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Person

Ken Griffin

Born:

1968
Nationality:

American
Organization:

Citadel

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Ken Griffin is the billionaire founder of Citadel and a right-of-center political donor. In the 2022 election cycle, Griffin donated $60 million to political candidates and PACs, making him the third-largest overall donor behind Richard Uihlein and George Soros. 1

Griffin identifies as a “Reagan Republican” and has primarily supported Republican candidates and PACs. Though generally media-shy, Griffin has become more outspoken in his beliefs over the last decade and took high-profile donor roles in Illinois and Chicago politics. Griffin was a moderate supporter of President Donald Trump throughout his term but soured on the president over time. Since Trump lost reelection, Griffin has stated that he would not support President Trump in the 2024 election but would support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) if he decided to run for president.

As of December 2022, Griffin has a net worth of $29 billion. 2

Background

Ken Griffin was born in 1968 in Boca Raton, Florida. While attending Harvard University in the mid-1980s, Griffin began his investing career with between $100,000 and $265,000 in funds raised from family and friends. He convinced the Harvard administration to install a satellite dish on his dorm so he could receive stock quotes. Griffin reportedly made a fortune shorting the bond market during the 1987 market crash. In 1989, after graduating, Griffin began working at Glenwood Capital Investments where he ran a $1 million portion of the fund and earned a 70% return in his first year. 3 4

In 1990, Griffin founded Citadel with $4.6 million. In his first two years, he made returns of 43% and 40%. From its founding to 2001, Citadel suffered losses in only one year. 5 As of May 2022, Citadel’s fund is worth over $50 billion. 6

Political Views

Ken Griffin became more active in politics after the 2008 financial crisis. In an interview, he stated, “I spend way too much of my time thinking about politics these days because government is way too involved in financial markets these days” and identified himself as a “Reagan Republican.” 7

Griffin has expressed admiration for the political values of libertarian-conservative megadonors Charles and David Koch. “I share their fundamental belief that economic freedom is core to the ethos of our country. It’s the idea that any person can pursue their dreams, whether it’s starting a business or who they choose to work for. It’s made America America. Our founding fathers came to the country for freedom and the Kochs embrace this idea of economic freedom in a way I rarely see put forth today.” 8

Griffin opposes the expansion of casinos and gambling, particularly in major cities. 9

When asked, “Do you think the ultrawealthy have an inordinate or inappropriate amount of influence on the political process?” Griffin responded, “I think they actually have an insufficient influence” because not enough wealthy Americans support free-market policies. 10

Over the past few years, Griffin has become increasingly concerned with crime rates. In 2022, he moved from Chicago to Miami due to perceived lawlessness during the George Floyd riots. Griffin donated $36 million to the University of Chicago Crime Lab for criminal research. 11

Political Donations

Since 1999, Ken Griffin has given $163,832,944.70 to federal political candidates and PACs, not counting donations made through his two ex-wives. 12

Griffith’s largest federal recipients are political action committees associated with Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate and House: the Senate Leadership Fund, which has received $59.1 million since 2016, followed by the Congressional Leadership Fund, which received $40.5 million. Other major recipients include Honor Pennsylvania ($8.8 million), the National Victory Action Fund ($8 million), the Conservative Solutions PAC ($5.1 million), the Better Future MI Fund ($4 million), the Strong Leaders Fund ($3.5 million), the Protecting Americans Project Action Fund ($2.5 million), and the Freedom Partners Action Fund ($2 million). 13

The majority of Griffin’s donations have gone to Republicans, but he also occasionally donates to Democrats. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Griffin was one of the largest financial supporters of former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D-Chicago), with whom Griffin had a strong personal relationship. 14 15 16

