Michael Kives (born February 1st, 1981) is a Canadian investor and former talent agent; he is known for his extensive network and influential connections.

Early life and education

Kives grew up in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. He went to

St. John's-Ravenscourt School St. John's-Ravenscourt School (commonly referred to as SJR) is an independent, co-educational, university-preparatory school founded in 1820. Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the school delivers an enriched curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade ...

in Winnipeg. He was active on the debating team, and won the

World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships The World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships (WIDPSC) is an annual English language debating and public speaking tournament for individual high school-level students representing different countries. It is the public speaking e ...

in 1998 and 1999. After reading books about entertainment players

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...

Michael Ovitz Michael Steven Ovitz (born December 14, 1946) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was a talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as preside ...

and Barry Diller, he decided from an early age he wanted to be a talent agent. He went to

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, where he met the Clintons. President Bill and Hillary Clinton came in for daughter Chelsea's 2001 graduation. He found a way to cover the story for the college newspaper, and this led to a longstanding relationship with the Clintons.

Career

After graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from Stanford, his first job was as an interim spokesperson for former President Clinton at his

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

office. This was followed by working as an aide for

Senator Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

at her D.C. office. His first media break was getting a job in the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) mailroom. Being Canadian he needed a work visa, and CAA made an exception to their standard practice to sponsor him for one. He spent 15 years there, working his way up to agent, representing

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

, Jesse Eisenberg and Bruce Willis, among others. He left in 2018 to co-found a media and financial investment-advisory firm, K5 Global. In June, 2023, K5 reported over $1 billion in managed assets and investments in 148 companies apart from funds linked to

FTX FTX Trading Ltd., commonly known as FTX (short for "Futures Exchange") is a bankrupt company that formerly operated a cryptocurrency exchange and crypto hedge fund. The exchange was founded in 2019 and, at its peak in July 2021, had over one mi ...

. He has been described as a super

connector Connector may refer to: Hardware *Plumbing * Electrical connector, a device for joining electrical circuits together (sometimes known as ports, plugs, or interfaces) ** Gender of connectors and fasteners ** AC power plugs and sockets, devices tha ...

. He introduces clients to "a who's who of business and social leaders, from Leonardo DiCaprio to the governor of the

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Public Investment Fund." A beneficiary of Kives' network was

Sam Bankman-Fried Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried (born March 6, 1992), also known by the initialism SBF, is an American suspected fraudster, entrepreneur, investor, and former billionaire. Bankman-Fried was the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX ...

, the former FTX

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. Bankman-Fried was connected to MasterClass, President Clinton,

Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' (2001), ''The Two Towers'' (2002), a ...

Nelson Peltz Nelson Peltz (born June 24, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman and investor. He is a founding partner, together with Peter W. May and Edward P. Garden, of Trian Fund Management, an alternative investment management fund based in New Yo ...

, Bobby Kotick,

Larry Fink Laurence Douglas Fink (born November 2, 1952) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of BlackRock, an American multinational investment management corporation. BlackRock is the largest money-management firm in the wor ...

, and Katy Perry, among others. The relationship between Kives and Bankman-Fried has been noted to be mutually beneficial. Bankman-Fried invested $700 million in K5 Global, with Kives receiving $125 million as part of the deal. Bankman-Fried was alleged to have said Kives was “something of a one-stop shop for relationships that we should utilize.” On June 22, 2023, FTX bankruptcy lawyers sued to

claw back The term clawback or claw back refers to any money or benefits that have been given out, but are required to be returned (clawed back) due to special circumstances or events, such as the monies having been received as the result of a financial crim ...

the $700 million, claiming that the investment was made to burnish his own political and social influence.

Personal

Kives married Lydia Gray in 2018. Gray is a civil rights lawyer with a focus on criminal justice and First Amendment issues, and a graduate of Stanford Law. Guests at the wedding included the Clintons, who gave a speech together. Kives was a major fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign, bundling more than $5 million. Kives has two homes in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

; a $12.7 million house in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

and a $9.1 million historic

Tudor-style Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

home in Montecito, known as the Porter House. He is the nephew of the founder of K-Tel Records, Philip Kives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kives, Michael 1981 births Living people Canadian investors Stanford University alumni Canadian talent agents People from Beverly Hills, California People from Winnipeg Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign Financial advisors St. John's-Ravenscourt School alumni