Leopold Aschenbrenner $35 billion collapse

por Katrina Karan: Leopold Aschenbrenner

Leopold Aschenbrenner went from OpenAI researcher to running an AI fund that hit $45 billion, up over 1000% since 2024. Then this summer it all fell apart. He was running up to 400% margin on stocks like SK Hynix and Coreweave, and when AI stocks dipped, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan sent margin calls that forced him to liquidate his entire public portfolio. Ken Griffin's Citadel swooped in and bought most of the stock book below market value. Situational Awareness collapsed from $45 billion to about $10 billion, wiping out $35 billion. His private holdings, including a multi-billion dollar stake in Anthropic, were untouched. Some call it 'intelligence vs. wisdom,' others say Griffin pulled off a masterclass in buying forced liquidations. The kicker: his former top picks rebounded right after he was forced out