{{Short description|Canadian investor and facilitator (born 1981)}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Kives | birth_date = February 1, 1981 | alma_mater = Stanford University | occupation = Investor, talent agent | employer = K5 Global | spouse = Lydia Gray (m. 2018) | relatives = Philip Kives (uncle) }} '''Michael Kives''' (born February 1, 1981) is a Canadian investor and former talent agent; he is known for his extensive network and influential connections.<ref name = :"nyt"/>
==Early life and education== Kives grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba.<ref name = :"supernet">{{Cite news |last=Savodnik |first=Peter |date=2020-03-03 |title=Meet the Hollywood super-networkers working to beat Trump at any price |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/03/meet-the-hollywood-super-networkers-working-to-beat-trump-at-any-price |access-date=2023-06-23 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He went to St. John's-Ravenscourt School in Winnipeg. He was active on the debating team, and won the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in 1998 and 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Posted |first=Alexandra Paul |date=2011-02-07 |title=Feb 2011: A contest for those with gift of gab |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2011/02/07/a-contest-for-those-with-gift-of-gab |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Winnipeg Free Press |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hosts/ World Champions |url=https://widpsc.org/hosts-world-champions |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=Home |language=en-US}}</ref> After reading books about entertainment players David Geffen, Michael Ovitz and Barry Diller, he decided from an early age he wanted to be a talent agent.<ref name = :"age">{{Cite web |author=T. H. R. Staff |date=2012-11-07 |title=Next Gen 2012: Hollywood's Fastest-Rising Stars |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/next-gen-2012-hollywoods-fastest-387005/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> He went to Stanford, 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.<ref name = :"supernet"/>
==Career==
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford, his first job was as an interim spokesperson for former President Clinton at his Harlem, New York office. This was followed by working as an aide for Senator Hillary Clinton 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.<ref name = :"age"/> He spent 15 years there,<ref name = "org">{{Cite web |title=Michael Kives - Co-Founder at K5 Global |url=https://theorg.com/org/k5-global/org-chart/michael-kives |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=THE ORG |language=en}}</ref> working his way up to agent, representing Katy Perry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Eisenberg and Bruce Willis, among others. He left in 2018 to co-found a media and financial investment-advisory firm, K5 Global.<ref name = : "var">{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Brent |date=2018-02-26 |title=CAA's Michael Kives Exits to Launch Advisory Firm K5 Global |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/caa-michael-kives-k5-global-1202710338/ |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> In June, 2023, K5 reported over $1 billion in managed assets and investments in 148 companies apart from funds linked to FTX.<ref name = :"wrap"/>
He has been described as a super connector.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leaver |first=Joel |date=2023-11-08 |title=Harry and Meghan spotted with Hollywood 'super-networker' Michael Kives |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/us-celebrity-news/prince-harry-meghan-markle-spotted-31387027 |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}</ref> He introduces clients to "a who's who of business and social leaders, from Leonardo DiCaprio to the governor of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund."<ref name = :"nyt">{{Cite news |last1=Yaffe-Bellany |first1=David |last2=Griffith |first2=Erin |date=2023-06-23 |title=The Super Connector Who Built Sam Bankman-Fried's Celebrity World |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/23/technology/sam-bankman-fried-celebrity-friends.html |access-date=2023-06-24 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
