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Englishعربي
Three years after Cash App creator Bob Lee was stabbed to death on a San Francisco street, Bloomberg Technology's award-winning serialized podcast "Foundering" is examining what really happened in his killing—and why initial assumptions about the crime proved dramatically wrong.
Lee, a 43-year-old tech executive, was found stabbed in the chest and hip at 2:35 A.M. on a San Francisco street after he called 911 for help. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but one of the stab wounds had directly penetrated his heart, and doctors could not save him. The killing immediately sparked outrage about random violence plaguing the city and triggered widespread speculation about the circumstances of his death.
In the immediate aftermath, several prominent tech leaders offered their own theories about who was responsible. Venture capitalist David Sacks declared on a podcast that he would "bet dollars to dimes" that Lee was murdered by "a psychotic homeless person." Elon Musk used his social media platform X to proclaim that "violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately." Their comments fueled a wave of online fury and misinformation that quickly spread through tech circles, with rumors running rampant about the nature of the attack.
However, when authorities arrested Lee's killer, the reality of what had transpired proved entirely different from the initial speculation. According to Bloomberg's reporting, the truth could not have been further from the assumptions made by tech industry figures in the days following the murder. The podcast "Foundering," hosted by reporter Jamie Tarabay, investigates what actually happened by interviewing colleagues, acquaintances, investigators, and family members to separate fact from fiction.
Lee's work at Square, which was later rebranded as part of parent company Block in 2021, had established him as a talented technical problem-solver who could recruit top talent. He originally came to the attention of Square founder Jack Dorsey after building an app for finding friends on Twitter. By 2010, he had joined Dorsey's promising startup, where his ability to develop technical solutions and identify exceptional people became evident.
The podcast series examines how misinformation flourished in the absence of facts and highlights the dangers of public figures making unfounded claims about serious crimes. By presenting the actual evidence and investigating the real circumstances of Lee's death, "Foundering" attempts to demystify what happened and provide clarity where speculation and assumptions had previously dominated the conversation.