kenneth c. griffin yacht

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

• What Is Cinema?

Mega-Billionaire Ken Griffin Has Moved His Masterpieces to the Beach

In 2015, the hedge fund titan  Kenneth C. Griffin  became the first person to spend half a billion dollars on art in a single transaction.  David Geffen made a deal with Griffin to sell him Willem de Kooning’s boldly colored abstract masterpiece  Interchange for $300 million, and Jackson Pollock’s  Number 17A —the splatter painting  Life magazine  plastered in its pages in 1949 , minting Jack the Dripper an American celebrity—for $200 million. 

Griffin could have scurried away with the masterpieces to one of his homes: a $238 million apartment at 220 Central Park West and a $120 million London mansion near Buckingham Palace, the most expensive apartment in Chicago history, getaways in Aspen and Hawaii, a large chunk of Miami’s Star Island. Instead he let them go on view at the Art Institute of Chicago, placing 20th-century masterworks next to the museum’s iconic impressionist and postimpressionist holdings.

“My art collection is almost all at the Art Institute of Chicago, it’s been there for years,” Griffin said to David Rubenstein in March 2019, while appearing on his show  Peer-to-Peer Conversations. “For me, the fact that 700,000 or a million people a year will have a chance to see some of the greatest works of art of our culture, that I’m fortunate enough to own? I have great satisfaction in that.”

But at some point over the last few years, those two works, the Pollock and the de Kooning traded in the biggest art sale ever, were quietly taken down from the museum. Their whereabouts were unknown. 

The Saturday after Art Basel, I took a Brightline train from Miami to Palm Beach to attend openings and cocktails parties that make up the New Wave Art Weekend. At one point I swung by the Norton, the West Palm Beach museum that houses the collection of Ralph Hubbard Norton, a 20th-century steel magnate from Chicago who summered in Florida. I had seen the permanent collection twice in the past two years and thought I knew it pretty well, but after walking out from a gallery of top-notch work by Georgia O’Keeffe, Stuart Davis, and Edward Hopper, I saw a work made the year Norton died, something I had presumed would have been well out of the museum’s acquisitions budget: Mark Rothko’s No. 2 (Blue, Red and Green) (Yellow, Red, Blue on Blue) (1953), which exploded the artist’s market when it sold at Sotheby’s in 2000 for $11 million, or about $30 million accounting for inflation. 

As the wall text explained, it was at the Norton on loan from a private collection, after having been shown at the Art Institute of Chicago from October 2020 to June 2022. Also new was a peak Roy Lichtenstein masterwork,  Ohhh…Alright…  (1964), which set an artist record when it sold for $42.6 million at Christie’s, consigned by  Steve Wynn,  who bought it from  Steve Martin. It too was shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, and belongs, the wall text said, to a private collection. And across the hall, an untitled Robert Ryman that was on the walls of the great Chicago museum as recently as 2017 was hanging at the Norton, thanks to a private collection. 

Sources confirmed that all three came from Griffin. 

And then, around a corner and installed with little to no ceremony, were two works very much in a private collection, but a collection that everyone knows:  Interchange and  Number 17A, owned by Griffin. 

Without fanfare, at least a billion dollars of Griffin’s art departed the second-biggest encyclopedic institution in the country and ended up in Palm Beach. The Norton declined to comment when asked about the new works in its collection, as did the Art Institute, but Griffin provided a statement to True Colors on Thursday. 

“The Norton is one of our country’s most significant and beautiful museums,” Griffin said. “I hope South Florida families, students and visitors will enjoy and be inspired by these pieces and the thousands of works of art from all over the world displayed at the museum.”

Griffin was very public about moving Citadel, his hedge fund with over $50 billion in assets, to Miami  earlier this year . The prodigal son of the sunshine state—Griffin’s a Boca Raton native and a graduate of Boca Raton Community High School—returned in after decades of support for Chicago, the city he lived in since graduating from Harvard in 1989 and immediately crushed it with his own fund. 

In departing the Windy City, Griffin left behind the Illinois governor (and fellow billionaire) with whom he publicly feuded over raising taxes on the wealthy and what he claimed was a rising crime rate ( JB Pritzker ); and a gubernatorial candidate that Griffin bankrolled to the tune of $50 million only to see steamrolled in a Republican primary by a Trump-backed candidate ( Richard Irvin ). (On the other hand: Anne Dias-Griffin , his ex-wife and fellow hedgie who claimed in a yearlong divorce battle that she was forced to sign a prenup that only gave her a $1 million a year, also recently moved to Miami.) 

At the outset of the pandemic, Griffin rented out the entire Four Seasons in Palm Beach, parked off-duty cops outside, and restricted entry to anyone but his employees. He made Citadel’s move official in June,  taking space in a building owned by fellow art-collecting billionaire  Vlad Doronin, until a new HQ can be built. He’s spent weekends on Palm Beach, where he’s bought up sizable contiguous chunks of the south part of the island. 

Griffin has also gone all in on  Ron DeSantis , the Florida governor who, in his successful reelection campaign in November, became the first Republican in decades to carry the once-hard-blue Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Griffin told Politico  in a rare interview that his deep pockets would back the heir to MAGA-dom if he ran for president in 2024. Griffin’s already started to flex his political sway, in Florida and elsewhere. He donated more than $100 million to Republican candidates in 2022, and is very much over his next-door neighbor at Mar-a-Lago.

“[Trump] did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas,” Griffin told Politico. “And for a litany of reasons, I think it’s time to move on to the next generation.”

Ken Griffin got into art collecting by accident. In 1999, while on a work trip to New York, he stumbled into Sotheby’s and was taken by one of Degas’s sculptures of little ballet dancer girls. (Degas was so protective of the works he rarely showed them outside his studio.) Griffin had come in cold but after a 40-minute-long chat with Sotheby’s CEO  Dede Brooks  (who would be convicted in the auction house’s price-fixing scandal three years later) he  decided he would bid on the sculpture when it came up for auction in November. But he wasn’t aggressive enough to win it. 

