Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Canva is expanding, E. Jean Carroll and Mary Trump are working on a book together, and Coins2Day senior features editor Indrani Sen dives into Caroline Ellison’s real story at FTX. Happy Friday!
– Who is Caroline Ellison? In the flurry of press coverage following the spectacular collapse of FTX last fall, the cryptocurrency exchange’s cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried was clearly the main character, his sheepish grin and unruly mop of hair everywhere you looked. But in the cast of supporting characters (or as they became known, coconspirators) another face stood out: that of Caroline Ellison.
In December, the 28-year-old CEO of Alameda Research, FTX’s sister cryptocurrency firm, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. She was one of several FTX and Alameda employees to cut a deal, presumably cooperating with prosecutors building the case against Bankman-Fried. But as the CEO of Alameda, as Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, and as a woman in the bro-y world of crypto, Ellison garnered by far the most press coverage. Her face, peering out from large, tortoiseshell frames in a photo that had once been her employee profile headshot, was often shown side-by-side with Bankman-Fried’s.
Meanwhile, Ellison herself was nowhere to be seen. Unlike Bankman-Fried, she did not attend business media conferences, conduct video interviews, or text message reporters to tell her side of the story. Photographers who staked out her parents’ home in Newton, Mass., left without a fresher picture of her. She shut down her social media accounts or made them private, and disappeared almost entirely from the public eye.
In her absence, many stories were told about Ellison. As the writer Courtney Rubin recounts in a new Coins2Day feature, the former Alameda CEO became a kind of celebrity, “her actions, appearance, and online presence examined in breathless articles claiming the leaders of FTX and Alameda all ‘dated each other’ and lived in a polycule in the Bahamas. Gawker dismissed her as ‘a chipmunk-cheeked Harry Potter superfan.’”
Rubin’s deep dive into what’s knowable about Ellison is a fascinating read (that I was lucky enough to edit). After reaching out to more than 150 of Ellison’s friends, former teachers, classmates, and colleagues, Rubin found nine who were willing to talk about her. Their memories and impressions, combined with a trove of Ellison’s posts on a now-defunct Tumblr, paint a picture of an academically gifted, intellectually strident person who grappled with questions of what it is to be ethical and altruistic.
Of course, there was nothing ethical or altruistic about the scheme Ellison pleaded guilty to playing a key role in—one that left billions in customers’ money missing, that a U.S. Attorney called “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.” What led to these crimes, which Ellison admitted in court that she knew were wrong and illegal, remains in the realm of the unknowable to all but Ellison herself. But Rubin’s reporting does yield some tantalizing clues about her character: her faith in economic reasoning and embrace of a form of “effective altruism” that exalts financial success; her eagerness to prove herself a kind of heroic, questing figure; and her social anxiety and insecurity as the young, female boss of a mostly male team.
None of what Rubin dug up ends up being in any way exculpatory, as my colleague Jeff John Roberts, editor of Coins2Day Crypto, points out: “This is a young woman who may have been awkward, but who was born with every other advantage—wealth, status, education, and a brilliant mind. Yet she chose to offer the world nothing in return, instead exalting in her own intellect while helping Bankman-Fried carry out a massive fraud.”
Indrani Sen
[email protected]
The Broadsheet is Coins2Day’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s edition was curated by Kinsey Crowley. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- New territory. Australia-based graphic design startup Canva, cofounded by CEO Melanie Perkins is expanding into Europe. After acquiring a few small Europe-based startups, Canva is opening a campus in London as it seeks to grow its user base of 135 million. The Times
- Out at Twitter. Coins2Day's Kylie Robison reports that Ella Irwin, Twitter's head of trust and safety and a top lieutenant of owner Elon Musk, has resigned from the company, and her internal Slack account has been deactivated. It's unclear why she left, but sources at Twitter speculate that her exit may be related to Musk's criticism of recent content moderation decisions. Coins2Day
- Cloud nine. Argentine meteorologist Celeste Saulo has been elected as the first female head of the United Nations weather agency. In the role, Saulo will help coordinate international meteorological work, which has become increasingly important as climate change brings more bouts of extreme weather. Associated Press
- Pride Month backlash. Kohl's has joined Target, Bud Light, and The North Face in receiving widespread right-wing backlash for its Pride campaign. The LGBTQ community, which has an estimated $3.9 trillion in purchasing power, is scrutinizing corporate responses to the ongoing backlash. Bloomberg
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: SAP named Darcy MacClaren global chief revenue officer for digital supply chain.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- Teen spirit. The National Women’s Soccer League dropped its minimum age limit in January to give young athletes a chance to train full-time as soon as they’re ready. Teens who have made pro teams this year—including two 15-year-olds—are getting playing time and scoring goals. Still, some special rules exist for players under 18 to protect them from possible abuse and harassment. Wall Street Journal
- No Problemo. Aries streetwear has struck a chord with Gen Z. The half-Italian founder Sofia Prantera is one of the few established female designers in streetwear, and gained a following with genderless, ageless apparel. “For me, fashion was never about the boutique-type thing. It was always about the energy of subcultures,” she said. Financial Times
- Writers’ pivot. Two women known for holding former President Donald Trump accountable are writing a romance novel together. E. Jean Carroll and Mary Trump are collaborating with author Jennifer Taub to release a serialized book about an American expat finding love in Italy. The authors are still debating how spicy the book will be, but they've all agreed to steer clear of their political pasts. New York Times
ON MY RADAR
America’s richest self-made women 2023 Forbes
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Talk of racism proves thorny for GOP candidates of color New York Times
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PARTING WORDS
"Everybody is thinking so much about themselves that, generally, no one is as critical as you are of yourself. If you can, just stay in your own moment and focus on what's important to you and what you're trying to accomplish, instead of worrying about others."
—Actress Christina Ricci on cultivating confidence
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