A beneficiary of Kives' network was Sam Bankman-Fried,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sancton |first=Julian |date=2023-10-03 |title=SBF Ties to Hollywood Super-Connector and Taylor Swift's Openness to FTX Money Revealed in New Book |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/michael-lewis-going-infinite-celebrities-taylor-swift-1235607738/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> the former FTX CEO. Bankman-Fried was connected to MasterClass,<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDade |first=Aaron |title=Sam Bankman-Fried shot a MasterClass video about crypto trading months before FTX collapsed, report says |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sbf-filmed-masterclass-video-crypto-months-before-ftx-collapse-report-2023-6 |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> President Clinton, Orlando Bloom, Nelson Peltz, Bobby Kotick, Larry Fink, 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.<ref name = :"wrap">{{Cite web |last=Carnevale |first=Robert |date=2023-06-23 |title=Former Hollywood Agent Michael Kives Took $700 Million From Sam Bankman-Fried for Investment Firm, Lawsuit Says |url=https://www.thewrap.com/michael-kives-700-million-from-sam-bankman-fried/ |publisher=TheWrap |access-date=2023-06-26 |language=en-US}}</ref> Bankman-Fried was alleged to have said Kives was “something of a one-stop shop for relationships that we should utilize.”<ref name = :"nyt"/> On June 22, 2023, FTX bankruptcy lawyers sued to claw back<ref name = :"c">{{Cite news |date=2023-06-23 |title=FTX sues ex-Clinton aide's investment firm K5 Global for $700 million |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/ftx-sues-ex-clinton-aides-investment-firm-k5-global-for-700-million/articleshow/101217496.cms |access-date=2023-06-24 |issn=0013-0389}}</ref> the $700 million, claiming that the investment was made to burnish his own political and social influence.<ref name = :"nyt"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Bankman-Fried directed political donations despite $13 billion 'hole', ex-colleague testified |url=https://www.streetinsider.com/Reuters/Sam+Bankman-Fried+directed+political+donations+despite+%2413+billion+hole%2C+ex-colleague+testified/22275297.html |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=StreetInsider.com |language=en}}</ref> In January 2025 FTX reached a settlement with K5 resolving the lawsuit. FTX CEO John Ray called K5 a bright spot in the FTX portfolio<ref>{{Cite web |last=FTX |title=FTX Reaches Settlement with K5 Global |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ftx-reaches-settlement-with-k5-global-302365382.html?form=MG0AV3 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}}</ref> and stated that the investment in K5 will play a large role in the recovery of FTX.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 31, 2025 |title=FTX reaches settlement with ex-Clinton aide |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/ftx-reaches-settlement-with-ex-clinton-aides-investment-firm-2025-01-31/ |access-date=February 5, 2025 |work=Reuters}}</ref>
==Personal life== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Chris |date=2018-11-28 |title=Wedding or Power Summit? Inside the Hollywood Nuptials That Lured the Clintons and Sheryl Sandberg |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/hollywood-nuptials-lured-clintons-sheryl-sandberg-1164084/ |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name = :"v>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-26 |title=Inside Lydia and Michael Kives's California Cool Wedding at the Parker in Palm Springs |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/michael-kives-lydia-gray-wedding-palm-springs |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}}</ref>
Kives was a major fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 campaign, bundling more than $5 million.<ref name = :"supernet"/>
Kives has two homes in Southern California; a $12.7 million house in Beverly Hills and a $9.1 million historic Tudor-style home in Montecito, known as the Porter House.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-29 |title=Ariana Grande Sells Historic Tudor-Style Montecito Home for $9.1 Million |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/ariana-grande-sells-historic-tudor-style-montecito-home |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=Architectural Digest |language=en-US}}</ref>
He is the nephew of the founder of K-Tel Records, Philip Kives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=showbiz411 |date=2023-06-26 |title=FTX Sues Hollywood "Connector" Michael Kives for $700 Mil, Hangs with Geffen and Diller, Comes from K-Tel Records Family in Canada |url=https://www.showbiz411.com/2023/06/26/ftx-sues-hollywood-connector-michael-kives-for-700-mil-hangs-with-geffen-and-diller-comes-from-k-tel-records-family-in-canada |access-date=2023-12-28 |website=Showbiz411 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kives, Michael}} Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian investors Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Canadian talent agents Category:Businesspeople from Beverly Hills, California Category:Businesspeople from Winnipeg Category:Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign Category:Financial advisors Category:St. John's-Ravenscourt School alumni