“I was outbid, I was outbid—I tried to buy it, the hammer went down, it wasn’t my bid, I wasn’t willing to go that high,” Griffin said in the interview with Rubenstein. “I had never been so frustrated in my life. I hung up the phone, and I called Sotheby’s the next day and offered more money to buy it, and that was the start of my passion in art.”

He soon bought a Degas painting,  Dancers in Green, and a Monet water lilies painting, positioning him as a major collector of impressionist art. Each of those works would have been sold, even 20 years ago, in the mid eight figures. 

Six years later, Griffin’s collection had expanded to include two Cezannes—one that cost $60.5 million, bought from Wynn. In 2006 Griffin spent $80 million on Jasper Johns’s  False Start, buying it from Geffen. His big buying hasn’t stopped and his taste has expanded—in 2020 he bought a Basquiat for $100 million from  Peter Brant, another billionaire with a Palm Beach house. In 2021, he bought a Barnett Newman,  Uriel, (1955) for what was said to be more than the artist’s auction record of $84.2 million. (And let’s not forget how he outbid ConstitutionDAO—remember DAOs?—to win a copy of the historical document for $42 million,  just because his son wanted it .)

And like the Pollock and the de Kooning, the Newman and the Basquiat were all recently on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, which Griffin donated to generously. After giving $19 million to the museum for a new wing designed by Renzo Piano, the museum renamed its grand atrium Griffin Court. 

He also gave to various other Chi-town institutions, such as the University of Chicago, which received not just funding—$125 million to pay for financial aid and professors, earning him the naming rights to the economics department—but scores of artworks from his collection. In 2020, the David Rubenstein Forum put on view a number of works from Griffin’s collection, such as  Peter Doig ’s  Red House  (1995–1996) which Griffin bought at Phillips in 2017 for $21 million. There was also de Kooning’s  Untitled XII  (1981) last seen at a show at  Robert Mnuchin ’s gallery with  Dominique Levy in 2007, and Ed Clark’s  Untitled #2 (The Blue One) (2004) last seen at Mnuchin’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach 2019. 

But with the move to Florida complete, Griffin is no longer on the board of Chicago’s universities and museums. This year, he pledged $130 million to various institutions. A rep for Griffin told Bloomberg that the set of 40 organizations that Griffin donated to represented “ the fabric of Chicago .” It was dubbed  a parting gift . 

Griffin had a head start on his new home base. He had already donated enough money to the Norton—$20 million, in 2018—to earn him the naming rights to the new wing and the rights to name the museum’s directorship. It was,  Ghislain d’Humières, the Kenneth C. Griffin Director and CEO of the museum, who led me through  the special exhibition , “A Personal View on High Fashion & Street Style,” with hundreds of groundbreaking photo-based works culled from  Nicola Erni ’s epic photography collection. 

It’s one of the many highlights in the post–Basel Palm Beach landscape that come together as the New Wave Art Weekend, an annual excursion 70 miles north of Magic City. The Norton has its big shows up, the galleries all hold opening shindigs—Paula Cooper’s outpost of Worth Avenue had new work by  Julian Lethbridge and, while not officially part of the New Wave programming, Lehmann Maupin’s outpost at the Poinciana Plaza had new work by the photographer  Alex Prager. Globe-hopping members of the art world—Studio museum director  Thelma Golden, collector and patron  Ann Tenenbaum, artist  Marilyn Minter —pinballed from  Beth Rudin DeWoody ’s collection shows at The Bunker to White Cube’s seasonal space on West Palm Beach to the Breakers for cocktails. There were big bashes at some of the island’s craziest houses, including one at Norton board member  Kelly Williams ’s home overlooking the bay, and another at the home of  Lisa and James Cohen, which was built in the 1920s for financier Otto Kahn, the German-born magnate who was the primary inspiration for the mascot of a certain board game that came out in the ’30s. That’s right, there was a party at the  Monopoly Man estate. 

But not even Mr. Moneybags’ envious holdings could compete with the parcel of land being developed by Griffin, who has spent a decade methodically buying plots on Palm Beach island just south of Mar-a-Lago, until he had amassed $350 million worth of property, which will now host his homecoming. Talking to Bloomberg at the Norton’s 2019 gala Griffin said that his devotion to the museum had to do with his South Florida upbringing—that it was “an opportunity to do something special in Palm Beach, to honor my past and honor my future.”

So on that note, maybe bolting from Chicago with billions of dollars in paintings and installing them at a museum in Palm Beach—well, maybe it’s a personal gesture that only a mega-rich collector can pull off. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the museum’s final gallery, the one that houses the impressionist holdings of museum founder Ralph Norton, including Renoirs and Cezannes and Brancusi sculptures. Suddenly the works are right there: a Monet water lilies painting, the Degas painting  Dancers in Green, and the Degas sculpture  Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen.  

The first three artworks ever bought by one of the world’s great art collectors are currently installed right next to each other, as intimate an installation as in a private home.

Your crib sheet for comings and goings in the art world this week and beyond…

…The Met held its annual swanky Acquisitions Gala last week, and director  Max Hollein  welcomed a number of board members and supporters, all the usual suspects,  Niarchoses and  Mugrabis and  Glimchers, too many to name here. It’s probably the only place where Berlin art scene maestro  Klaus Biesenbach and Zero Bond’s  Scott Sartiano and former commerce secretary  Wilbur Ross can be under the same roof. Plus, where else can you see  Mike Bloomberg throwing it down with Patriots owner  Robert Kraft ? Only at The Met Acquisitions Gala, kids! 