Griffin has been a major donor in state and local elections, particularly in Illinois and Chicago. According to Jacobin, Griffin spent $179 million on Illinois races throughout the 2010s. In 2022, Grifin donated $55 million to the gubernatorial campaign of Richard Irvin (R-IL), a moderate candidate who was defeated by Trump-backed Darren Bailey (R-IL) in the Republican primaries. Griffin’s donations were the largest ever given by a single donor to a single candidate in American history, excluding contributions by a candidate to a candidate’s own campaign. 17

In 2020, Griffin spent $20 million to successfully fight a proposal to implement a graduated tax in Illinois, 18 which provoked protests at the Citadel headquarters by the SEIU Healthcare Illinois. 19 In 2018, Griffin spent $20 million on the unsuccessful reelection campaign of Governor Bruce Rauner (R-IL), after spending $13 million on his previous elections. Governor Rauner’s opponent, J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), was a billionaire heir to the Hyatt fortune, leading to the most expensive gubernatorial race in American history. 20 In 2016, Griffin spent $11.1 million on the Illinois state comptroller and General Assembly elections. 21

Presidential Elections

2008

In 2008, Ken Griffin donated $4,600 to the presidential campaign of Barack Obama (D-IL), 22 and also donated to the campaign of U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ). 23

2012

Griffin donated $1.55 million to a PAC supporting the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) presidential campaign in 2012. In 2011, Romney visited Citadel and gave a speech to its employees, dozens of whom would later donate to Romney’s campaign. 24

2016

During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Griffin was the 14th-biggest political donor and made donations to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL), and Governor Scott Walker (R-WI). Early in the primary, Griffin donated $250,000 to Future45, a PAC supporting Donald Trump (R). After the nomination of Trump, Griffin largely sat out the presidential election. 25 26 27

After President Trump won, Griffin donated $100,000 to Trump’s inauguration committee, 28 and spoke favorably of President Trump’s tax and healthcare policies. However, Griffin said he was “terrified” of President Trump’s immigration policies. 29

In June 2017, Griffin attended a meeting of Trump donors (including Doug DeVos, Tom Hicks Jr., Rebekah Mercer, Todd Ricketts, Tom Saunders, Paul Singer, and Dick Uihlein) at the White House for a briefing on the president’s agenda. 30

During the 2018 midterm elections, Griffin donated another $1 million to Future45. 31 32

2020

Relations between President Trump and Griffin soured during the run-up to the 2020 election and Griffin made no donations to Trump’s campaign. In 2018, Griffin called a Tweet made by President Trump about Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “completely inappropriate for the president of the United States.” In January 2020, President Trump invited Griffin to attend the signing of a major trade deal with China. When Griffin didn’t show up, President Trump publicly called out Griffin. 33

In March 2020, Griffin was on a call with President Trump and other major financiers to advise the president on how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. 34

After the election, Griffin donated $500,000 to the inaugural committee of President Joe Biden (D). 35

2024

In October 2021, Griffin announced that he would not financially support former President Trump if he ran for president in 2024. 36

In a November 2022 interview, Griffin said that he would support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) if he ran for president in 2024. Griffin had recently donated $5 million to Governor DeSantis’s reelection campaign. Of former President Trump, Griffin said, “He did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas… And for a litany of reasons, I think it’s time to move on to the next generation.” 37

Philanthropy

Ken Griffin has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to a wide range of philanthropic causes, including charter schools. Griffin gave $10 million to an experimental school in Chicago Heights and $2.25 million to Woodlawn Secondary School, a charter school run by the University of Chicago. 38

