💰 Follow the Money
The SPAC machine: who profits, who pays.
💡 Did You Know?
SPAC sponsors invest as little as $25,000 for their founder shares. That same stake is worth $50-100 million at merger. That's a 200,000% return — even if the stock crashes 50% afterward.
Total Raised
$362.7B
Bank Fees
$8.0B
Retail Losses
$4.8B
Underwriting Fee
5.5%
The Money Flow
Retail Investors
$354.5B
Bought SPAC shares at $10
Trust Account
$354.5B
Held in trust until merger
Banks (5.5% fee)
$8B+
Win or lose, banks get paid
Sponsors (20% promote)
~$25K → Millions
Sponsors risk $25K, get 20% of equity
Actual Company
What's left
After fees, dilution, and redemptions
Retail Investors
$4.8B lost
Average return: -62%
🏦 Bank Leaderboard
Citigroup
78 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 5 went bankrupt
$1.8B
in fees
Goldman Sachs
50 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 4 went bankrupt
$1.5B
in fees
Credit Suisse
47 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 3 went bankrupt
$1.2B
in fees
Deutsche Bank
35 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 3 went bankrupt
$800.0M
in fees
Bank of America
18 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 2 went bankrupt
$600.0M
in fees
Cantor Fitzgerald
30 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 2 went bankrupt
$500.0M
in fees
Morgan Stanley
15 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 1 went bankrupt
$500.0M
in fees
Jefferies
20 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 2 went bankrupt
$400.0M
in fees
Barclays
12 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 1 went bankrupt
$350.0M
in fees
EarlyBirdCapital
25 SPAC IPOs in 2021 · 4 went bankrupt
$300.0M
in fees