… Gerhard Richter, maybe earth’s greatest living painter, is now represented by David Zwirner, the gallery started by the son of one of his earliest Cologne dealers. As Richter said in a rare statement, “I have known David since his childhood as I had already in the 1960s worked closely with his father, Rudolf Zwirner. I feel this represents a beautiful continuity across generations.” Richter left his longtime dealer,  Marian Goodman, herself a nonagenarian, and will have a show of new work with Zwirner in March 2023 in New York. 

… Rich Torrisi has opened his own namesake restaurant, called Torrisi Bar & Grill, offering a swerve from his best bro and business partner  Mario Carbone ’s namesake juggernaut. Like Carbone, though, there’s sick art in the joint, once again due to a collaboration with dealer  Vito Schnabel, who enlisted his dad,  Julian, for something really special. Hanging in the restaurant in the Puck Building is one of the elder Schnabel’s giant classic plate paintings, this one depicting the building’s namesake, the mischievous demon known as Puck. This is probably the best Puck Building–related news since, I dunno, the days of  Spy magazine? Certainly it’s the biggest art-world news there since maybe that time a  Harmony Korine  painting was stolen from the lobby in a crime that’s still unsolved ? Someone should really figure out what happened there. 

… Urs Fischer has a clothing line called UF—as in his initials, but also the guttural proclamation, I guess—and honestly, shit slaps. Go buy some at the temporary pop-up store that Fischer’s set up in  Jeffrey Deitch ’s Grand Street gallery.

January: Dinner for Jonas Wood at Grandmaster Recorders in Los Angeles

… Benny Blanco  rolling fatties, burgers to munch on, a dance party in a hut,  David Kordansky tearing up while toasting to Wood, collectors in khakis…  

February: Dinner for the opening of Prada Mode Los Angeles at Genghis Cohen  

… Martine Syms work installed throughout the Prada-ized Szechuan joint,  Jeff Goldblum  firmly in the cut, more weed,  The Cobrasnake papping  Jordan Wolfson, vibes midshift…

March: Cocktails for the opening of the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney in New York

…All the Rubells,  Alex Da Corte ’s brother painting the cube hosting an Alex Da Corte video, all four members of   the Red Hot Chili Peppers , everyone going to Pastis after…

April: Chanel Next Prize dinner at a 14th-century palazzo during the Venice Biennale

… Tilda Swinton and  Honor Swinton-Byrne, martinis with lemon twists flown in from the Amalfi Coast,  Kehinde Wiley saying,   “I can’t even get a cigarette, and I’m Kehinde Wiley” …

April: Dinner for the opening of “Human Brains” at the Fondazione Prada in Venice

… Francesco Vezzoli  talking about  Kim Kardashian,   Raf Simons smoking tiny Vogue cigarettes out the window,  Beeple sitting with Relational Aesthetics founder Nicolas Bourriaud, Nan Goldin and  Anselm Kiefer just a table apart…

May: MoMA PS1 Gala at MoMA PS1 in Queens

… Agnes Gund getting the entire art world to leave Manhattan for a night,  Rashid Johnson ’s perfect speech,  Mina Stone ’s perfect Greek food, drinking Tsipouro at the bar at Mina’s with artist  Alex Eagleton …

June: Boondoggles to Basel, Menorca, and Hydra

… Jeff Koons  chilling in the Greek isles on a yacht he designed called “Guilty,” grilled crustaceans, “getting a ride,” Nate not being there because his daughter was born…

August: Ballroom Marfa Summer Party at a private home in Bridgehampton

…Texans in the Hamptons, trapeze artists during the cocktail hour, David Lauren in a hippie sweater, Casa Dragones, mosquitos,  Robert Longo never taking off his sunglasses…

September: Dinner for Karma’s new Los Angeles gallery at Jones in Hollywood

…Every artist in Los Angeles, SF-bashing,  Sean MacPherson in the ’90s, rare  Ed Ruscha books, nobody wanting to go to Malibu…

October: White Cube’s Frieze dinner at the Chiltern Firehouse in London

…Real cigarettes, Brits with hyphenated last names who alway get in the  Tatler front-of-book,  Andre Balazs,   Jay Jopling running the city of London , more Casa Dragones…

November: Gagosian hosts a dinner for Sterling Ruby at The Nines in New York  

…Caviar bumps, “the Downtown Bemelmans,” tickling the ivories, the bicoastal lifestyle, spilling wine on art dealers, tie-dye formal…

November: Hauser & Wirth and MOCA celebrate Henry Taylor at Carbone in Miami  

…Overhearing that performance artist Joan Jonas is at Carbone but then finding out it’s actually a Jonas Brother, spicy rigatoni vodka for 1,000, Swiss billionaires eating chunks of Parmesan cheese,   Venus Williams introducing  Reilly Opelka to Henry Taylor, $100 plates of veal Parmesan for free…

And that’s a wrap on True Colors in 2022! We’ll be back in the new year, refreshed and rejuvenated and ready once again to take whatever the Art World throws at us. In the meantime, feel free to drop me a line at [email protected].

More Great Stories From Vanity Fair

Kamala Harris on the Challenge of Being First

Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, and the Dangerous Dance of the New Right

The Dark Origins of the True-Crime Frenzy at CrimeCon

The Biggest Snubs and Surprises of the 2024 Emmy Nominations

Looking for Love in the Hamptons? Buy a Ticket for the Luxury Bus.

Palace Insiders on the Monarchy’s Difficult Year

The Best TV Shows of 2024 , So Far

Listen Now: VF ’s Still Watching Podcast Dissects House of the Dragon

Nate Freeman

Culture correspondent, royal watch.

