Cryptocurrency flew high, but, like Icarus, came crashing down.
So it’s almost a perfect metaphor that former FTX executive Ryan Salame has put up his private Connecticut airport, Triumph Airfield, for sale for $2 million, the Hartford Business Journal reported.
The 68-acre property near the Massachusetts border in North Canaan includes a two-bedroom home, three hangars with 13 bays, a heated maintenance bay with an office and full bathroom.
Built in 1985, the airport boasts a 3,100-foot-long grass runway.
Lisa Bouchard Hoe from TKG Real Estate in Ghent, New York, is the listing agent.
Salame, born in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, acquired Triumph Airfield in 2021 for $1.2 million from North Canaan Aviation Realty LLC, according to town records.
The listing follows legal issues for Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX’s Bahamas subsidiary and founder of the American Dream Federal Action super PAC.
In September, Salame pleaded guilty to making unlawful campaign donations amounting to tens of millions of dollars, supporting causes endorsed by FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried, who was recently convicted on felony fraud charges, awaits sentencing, which could include decades in prison.
As part of his plea deal, Salame agreed to provide $5.6 million in restitution to FTX debtors and pay $6 million to the U.S. government. Additionally, he must forfeit any property linked to the offense. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 6.
Once a darling among investors and policy makers, FTX is now a four-letter word, and loads of real estate spending contributed to its souring.
Some $243 million of the $7.7 billion that FTX executives spent and is unaccounted for — which was at the heart of Bankman-Fried’s trial — went toward Bahamian real estate, the Wall Street Journal reported.
FTX famously moved its headquarters to the Bahamas from Hong Kong due to favorable crypto laws.
FTX’s most expensive acquisition was a $30 million penthouse in the Albany, a luxury resort community on the island of New Providence, according to previous reports. Records show Salame, who was the president of FTX Property, signed the deed in March, indicating it was a residence for “key personnel.”
A $39.5 million listing for a penthouse in the Albany, identified as the home of Bankman-Fried called “the Orchid,” turned out to be farce earlier this week. FTX Holdings paid almost $72 million for a total of seven units in The Albany, according to records.
Other luxury properties acquired by FTX — with the signatures of Bankman-Fried, former head of engineering Nishad Singh, and co-founder Gary Wang — were a trio of condos at One Cable Beach. The units ranged in price from $950,000 to $2 million, according to the outlet. Bankman-Fried’s parents were also the signatories for one home in the gated community Old Fort Bay.
— Ted Glanzer