We found Gary Wang. Here’s what we know.
Asher Boiskin ('24) and Euronews
Wang’s senior student portrait from the 2011 yearbook (left) and a more recent photo of Wang, courtesy of Euronews (right).
Gary Wang, formally known as Zixiao Wang, has recently faced widespread scrutiny for his involvement in Bankman Fried’s multi-billion dollar scandal with the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. After combing through dozens of documents, three Eastside editors built a detailed report of Wang’s high school years — something that no major media source has yet been able to do.
Wang graduated in 2011 from Cherry Hill High School East, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he participated in several extracurricular activities. As student yearbooks from his time at East reveal, Wang was a member of East’s Math Club, Chess Team, Chemistry Club, Science Olympiad and Science Team and opted to go by “Gary Wang” rather than “Zixiao Wang”. A 2010 music program kept on record from the time also reveals that Wang played in the second violin section of East’s Symphony Orchestra. Only Wang’s participation in East’s Math Club, Chess Team, Chemistry Club, and Science Olympiad, however, is confirmed to have spanned multiple years.
Despite his extensive engagement in school extracurriculars, few of the teachers Eastside interviewed remembered many details about Wang.
“He doesn’t stand out to me…[and I can’t quite remember him],” one teacher anonymously said.
“He… flew under the radar,” another teacher anonymously told Eastside editors on the topic of Wang’s time at East.
Yearbooks from 2008 and 2010 do not include Wang’s student portrait.
Eastside is currently investigating Gary Wang and plans to publish additional articles on the subject as more information is found.
Asher Boiskin is a senior and one of Eastside’s Online Editors-in-Chief. He loves participating in Model United Nations conferences, reading nonfiction,...
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Brielle Lampf is one of Eastside’s Editor-In-Chiefs for the 2022-2023 school year and she is currently a senior! You can always catch Brielle at an Interact...