By signing up you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

672 Wine Club

• Motorcycles
• Car of the Month
• Destinations
• Men’s Fashion
• Watch Collector
• Art & Collectibles
• Vacation Homes
• Celebrity Homes
• New Construction
• Home Design
• Electronics
• Fine Dining
• Aston Martin
• Dubai Tourism
• Gateway Bronco
• On Location – Olympic Games Paris 2024
• One&Only
• The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua
• Royal Salute
• St. Regis Costa Mujeres Resort
• Sports & Leisure
• Health & Wellness
• Best of the Best
• The Ultimate Gift Guide

Billionaire Ken Griffin Is Building Himself the World’s Most Expensive Home

The hedge-fund manager’s 50,000-square-foot palm beach mansion will be worth a whopping $1 billion when complete.  , abby montanez, abby montanez's most recent stories.

• Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue’s Former Connecticut Hideaway Lists for a Record $27.5 Million
• This ‘House of the Dragon’-Inspired Adventure Will Take You to Visit Komodo Dragons in Indonesia
• Raffles’s First Hotel in Japan Will Offer up Luxe Suites and Scenic Tokyo Views
• Share This Article

Ken Griffin is out to set another real estate record. 

Related Stories

• Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue's Former Connecticut Hideaway Lists for a Record $27.5 Million
• Tom Brady's Former Center Hikes His South Florida Home on the Market for $3.2 Million
• The Founder of the Fear of God Label Has His Designer-Done L.A. Home Listed for $14.9 Million

“The vast majority of the properties Ken owns are in South Florida,” Zia Ahmed, a spokesperson for Griffin, told The Post. “Palm Beach real estate is among the most valuable in the world because of the pro-growth and pro-business policies voted for by the citizens of Florida.” 

The beachfront spread on Blossom Way, which was approved by the Architectural Board in 2022, will occupy roughly eight of the 25 acres and comprise a massive swimming pool, a main residence, and a guest house. Initially, the abode will be used by Griffin’s family, including his mother. However, the financier has future plans to use the entire property as his retirement home, sources told the newspaper. 

Griffin’s buying spree in Palm Beach began back in 2012, when he amassed a series of four oceanfront properties for a collective $129.6 million. Since then, he’s acquired several other adjacent estates on Blossom Way and Ocean Boulevard. Most notably in 2019, a company linked to Griffin snapped up a four-and-a-half-acre mansion for $104.99 million , breaking a real estate record for the area. The ocean-to-lake compound formerly belonged to the late Broadway producer Terry Allen Kramer.  

Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report. She has worked in both print and digital publishing for over half a decade, covering everything from real estate, entertainment, dining, travel to…

Read More On:

• Real Estate

More New Construction

Exclusive: Rosewood Is Launching a Collection of Branded Residences in Los Cabos 

Cultural Institutions Can Boost Luxury Real Estate Markets, a New Report Says

Exclusive: SLS Just Debuted Its First Residences in Madrid

First Look: Inside The Surrey Residences, a New Boutique Condo on Manhattan’s Upper East Side

Meet the Wine Club That Thinks Differently.

Receive editor-curated reds from boutique California producers four times a year.

Give the Gift of Luxury

Latest Galleries in New Construction

SLS Madrid Infantas Residences in Photos

Landon Miller Homes in Photos

More from our brands, kamala harris’ pearls: the pieces she loves most, the viral converse chucks and pearls movement and the ‘glamorous but still tough’ symbolism, nba rejects wbd’s attempt to match amazon bid, music industry moves: hybe taps jason jaesang lee as ceo, parthenon museum in nashville returns 500-year-old mexican artifacts, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors.

• The Inventory
• Beyond Cars

Rich Guy Yachts Just Keep Getting Longer

“if the rest of the world learns what it’s like to live on a yacht like this, they’re gonna bring back the guillotine,” american yachtsman bill duker said..

In case you need an even stronger indication that normal people are being taken for a ride in late-stage capitalism: historic inflation is being accompanied by a worldwide boom in the number of billionaires. All these new members of the ultra wealthy are buying super, mega and “giga” yachts to set them apart from land-based poors.

Suggested Reading

There are so many deeply incredible and infuriating pieces of information from this New Yorker story about the world of private yachts that I’m going to encourage you to spend time reading the whole in-depth piece. Here’s a few bits that caught my eye, like describing a different kind of embarrassment of riches: having too small a yacht.

A big ship is a floating manse, with a hierarchy written right into the nomenclature. If it has a crew working aboard, it’s a yacht. If it’s more than ninety-eight feet, it’s a superyacht. After that, definitions are debated, but people generally agree that anything more than two hundred and thirty feet is a megayacht, and more than two hundred and ninety-five is a gigayacht. The world contains about fifty-four hundred superyachts, and about a hundred gigayachts. For the moment, a gigayacht is the most expensive item that our species has figured out how to own. In 2019, the hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin bought a quadruplex on Central Park South for two hundred and forty million dollars, the highest price ever paid for a home in America. In May, an unknown buyer spent about a hundred and ninety-five million on an Andy Warhol silk-screen portrait of Marilyn Monroe. In luxury-yacht terms, those are ordinary numbers. “There are a lot of boats in build well over two hundred and fifty million dollars,” Jamie Edmiston, a broker in Monaco and London, told me. His buyers are getting younger and more inclined to spend long stretches at sea. “High-speed Internet, telephony, modern communications have made working easier,” he said. “Plus, people made a lot more money earlier in life.” A Silicon Valley C.E.O. told me that one appeal of boats is that they can “absorb the most excess capital.” He explained, “Rationally, it would seem to make sense for people to spend half a billion dollars on their house and then fifty million on the boat that they’re on for two weeks a year, right? But it’s gone the other way. People don’t want to live in a hundred-thousand-square-foot house. Optically, it’s weird. But a half-billion-dollar boat, actually, is quite nice.” Staluppi, of Palm Beach Gardens, is content to spend three or four times as much on his yachts as on his homes. Part of the appeal is flexibility. “If you’re on your boat and you don’t like your neighbor, you tell the captain, ‘Let’s go to a different place,’ ” he said. On land, escaping a bad neighbor requires more work: “You got to try and buy him out or make it uncomfortable or something.” The preference for sea-based investment has altered the proportions of taste. Until recently, the Silicon Valley C.E.O. said, “a fifty-metre boat was considered a good-sized boat. Now that would be a little bit embarrassing.” In the past twenty years, the length of the average luxury yacht has grown by a third, to a hundred and sixty feet.