In 2017, Griffin donated $1 million to the Obama Foundation. 39

References

  1. Kapos, Shia. “GOP megadonor: I’m ready to back DeSantis for president in ’24.” Politico. November 6, 2022. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/06/gop-megadonor-desantis-24-ken-griffin-00065274.
  2. [1] “Ken Griffin.” Bloomberg. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/kenneth-c-griffin/?leadSource=uverify%20wall.
  3. Meyer, Graham. “The File on Citadel’s Ken Griffin.” Chicago. June 8, 2011. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2011/The-File-on-Citadels-Ken-Griffin/.
  4. Anderson, Jenny. “Will a Hedge Fund Become the Next Goldman Sachs?” The New York Times. April 4, 2007. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/business/04citadel.html.
  5. Lux, Hal. “Boy Wonder.” Institutional Investor. August 31, 2001. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b15134ls4fblx7/boy-wonder.
  6. Herbst-Bayliss, Svea. “Hedge fund Citadel posts gains in April as markets fell.” Reuters. May 2, 2022. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/hedge-fund-citadel-posts-gains-april-markets-fell-2022-05-02/.
  7. Harris, Melissa. “Ken Griffin interview: Billionaire talks politics and money.” Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2012. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2012-03-11-ct-biz-0311-confidential-griffin-web-version-20120311-story.html.
  8. Harris, Melissa. “Ken Griffin interview: Billionaire talks politics and money.” Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2012. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2012-03-11-ct-biz-0311-confidential-griffin-web-version-20120311-story.html
  9. Harris, Melissa. “Ken Griffin interview: Billionaire talks politics and money.” Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2012. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2012-03-11-ct-biz-0311-confidential-griffin-web-version-20120311-story.html.
  10. Harris, Melissa. “Ken Griffin interview: Billionaire talks politics and money.” Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2012. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2012-03-11-ct-biz-0311-confidential-griffin-web-version-20120311-story.html
  11. Kapos, Shia. “GOP megadonor: I’m ready to back DeSantis for president in ’24.” Politico. November 6, 2022. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/06/gop-megadonor-desantis-24-ken-griffin-00065274.
  12. “Individual Contributions Search: Kenneth Griffin.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=kenneth+griffin&contributor_employer=citadel
  13. “Individual Contributions Search: Kenneth Griffin.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=kenneth+griffin&contributor_employer=citadel
  14. “Individual Contributions Search: Kenneth Griffin.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=kenneth+griffin&contributor_employer=citadel.
  15. Harris, Melissa. “Ken Griffin interview: Billionaire talks politics and money.” Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2012. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-xpm-2012-03-11-ct-biz-0311-confidential-griffin-web-version-20120311-story.html.
  16. Norton, Ben. “Top 2 hedge fund managers bankroll Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emanuel, after making $1.7 billion each in 2015.” Salon. May 12, 2016. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.salon.com/2016/05/12/top_2_hedge_fund_managers_bankroll_hillary_clinton_and_rahm_emanuel_after_making_1_7_billion_each_in_2015/.
  17. [1] Zickgraf, Ryan. “Right-Wing Billionaire Ken Griffin Is Florida’s Problem Now.” Jacobin. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://jacobin.com/2022/07/right-wing-billionaire-ken-griffin-citadel-chicago-miami-florida.
  18. Blakley, Derrick. “Ken Griffin Rescues Graduated Tax Opponents… and GOP?” Center for Illinois Politics. September 20, 2020. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.centerforilpolitics.org/articles/ken-griffin-rescues-graduated-tax-opponents-and-gop.
  19. Waltmire, Neal. “Child Care Providers Protest Billionaire Ken Griffin’ Attempt to Block Child Care Funding.” SEIU HCII. September 29, 2020. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://seiuhcilin.org/2020/09/child-care-providers-protest-billionaire-ken-griffins-attempts-to-block-child-care-funding/.
  20. Zickgraf, Ryan. “Right-Wing Billionaire Ken Griffin Is Florida’s Problem Now.” Jacobin. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://jacobin.com/2022/07/right-wing-billionaire-ken-griffin-citadel-chicago-miami-florida.
