Former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner reportedly skipped his honeymoon with his wife, Avital Balwit, after his AI-focused hedge fund suffered losses of about $30 billion just days before their wedding.
Instead of taking time off after the ceremony, the 24-year-old investor has been speaking with investors and working to stabilise his hedge fund, Situational Awareness LP, after it was hit by sharp losses in AI infrastructure stocks.
Aschenbrenner, whose personal net worth has been estimated at around $5 billion by Celebrity Net Worth, has not publicly confirmed that figure.
(Also read: Who is Leopold Aschenbrenner? Net worth, family in focus as AI hedge fund, Situational Awareness, faces setback)
Wedding went ahead despite fund's losses
According to a CNBC report, Situational Awareness' assets fell from about $45 billion at the beginning of July to roughly $10 billion after several of its public technology investments lost value. The decline triggered margin calls from lenders, forcing the fund to raise cash quickly.
Despite the financial turmoil, Aschenbrenner's wedding went ahead at a private Tuscan-style estate in California's Carmel Valley.
{{/usCountry}}Despite the financial turmoil, Aschenbrenner's wedding went ahead at a private Tuscan-style estate in California's Carmel Valley.
{{/usCountry}}Guests had originally been invited to attend a pre-wedding discussion focused on investing ideas and financial markets. However, after the fund's losses, the organisers reportedly replaced it with discussions on life and philosophy.
One guest told Vanity Fair that the fund's losses were “a bit of an elephant in the room,” but added, “it wasn’t like Aschenbrenner went broke and couldn’t pay for the venue or the caterer.”
Honeymoon put on hold
Rather than leaving for a honeymoon, Aschenbrenner has reportedly agreed to hold one-on-one calls with investors who want to discuss the events of the past week and address concerns about the fund, the New York Post reported.
His wife, Avital Balwit, is the chief of staff to Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic.
As the losses mounted, Aschenbrenner considered selling stakes in private AI companies including Anthropic, Fluidstack and MatX. Instead, he reached a deal to sell most of Situational Awareness' public stock portfolio to Ken Griffin's Citadel, allowing the fund to repay lenders while keeping its private investments.
Aschenbrenner has also invested another $400 million in one of the hedge fund's privately held portfolio companies. The investment follows a separate $100 million funding round in the same company last month, although its identity has not been disclosed.
The latest investment is seen as one of the first major steps by Aschenbrenner to rebuild the fund after its recent losses.