Related Content

Or this portion, describing the amount of both pollution and wealthy self-awareness generated by these giants:

Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the yachting community was straining to manage its reputation as a gusher of carbon emissions (one well-stocked diesel yacht is estimated to produce as much greenhouse gas as fifteen hundred passenger cars), not to mention the fact that the world of white boats is overwhelmingly white. In a candid aside to a French documentarian, the American yachtsman Bill Duker said, “If the rest of the world learns what it’s like to live on a yacht like this, they’re gonna bring back the guillotine.”

But what these big-ass boats really represent to their ultra-wealthy owners is the largest waste of money possible, or as Silicone Valley CEO put it, ““absorb the most excess capital.”

The latest fashions include imax theatres, hospital equipment that tests for dozens of pathogens, and ski rooms where guests can suit up for a helicopter trip to a mountaintop. The longtime owner, who had returned the previous day from his yacht, told me, “No one today—except for assholes and ridiculous people—lives on land in what you would call a deep and broad luxe life. Yes, people have nice houses and all of that, but it’s unlikely that the ratio of staff to them is what it is on a boat.” After a moment, he added, “Boats are the last place that I think you can get away with it.” Even among the truly rich, there is a gap between the haves and the have-yachts. One boating guest told me about a conversation with a famous friend who keeps one of the world’s largest yachts. “He said, ‘The boat is the last vestige of what real wealth can do.’ What he meant is, You have a chef, and I have a chef. You have a driver, and I have a driver. You can fly privately, and I fly privately. So, the one place where I can make clear to the world that I am in a different fucking category than you is the boat.”

Check out the whole story to see how the other side lives. It might motivate you to sharpen up the old guillotine blades while you’re at it.

• Current Issue
• Past Issues
• Ad Specs-Submission
• Ad Print Settings
• Reprints (PDF)
• Photo Specifications (PDF)

Kenneth C. Griffin

Extraordinary People Working Together

An Interview with Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Citadel

Editors’ Note

Kenneth Griffin is the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Citadel, one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms. Intrigued by finance, Griffin began investing in 1986 as a freshman at Harvard. Four years later, he founded Citadel, driven by a focus on the combination of exceptional talent, advanced predictive analytics, and powerful software engineering. Today, the Citadel team of over 2,500 professionals is globally recognized as a market leader, investing on behalf of the world’s preeminent research institutions, universities, and healthcare organizations, with the mission of delivering superior long-term returns.

In 2002, Griffin and his partners established Citadel Securities, now one of the leading global market makers. Serving more than 1,600 clients, including many of the largest sovereign wealth funds and central banks, Citadel Securities has delivered enormous benefits to investors around the world. Over the past two decades, through its trading, research, and technology, Citadel Securities has created more transparent, resilient, and competitive markets both in the U.S. and abroad. Griffin is Non-Executive Chairman of Citadel Securities.

A passionate philanthropist, over the past three decades Griffin has provided more than $2 billion to advance initiatives with the power to transform lives. Griffin recently launched Griffin Catalyst (GriffinCatalyst.org), a civic engagement initiative encompassing his philanthropic and community impact efforts that advance solutions to the world’s greatest challenges.

Griffin Catalyst supports six key priorities: Education, Science and Medicine, Communities, Upward Mobility, Freedom and Democracy, and Enterprise and Innovation.

Working within these areas, Griffin Catalyst:

• Partners with visionary leaders and teams who are game changers in their fields.

• Makes strategic investments in high-potential initiatives with the power to transform lives.

• Mobilizes public and private resources to drive impact at scale.

Citadel’s ( citadel.com ) ambition is to remain the most successful investment firm of all time. Across five core strategies, the firm strives to identify the highest and best uses of capital to generate superior long-term returns for the world’s preeminent public and private institutions. Based on performance through December 2022, Citadel was named the most profitable hedge fund of all time, posting $65.9 billion in net gains since inception.

Ken Griffin greets Geah, the first Success Academy student accepted to Harvard, after his $25 million gift to increase enrollment at the public charter school network by 50 percent, unlocking access to high-quality education for 10,000 more New York City students

How would you describe your approach to philanthropy?

My approach to philanthropy is similar to my approach to business: I look to partner with talented leaders and their teams who deliver results and advance solutions that are going to make a real difference in people’s lives.

Education is an important area of focus for me. Education is the foundation of opportunity in our country – it is the on ramp to the American Dream. If we are going to have a thriving democracy, we need to have a population that is well-educated, and by championing high-quality education today, we empower our next generation of leaders to solve the problems of tomorrow.

Pushing the frontiers of science and medicine is another important area of focus. I am proud to have partnered with our nation’s leading medical institutions in our collective battle against cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and other serious conditions. I know this work will deliver meaningful benefits to current and future generations.

“Education is the foundation of opportunity in our country – it is the on ramp to the American Dream. If we are going to have a thriving democracy, we need to have a population that is well-educated, and by championing high-quality education today, we empower our next generation of leaders to solve the problems of tomorrow.”

How do you measure the success and impact of your giving?

