About Gary Gensler
Gary Gensler, former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has been active in media appearances discussing securities regulation, prediction markets, and artificial intelligence. Regarding the SpaceX IPO, Gensler said the offering represents a shift in corporate governance, noting that insiders will not have a traditional lock-up period and that shareholders cannot sue the company but must go to arbitration. He stated that these risks "have to be understood by shareholders." On the topic of quarterly earnings reports, Gensler opposed a proposal to move to semi-annual reporting, calling it "a solution in search of a problem" and arguing that transparency is important for capital markets.
Gensler has been a vocal critic of expanding the CFTC's authority over prediction markets and sports betting. He argued that Congress did not intend for the CFTC to become a national regulator of sports betting when it passed the Dodd-Frank Act, and said states should regulate such activities. He also warned about the risks of AI, stating that "we will have a financial stability event" if banks and trading shops rely on the same AI models, and that threat actors will use AI to probe for vulnerabilities. Regarding insider trading in prediction markets, Gensler said Congress should prohibit government officials and their families from trading on these platforms, calling it "too hard to police this and to enforce it rigorously."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Gary Gensler's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Reporter0:00
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Gensler, how much money has the SEC spent to analyze the impact of climate change on capital markets since you took over?
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Gary Gensler0:13
Sir, we have about a two-plus billion dollar budget, and part of that is our economics unit of about 160 people. But our remit is just about the disclosure regime. It's not—if I understand your question about climate risk, we're not a climate risk regulator. We're a disclosure regulator and a capital markets regulator.
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Reporter0:41
Okay, so how much money have you spent doing that function?
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Gary Gensler0:48
Our oversight of the capital markets: two-plus billion dollars a year.
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Reporter0:54
Okay. Is it your view that the SEC should be guiding companies and investors in the type of investments they are making?
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Gary Gensler1:01
As mandated by Congress, we're merit neutral. Investors get to decide which investments they take, but it's based on full, fair, truthful disclosure. So that's our remit.
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Reporter1:17
So investors get to decide, but you believe ESG should be a component of that decision-making process?
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Gary Gensler1:23
Well, what we know today is that many hundreds of companies are making disclosures with regard to climate risk, and investors across the spectrum, from small investors to large, are currently using those climate risk disclosures in their investment decisions.
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Reporter1:45
But do you believe that should be the kind of guiding principle of how people invest?
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Gary Gensler1:50
It's currently happening in the U.S. and around the globe, and so what we have a role to do is to help bring some consistency and comparability in disclosures that are already happening.
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Reporter2:06
Does the SEC deserve any culpability in the collapse of FTX?
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Gary Gensler2:11
A number of entities in the crypto field are non-compliant with U.S. law, as adopted by Congress over the years, and we're going to be a vigorous cop on the beat to help bring them into compliance.
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Reporter2:28
Respectfully, that's not what I asked. I said, does the SEC deserve any culpability for the collapse of FTX? Yes or no?
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Gary Gensler2:34
Look, I think that when people are defrauding the public, we go after them, and that's right.
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Reporter2:43
You're not answering my question. You're not answering my question. I'm asking you a very simple, straightforward one: does the SEC deserve any culpability at all?
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Gary Gensler2:52
I understand your question. I'm very proud of the SEC and its staff, and we will continue to pursue...
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Reporter2:58
So you don't believe the SEC deserves any culpability with respect to the collapse of FTX?
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Gary Gensler3:03
We have a whole field in crypto that understands the law, and if they are providing exchange services, broker-dealer services, clearing services of crypto security tokens, they should come into compliance.
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Reporter3:19
Reclaiming my time. Why didn't the SEC take action on FTX's alleged secret lending of at least $4 billion to Alameda Research?
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Gary Gensler3:28
Again, I'm not able to talk about specific companies or investigations, but I will say all of these companies should come into compliance with the law. Until they do, we will continue to pursue as a cop on the beat and investigate and follow the facts and law. But it takes time to build cases; it takes time to do them thoughtfully and carefully, as you'd want us to do.
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Reporter3:54
I would just like you to answer my question, but that's fine. As you've proceeded with such drastic rulemaking at a rapid pace, the SEC's Office of Inspector General raised significant concerns with your short comment periods, limiting the amount of feedback SEC staff receives. Why have you ignored the IG and pushed for shortened comment periods?
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Gary Gensler4:19
We actually benefit greatly from comment periods. On average, we have our rules outstanding for about 70 to 80 days from when we...
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Reporter4:33
I would just remind you, at a Bloomberg conference you said you don't trust industry participants to provide honest feedback. So do you actually benefit from comment periods or no?
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Gary Gensler4:42
Yes, we very much benefit.
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Reporter4:45
So you take back your comments where you said you don't trust their feedback?
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Gary Gensler4:49
The feedback that we get is helpful, and it's part of the robust input.
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Reporter4:55
So you do trust their feedback? Your quote was, you don't trust industry participants to provide honest feedback. Do you or don't you?
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Gary Gensler5:03
We rely on that feedback as part of our ongoing...
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Reporter5:09
The gentleman's time has expired. Your obfuscation is amazing. Congratulations.
