New CEO of Bankrupt FTX Being Paid $1,300 an Hour, Court Filings Show

A detailed view of the FTX sign prior to a game between the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat at FTX Arena in Miami, Fla., on Nov. 14, 2022. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

John Ray, who has been hired as the new CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, is being paid a hefty sum of money for his services, according to legal documents filed by the company.

Ray, who once led the infamous energy firm Enron through its bankruptcy proceedings, replaced FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Ray is being paid $1,300 an hour, according to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, as reported by CoinDesk. Chief Administrative Officer Kathryn Schultea, Chief Information Officer Raj Perubhatla, and Chief Financial Officer Mary Cilia are being paid $975 per hour.

Non-employee directors who have been hired by the firm to ensure proper governance during the bankruptcy period are being paid $50,000 per month, along with expenses. The payment of salaries is “necessary for the preservation of the resources and value” of FTX’s estate, Edgar Mosley, managing director at restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal, said in the filing.

“Without it, I believe that even more employees may seek alternative employment opportunities … likely diminishing stakeholder confidence in the debtors’ ability to successfully reorganize,” he stated.

Mosley also suggested the continued payment to critical contractors to the tune of $17.5 million. He warned that company assets could be stolen or hacked without these contractors, which would mean that the bankruptcy court will never have access to them.

In a bankruptcy filing on Nov. 17, Ray blasted the FTX administration for its poor management. “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here,” he said.

Debt, Biased Investigation

FTX has admitted that over a million creditors might be affected by the firm’s bankruptcy. The company recently revealed that it owes $3.1 billion to its top 50 creditors, including one creditor who is owed more than $226 million. The top three creditors are owed more than $500 million.

At least 101 companies are part of the bankruptcy proceedings. The company’s first-day motions hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning before a bankruptcy judge. Senate and House panels are also reportedly planning to hold hearings in December about the FTX collapse.

Meanwhile, concerns of bias have arisen regarding the House committee meeting scheduled next month. Bankman-Fried and his FTX co-founders have contributed more than $300,000 to nine members of the House Financial Services Committee, according to a report by The Washington Free Beacon, citing Federal Election Commission records.

Out of the nine committee members, only one individual, Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), has said he will return the $2,900 contribution from Bankman-Fried. Over 95 percent of the former FTX CEO’s contributions have gone to Democrats or Democrat committees.