We measure our success through the lens of how we better people’s lives. A great example of this is our support of Success Academy, the highest-performing free charter school network in New York City. Under the leadership of Eva Moskowitz, the team at Success Academy has a profound impact on the lives of their students who predominantly come from low-income neighborhoods.

When Success Academy’s eighth graders took multiple Regents exams this year – state tests that are meant for 11th and 12th graders – not only did over 90 percent of the middle schoolers pass the exams, but astonishingly, the pass rate significantly exceeded that of New York City’s high school students. Today, if Success Academy’s 53 charter schools were their own public school district, the district would be the highest performing in the state of New York.

I’m honored to support Eva and her team in their extraordinary work, and I hope it serves as a model of excellence and achievement for K-12 schools across our nation.

Ken Griffin addresses students and their families at Miami Dade College’s 2023 commencement ceremony after making the largest individual gift in school history to establish the Griffin Scholarship Fund, which will expand opportunity for thousands of hard-working, low-income students from Miami-Dade County

Where did your interest in and passion for philanthropy develop?

My parents and grandparents have been an incredible source of inspiration, and the lessons and values I learned from them continue to shape my philanthropic efforts. As the first in his family to go to college, my father, through his incredible work ethic, taught me the importance of grit and perseverance. My mother instilled in me a deep love of learning and the importance of making an impact.

My grandmother grew up on a family farm, without running water – and my grandfather didn’t have much more – but it was their public high school education that gave them the toolkit to forge their success in America as small business owners. Together, they built a heating oil distribution company, and they were actively involved in the community as both business and civic leaders. I still remember my grandmother sharing the story of how they provided heating oil for those in need during the winter.

Inspired by my family, and the incredible freedoms we enjoy as Americans every single day, my philanthropic support has been heavily focused on fighting for every child’s right to a high-quality education and enabling more people to pursue the American Dream.

You also give your time, energy, and ideas to the causes you support. What’s one example of such involvement that makes you particularly proud?

My team was deeply involved in the war against COVID. When the world began to shut down in early 2020, I learned that one of my colleagues and her family were unable to leave Wuhan. Working with the State Department, my partners and I provided support and financial assistance to bring our colleague’s family and 800 other Americans who remained in Wuhan safely home.

At home, we were instrumental in our work with political leaders and the FDA to drive a faster review process for potentially life-saving therapeutics. We also funded early vaccine development and therapeutics research globally, working with top research hospitals in New York City and London, and with the global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness.

But the most important contribution we made was laying the groundwork for what would become Operation Warp Speed. My partners and I worked with the White House to advocate for the pre-purchase of vaccines before their efficacy was known so that pharmaceutical companies would aggressively invest in production capabilities on an accelerated timeline. By the time that safe and effective vaccines were approved, their immediate availability allowed Americans to receive shots faster than anyone had thought possible – ultimately saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

“While we adopted what was then an uncommon approach to investing in the early 90s, looking back, our story over the last 30 years can be best summarized in four words: extraordinary people working together. The single most important contributor to Citadel’s success is without a doubt our people.”

What was your vision for creating Citadel, and what have been the keys to the firm’s success?

I founded Citadel in 1990, a year after graduating from college. At the time, I saw an opportunity to use advanced quantitative analytics to value securities in a way that few others had implemented at that point. While we adopted what was then an uncommon approach to investing in the early 90s, looking back, our story over the last 30 years can be best summarized in four words: extraordinary people working together. The single most important contributor to Citadel’s success is without a doubt our people.

The power of our meritocracy is rooted in our willingness to not only make financial bets, but also to take bold bets on people. We have consistently promoted extraordinarily talented people very early in their careers into roles of great responsibility. Gerald Beeson, my longest-tenured partner and now Citadel’s global Chief Operating Officer, joined the firm as an intern in 1993. Peng Zhao, who became the CEO of Citadel Securities at the age of 34, joined us in 2006 after completing his PhD at UC Berkeley.

What sets our people apart so often is the energy and the intellect they bring to the table. And after more than 30 years, I am convinced that our best days as a firm lie ahead because we have never had a stronger team.

How would you describe Citadel’s business, and how has it evolved over time?

At our core what we do is engage in research – uncovering opportunities that the market underappreciates – and we generate our profits by committing our capital against those opportunities.

In our formative years, our research was largely driven by quantitative analytics that were not commonly used; today our research is largely driven by gifted market specialists who engage in deep fundamental research, often supported by the powerful analytics we have developed over the decades.

Did you always know you had an entrepreneurial spirit and desire to build your own business?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been interested in business. In high school, I started an educational software distribution company which taught me at a very early age important lessons on the challenges of running a small business. During college, I had the chance to work for one of the world’s most important technology companies debugging software. It was a terrific experience, but I didn’t enjoy the bureaucracy and lack of accountability. Founding Citadel was my way of securing employment at the kind of firm I wanted to work for: a place where you could make decisions quickly and decisively, and where you were valued based on the power of your ideas and the results you drove rather than your seniority within the organization.

What drove your interest in building an investment management firm?

I’ve always had an interest in understanding how financial markets work. In the third grade, I wrote that I wanted to learn how the stock market works. I still have a copy of this paper, and it hangs on the wall of my office. Four decades later, I am still striving to understand how the market prices stocks.

I started to invest in the markets as a college freshman in 1986, and during my college days I witnessed the meteoritic rise of private equity. In 1989, KKR took over RJR Nabisco, and I thought this was a transformational moment in the history of American business. I was certain I wanted to find a career in private equity after college.

But my early success in trading pulled me away from this ambition, and soon after graduating from college, I founded Citadel in 1990 and have never looked back.

What do you feel are the keys to effective leadership?

Effective leaders know that success is driven by great teams that deliver valued products and services.

