“‘In our discovery, Taylor Swift actually asked [FTX], “Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?” ’”
You can check any preconceived notions that millennials lack financial acumen at the door. Pop superstar Taylor Swift apparently dodged a costly bullet regarding failed crypto exchange FTX by asking a simple question.
That can be gleaned from a comment by Adam Moskowitz, managing partner at the Moskowitz Law Firm and one of the attorneys leading a class-action lawsuit against 16 celebrity FTX ambassadors. Those include former NFL player Tom Brady, NBA star Steph Curry and basketball hall-of-famer Shaquille O’Neal, each accused of promoting the sale of unregistered securities.
The law firm has said that damages could amount to more than $5 billion.
Read: Shaq has finally been served in FTX shareholders’ lawsuit
Discussing the case on the Scoop podcast, which aired Wednesday, Moskowitz was asked why many celebrities did not complete due diligence before promoting FTX.
“You know, the one person I found that did that was Taylor Swift,” he said, referring to what he learned gathering evidence for the case — that Swift asked whether she would be getting involved with unregistered securities. Under state securities laws, he said, “if you promote an unregistered security for financial benefit, you are liable.”
Swift was reportedly approached by Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX about a $100 million sponsorship deal, but negotiations fell apart last spring. The exchange collapsed in November.
“Every one of the FTX members was a part of the interest account, so you get money each month based upon loaning out your tokens and your money. The SEC has already ruled that these types of interest accounts are securities, because it’s money you’re lending them, and you’re going to get a return based on the actions of others,” said Moskowitz.
A tweet referring to the podcast got the attention of Elon Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion last year and also heads up Tesla and SpaceX. He praised Swift as “smart,” noting that she’s the offspring of an investment banker.
Swift’s father is Scott Kingsley Swift, managing director at the Swift Group, a wealth manager that’s part of Bank of America BAC, -1.59% unit Merrill Lynch. The elder Swift got hooked on financial markets as a Merrill client in 1966, purchasing his first stock with money he earned through a lawn-mowing business, according to the company’s website. He joined Merrill Lynch Wealth Management as a financial adviser in 1980.
The pop star’s mother, Andrea, has been described as a former marketing manager.
Taylor Swift owns a real-estate empire worth more than $150 million. The 33-year-old 12-time Grammy winner owns homes in places including Nashville, Tenn., and Rhode Island. After failing to get the rights to her early albums, she made the shrewd decision in 2021 to re-record her 2008 album, “Fearless,” to ensure that she controlled more of the revenue.
Forbes put Swift’s net worth in 2022 at $570 million.
In an interview with the U.K.’s Telegraph in 2015, the singer and songwriter said: “I want to make the most of this cultural relevance or success or whatever you want to call it, because it’s not going to last.”
A representative for Swift didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Marketwatch.
This article was originally published by Marketwatch.com. Read the original article here.
