In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) revealed that he is sharing a prison unit with rapper and music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. The unexpected pairing of two high-profile inmates has sparked curiosity about life inside their shared correctional facility.
During the interview, Carlson asked Bankman-Fried directly: “Are you hanging with Diddy? I think he’s in there with you.” To which SBF confirmed, “He is, he is. And, I don’t know, he’s been kind. I’ve made some friends. It’s a weird environment—you know, it’s sort of a combination of a few other high-profile cases and a lot of, you know, ex-gangsters or, sort of, you know, alleged ex-gangsters.”
The fallen crypto billionaire acknowledged that he has seen only one side of Diddy—the incarcerated version. Despite the difficult circumstances, SBF noted that the rapper has been kind to those around him. “It’s a position no one wants to be in. Obviously, he doesn’t, I don’t. As you said, it’s kind of a soul-crushing place for the world in general. And, you know, what we see are just the people that are around us on the inside rather than who we are on the outside.”
Carlson pointed out the irony of two of the world’s most famous prisoners being housed together and wondered how their fellow inmates, many of whom have been convicted of violent crimes, perceive them. “Well, it’s a really interesting question,” SBF responded. “And of course, some of them, I think, are thinking like, ‘Wow, this is sort of a big opportunity,’ like, you know, to meet people they wouldn’t otherwise get to meet, which— it shocked me the first time I heard that! Right? It makes sense from their perspective, but like, that’s not how I think about prison.”
The conversation took an amusing turn when SBF revealed an unexpected aspect of prison life: the surprising number of skilled chess players among his fellow inmates. “They’re good at chess—that’s one thing I learned! Like, you know, former armed robbers who don’t speak English and, you know, probably didn’t graduate middle school are— a surprising number of them are fairly good at chess. Like, you know, not saying they’re grandmasters, but like, you know, I lose games to them all the time. I was not expecting that.”
Carlson laughed at the observation, acknowledging the stark contrast between Bankman-Fried’s previous life as a billionaire tech entrepreneur and his current reality. The interview highlighted the unusual dynamics of prison life, where financial criminals, music icons, and former gang members coexist in an environment far removed from their past glories.
The downfall of both men—SBF from his crypto empire and Diddy from his music and business ventures—has placed them in a shared reality that neither could have predicted. While they may have once been at the top of their respective industries, they now find themselves navigating a world where reputation and power mean little, and where even the most unlikely of friendships can emerge behind bars.