First, effective leaders hire great people. There’s no such thing as an exceptional team comprised of average people – it simply doesn’t exist. Second, effective leaders empower their team members to make decisions and solve problems. This is key to developing people. Third, effective leaders create an environment where ideas are debated in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Companies that embrace reality are able to better meet the needs of their customers.

With all that you have accomplished in your career, what continues to motivate you?

I love working on many of the most important problems in financial markets with a team of extraordinarily gifted colleagues. It is fun to be part of a team that is always learning – pushing for and making an impact.

What advice do you offer young people beginning their careers?

Click here to download a PDF of An Interview with Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Chief Investment Officer, Citadel

See other features from LEADERS Magazine's October, November, December 2023 edition

• Engineering
• Quantitative Research
• Leadership Team
• Civic Leadership
• Commodities
• Credit and Convertibles
• Citadel Global Equities
• Surveyor Capital
• Ashler Capital
• Citadel International Equities
• Fixed Income & Macro
• Global Quantitative Strategies
• Citadel Associate Program
• NXT Engineering Network
• Site Reliability Engineering
• Internships
• The GQS PhD Fellowship
• Discover Citadel
• The Trading Invitational
• Positions for Students "> Positions for Students
• Positions for Professionals "> Positions for Professionals
• Business Operations
• Company News
• Market Insights
• Policy Positions
• Media Resources

Kenneth C. Griffin

Founder, ceo and co-chief investment officer.

Kenneth C. Griffin is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel, one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms. Ken is also the Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Citadel Securities, one of the world’s preeminent market makers. A passionate philanthropist, Ken has donated more than $2 billion to advance education, opportunity, and health sciences initiatives that significantly transform people’s lives.

Intrigued by finance from a young age, Ken began investing in 1986 from his Harvard dorm room. The following year, he launched a small hedge fund that utilized emerging quantitative analytics to inform investment decision-making. In 1990, a year after graduating, he founded Citadel.

Ken founded Citadel on the belief that extraordinary individuals, equipped with advanced quantitative analytics and powerful software, could unlock opportunities in the world’s capital markets. A commitment to continuous learning, problem-solving, and meritocracy defines the firm’s culture. Citadel is routinely ranked among the best places to work, and the firm’s focus on advancing the careers of its team members is renowned on Wall Street.

Today, Citadel’s team of more than 2,500 professionals manages nearly $60 billion in investment capital. Citadel is recognized as one of the world’s most profitable hedge funds. The Citadel team has delivered extraordinary results for pension plans, university endowments, hospital systems, foundations, and research institutions that deliver meaningful impact for society, from curing cancer with immunotherapy to making scientific breakthroughs in particle physics.

In 2002, Ken and his partners established Citadel Securities as a market maker in the United States capital markets. Today, Citadel Securities is one of the world’s largest liquidity providers, serving more than 1,400 institutional clients, including many of the world’s largest central banks and sovereign wealth funds. Citadel Securities is recognized as a market leader in empowering clients to reach their investment goals and has proved transformative in enhancing competition in capital markets worldwide.

Ken’s decades of philanthropic involvement reflect the same strategic mindset that has contributed to his business success. Now advanced through Griffin Catalyst , Ken’s contributions have expanded access to education at all levels for millions of Americans, transformed research and medical institutions with historic gifts, and strengthened our cultural institutions. Ken’s insights were instrumental in the launch of Operation Warp Speed’s accelerated COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment strategies.

Ken holds an A.B. ’89 with Honors in Economics from Harvard College.

More Citadel Leadership

Pablo salame.

Co-Chief Investment Officer

Gerald A. Beeson

Chief Operating Officer

Navneet Arora

Head of Global Quantitative Strategies

Sebastian Barrack

Head of Commodities

Drew Gillanders

Head of International Equities, Europe

Phillip Lee

Head of Surveyor Capital

Head of Fixed Income and Macro

Justin Lubell

Head of Citadel Global Equities

Head of Ashler Capital

Joanna Welsh

Chief Risk Officer

Shawn Fagan

Chief Legal Officer

• Dining Guides
• Restaurants
• Healthy Living
• The Wheel World
• Our Palm Beach Heritage
• PBI Special Events
• Events Calendar
• Around Town
• Arts + Entertainment
• Faces of PB
• Professionals
• Charity Register
• Send Your Ad
• Digital Studio
• Issue Archive
• Client Portal

• Main Categories
• Recently Added
• Things to Do

Kenneth C. Griffin Supports Phipps Ocean Park Restoration

The founder and CEO of Citadel and founder of Griffin Catalyst gifted a landmark $7 million gift for Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach's project

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach announced a landmark $7 million gift from Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel and founder of Griffin Catalyst, to support the restoration of Phipps Ocean Park. The gift will increase the park’s accessibility and appeal as a public space and recreational facility with the restoration of natural ecosystems and the addition of new features, including the Kenneth C. Griffin Coastal Conservancy, which will serve as a cornerstone for environmental and cultural education in the region.

The $30 million restoration of the 20-acre Phipps Ocean Park is the Preservation Foundation’s most ambitious project to date. Phipps Ocean Park reflects the foundation’s commitment to changing Palm Beach’s landscape by increasing the prevalence of native plants on the island in an effort to reduce the use of pesticides and water, while supporting wildlife and creating more resilient coastlines.

Propelled by a desire to secure access to the beach in perpetuity, the Phipps Family donated 1,200 feet of ocean frontage for use as a public park in 1948. The park’s redesign by landscape architect Raymond Jungles honors the original vision, with a bold new master plan that articulates a vision in which sustainable plantings, unobstructed ocean views, and educational resources create an eco-park alive with promise and imagination.

