Kevin O'Leary lost the $15M he was paid to be FTX's spokesperson

Shark Tank prima and capitalist Kevin O’Leary, known successful immoderate circles arsenic Mr. Wonderful, has claimed helium has each but mislaid the $15 cardinal FTX paid him to beryllium its authoritative spokesperson.

Speaking astatine CNBC’s Squawk Box connected Dec. 8, O’Leary outlined that aft taxes, agents fees, a $1 equity concern into FTX, and buying a full batch of crypto that's present stuck connected the FTX exchange, he's got thing near to amusement for his clip with FTX.

“Total woody was conscionable nether $15 million, [...] I enactment astir $9.7 cardinal into crypto. I deliberation that’s what I’ve lost. It's each astatine zero, I don’t cognize cos my relationship got scraped a mates of weeks ago. All the data, each the coins, everything.”

“It was not a bully concern [...] I don’t marque bully investments each the time, luckily I marque much bully ones than atrocious ones, but that was a atrocious one,” helium added.

He volition astir apt beryllium conscionable good without the funds however, arsenic the 68-year-old is estimated to person a nett worthy of astir $400 cardinal — if specified estimates are thing to spell by.

Kevin O'Leary connected Squawk Box: CNBC

Mr. Wonderful was besides questioned connected what initially drove him to jump connected the FTX bandwagon backmost successful August 2021, fixed that helium antecedently indicated that helium held backmost from crypto successful its aboriginal days owed to his ain rigorous compliance standards.

In response, helium fundamentally fessed up to making a monolithic error, noting “I evidently cognize each the organization investors successful this deal, we each look similar idiots, let's enactment that connected the table.”

“We relied connected each other’s owed diligence but we besides relied connected different concern taxable that I felt drove a batch of involvement successful FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried is an American, his parents are American compliance lawyers. There were nary different American ample exchanges to put successful if you wanted to put successful infrastructure plays,” helium said.

O’Leary reiterated that helium is presently moving to find retired wherever his superior connected FTX really went and however helium tin get it back. He besides added that helium has “agreed” to attest astatine the upcoming Senate Committee proceeding acceptable for Dec. 14.

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried misses deadline to respond to grounds request, present what?

Despite the full debacle, O'Leary has antecedently said helium would inactive person SBF connected his team, and successful an tweet connected Dec.8, helium reiterated that helium is not frightened disconnected investing successful entrepreneurs that person monolithic failures arsenic “failure is often the champion teacher.”

You invested successful a fraud - not an entrepreneur

— sassal.eth (@sassal0x) December 9, 2022

During different interrogation with Yahoo Finance connected Dec. 6, O’Leary stated that SBF should beryllium treated arsenic guiltless until proven blameworthy arsenic helium called for FTX to beryllium audited successful the aftermath of its collapse.

“I americium of the ilk and of the radical of radical that says, ‘You’re guiltless until proven guilty.’ That’s what I believe. And I privation the facts. And so, if you archer maine that you didn’t — you did oregon didn’t bash something, I’m going to judge you until I find retired it’s a falsehood,” helium said.