  21. Pearson, Rick. “Ken Griffin gives Gov Rauner’s campaign $20 million.” Chicago Tribune. May 17, 2017. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-bruce-rauner-ken-griffin-20-million-met-20170517-story.html.
  22. “Individual Contributions Search: Kenneth Griffin.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=kenneth+griffin&contributor_employer=citadel.
  23. Kapos, Shia. “GOP megadonor: I’m ready to back DeSantis for president in ’24.” Politico. November 6, 2022. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/06/gop-megadonor-desantis-24-ken-griffin-00065274.
  24. Kelly, Kate. “Megadoners like Ken Griffin, Peter Thiel keep their wallets closed for Trump.” CNBC. September 23, 2016. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/megadonors-like-ken-griffin-peter-thiel-keep-their-wallets-closed-for-trump.html.
  25. Kelly, Kate. “Megadoners like Ken Griffin, Peter Thiel keep their wallets closed for Trump.” CNBC. September 23, 2016. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/megadonors-like-ken-griffin-peter-thiel-keep-their-wallets-closed-for-trump.html.
  26. “Individual Contributions Search: Kenneth Griffin.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=kenneth+griffin&contributor_employer=citadel.
  27. Norton, Ben. “Top 2 hedge fund managers bankroll Hillary Clinton and Rahm Emanuel, after making $1.7 billion each in 2015.” Salon. May 12, 2016. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.salon.com/2016/05/12/top_2_hedge_fund_managers_bankroll_hillary_clinton_and_rahm_emanuel_after_making_1_7_billion_each_in_2015/.
  28. Palmeri, Tara; Voegl, Kenneth P. “Trump huddled with donors on day of Comey testimony.” Politico. June 14, 2017. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/14/trump-donors-comey-testimony-239570.
  29. Rose-Smith, Imogen. “Trump’s First 100 Days Get a Warm Embrace from Ken Griffin.” Institutional Investor. May 1, 2017. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1505p7s9tgyns/trumps-first-100-days-get-a-warm-embrace-from-ken-griffin.
  30. Palmeri, Tara; Voegl, Kenneth P. “Trump huddled with donors on day of Comey testimony.” Politico. June 14, 2017. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/14/trump-donors-comey-testimony-239570.
  31. Kelly, Kate. “Megadoners like Ken Griffin, Peter Thiel keep their wallets closed for Trump.” CNBC. September 23, 2016. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/megadonors-like-ken-griffin-peter-thiel-keep-their-wallets-closed-for-trump.html.
  32. “Individual Contributions Search: Kenneth Griffin.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=kenneth+griffin&contributor_employer=citadel.
  33. McEnery, Thronton. “Trump asks absent hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin to stand at trade signing.” New York Post. January 16, 2020. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://nypost.com/2020/01/16/trump-asks-absent-hedge-fund-billionaire-ken-griffin-to-stand-at-trade-signing/.
  34. Vardi, Nathan. “Trump and Pence Held Call With Wall Street Titans.” Forbes. March 24, 2020. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2020/03/24/trump-and-pence-held-call-with-wall-street-titans/?sh=677e13c369a8.
  35. Kapos, Shia. “GOP megadonor: I’m ready to back DeSantis for president in ’24.” Politico. November 6, 2022. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/06/gop-megadonor-desantis-24-ken-griffin-00065274.
  36. Mirabella, Anna. “Ken Griffin, Top GOP Donor, Rules Out Backing Another Trump Campaign.” Bloomberg. October 4, 2021. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-04/ken-griffin-says-he-won-t-support-trump-for-president?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_content=business&leadSource=uverify%20wall.
  37. Kapos, Shia. “GOP megadonor: I’m ready to back DeSantis for president in ’24.” Politico. November 6, 2022. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/06/gop-megadonor-desantis-24-ken-griffin-00065274.
  38. Blakley, Derrick. “Ken Griffin Rescues Graduated Tax Opponents… and GOP?” Center for Illinois Politics. September 20, 2020. Accessed December 8, 2022. https://www.centerforilpolitics.org/articles/ken-griffin-rescues-graduated-tax-opponents-and-gop
  39. Kapos, Shia. “GOP megadonor: I’m ready to back DeSantis for president in ’24.” Politico. November 6, 2022. Accessed December 9, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/06/gop-megadonor-desantis-24-ken-griffin-00065274.
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