Sam Bankman-Fried came out of nowhere and quickly became one of the world’s richest people, mostly by founding the Crypto Currency Exchange FTX. A self-styled Effective Altruist, Sam’s stated purpose is to become as rich as possible so he can help as many people as possible. He’s an eccentric and visionary with ambitions of tackling problems like global pandemics. But is he for real or full of shit? Lewis shows up just as SBF’s world begins falling apart (of course he does). What was originally a profile piece and look into the world of effective altruism becomes the chronicling of the rapid rise and fall of a Crypto billionaire. GI will probably leave you with more questions than answers; not about the viability of crypto, but about the motives of Sam, the people he worked with, and the effective altruists in general. GI doesn’t have the Wow! factor of Moneyball or The Big Short, but the story is told just as well if not with a little more heart than normal for Lewis. For those interested because of the connection to crypto, it is mostly its history and place in the markets which Lewis elucidates, so don’t expect trading advice or predictions of its future. It’s most interesting juxtaposition is between the philosophy of effective altruism and the lifestyles these people are living, particularly the way they make their millions and billions, which may or may not have ever even existed… I mean, it’s Crypto.