Ken Griffin, Miami’s New Power Broker
The billionaire announced in June that he was moving his headquarters from Chicago to Florida, making Citadel, with $60 billion under management, the largest hedge fund thus far to decamp to Wall Street South.
Photo illustration: 731; photo: Heidi Gutman/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBC Universal/Getty Images
Ken Griffin isn’t the first billionaire investor to head to the Sunshine State, but he’s the richest. And he may have the biggest role in fashioning Miami into a major financial hub, bringing hundreds of well-paid executives to the city and building a tower he estimates will cost $1 billion. Griffin, who had a multiyear feud with Illinois governor and fellow billionaire J.B. Pritzker over taxes and crime, is one of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s top donors. Florida has no state income tax and is generally friendlier to business owners.
Although the move to Miami attracted the headlines, Griffin’s hedge fund, Citadel, is also the top performer among rival firms, returning almost 32% through November thanks in part to bets on commodities. (It’s not clear which ones.) Citadel Securities, his electronic-trading business, got a $1.15 billion investment in January from Sequoia Capital and Paradigm Capital Management Inc., sparking speculation that the unit may eventually be put up for an IPO. —With Amanda L. Gordon