In summary, the total wealth of Caroline Ellison reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