Instilling an early love of nature and inspiring the next generation of stewards are key components of the project. The relocated and restored Little Red Schoolhouse takes center stage in the plan and is enhanced by architecture designed by Fairfax & Sammons that captures the heritage spirit of the place. Relocation of the 1886 schoolhouse will protect the landmark and ensure that the schoolchildren of Palm Beach County have continuous access to the Preservation Foundation’s living history program, which takes fourth graders back in time to receive an 1890s education for a day in a one-room wooden schoolhouse.

Standing adjacent to the schoolhouse, the forthcoming Coastal Restoration Center will function as a nursery and propagation facility for native plants that will support healthy beach dune ecosystems within the park and throughout the town, while providing hands-on learning experiences for children and adults alike. A bespoke playground by Danish designer Monstrum will complement the park’s native flora and teach about local wildlife through enormous play structures.

The Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach has collaborated closely with the Town of Palm Beach, which owns the park, to develop its plans for Phipps Ocean Park since the summer of 2020. The project is on track for a targeted start date of June 2024 and is expected to be completed in 15 months. Using the funds raised from the Preservation Foundation, this long-underutilized space will be restored into an extraordinary public landscape that fully realizes the Phipps family’s vision for their 1948 gift: a beautiful public beach and oceanfront park that celebrates the unique scenic quality of Palm Beach.

For more information about the project and the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, visit palmbeachpreservation.org .

Facebook Comments

Related articles more from author.

Antonis Loudaros on Carrying the Torch

Q&A with Olympian Laura Kraut

At Home Adventure: Towering Hospitality in Boca

The magazine.

» SUBSCRIBE

NEWSLETTERS

Ken Griffin buys Miami compound for $106.9 million, a new record

• Copy Link URL Copied!

Hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin has shattered the Miami price record, shelling out $106.875 million for a waterfront estate.

It’s the most ever paid for a home in Miami-Dade County, and records show Griffin stole the record from himself. Last year, he set the previous all-time high when he dropped $75 million on a home on Star Island, a man-made island in Biscayne Bay.

This one sits a few miles away in Coconut Grove, an affluent enclave where celebrities such as LeBron James and Sylvester Stallone have owned homes.

Griffin is best known as the founder and chief executive of Citadel, a global hedge fund with more than $30 billion in assets. The move comes shortly after he announced that he was relocating the company from Chicago to Miami.

The seller is Adrienne Arsht, a businesswoman and philanthropist who listed the home for $150 million in January. Arsht made a hefty profit on the sale; records show she paid $4 million for the property in 1996.

Spanning four acres with 400 feet of water frontage, the compound includes two homes: a Mediterranean Revival-style mansion built in 1913 known as Villa Serena, and a newer home built in 1999 known as Indian Spring. Together, they combine for more than 20,000 square feet.

Restored in recent years, Villa Serena claims a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. It features three bedrooms and grand living spaces lined with Cuban tile floors.

Indian Spring is the larger of the two; it boasts five bedrooms, five bathrooms, an office, chef’s kitchen, salon, gym and garden room overlooking a terrace. Patios extend the living space outside, leading to a swimming pool and spa.

Both mansions open to grassy lawns that descend to a private dock on Biscayne Bay. The compound also includes a guesthouse, tennis court and two garages.

Ashley Cusack of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty held the listing. Jill Hertzberg represented Griffin.

Miami isn’t the only place Griffin has set a price record. In 2019, he shelled out $238 million for a New York penthouse — the most ever paid for a home in the U.S.

More to Read

Why is a Monaco billionaire buying so many properties in Carmel and Big Sur?

July 1, 2024

Oakley founder James Jannard sells Malibu mansion for $210 million — a California record

June 18, 2024

Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, buys Malibu estate for $94 million

June 11, 2024

Sign up for Essential California

The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Jack Flemming covers real estate for the Los Angeles Times. He was raised in St. Louis and studied journalism at the University of Missouri. Before joining The Times as an intern in 2017, he wrote for the Columbia Missourian and Politico Europe.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Silicon Valley billionaires put plans for new California city on hold

July 22, 2024

Carmel-by-the-Sea, a town with no addresses, says the time has come to add house numbers

July 20, 2024

Opinion: Despite noble intentions, California’s environmental law is hurting Latinos

July 19, 2024

Show us your L.A. rental! Tell us how you made it feel like home

July 15, 2024

Recommended

Billionaire ken griffin’s palm beach mansion for mom has neighbors fuming.

• View Author Archive
• Email the Author
• Get author RSS feed

Contact The Author

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

Hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin plans to build an eight-acre estate in Palm Beach for his mother — and that’s riling his deep-pocketed neighbors, among them the owner of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, according to a report.

Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel whose net worth is estimated by Bloomberg at $29 billion, recently won approval from local officials for a 44,000-square-foot mansion that he plans to build along 1,400 feet of South Florida coastline, The Palm Beach Daily News reported.

Once completed, it will be the largest estate in Palm Beach — quite a feat considering that the area is home to some of the world’s richest people.

But the news isn’t sitting well with Griffin’s uber-rich neighbors who were already upset that the hedge fund mogul had spent $450 million buying up several parcels of land in order to lay the groundwork for construction of the home, according to The Real Deal.

The compound planned for 60 Blossom Way in Palm Beach will be home to Catherine Gratz Griffin, Ken Griffin’s mother. Griffin has moved his family to Florida, which will become the new headquarters of Citadel.

Griffin, who owns a total of 10 properties in Palm Beach, caused a stir earlier this month when he announced that he was moving his company out of Chicago — continuing a trend of Fortune 500 firms that have packed up and left high-tax locales in favor of cheaper jurisdictions in the Sun Belt.

The 53-year-old Griffin, a Republican who has frequently criticized Democrat policies as it relates to tackling crime in Chicago , is a native of South Florida.

The design of the home was drawn up by Seattle-based architectural firm Olsun Kundig and Moore Architects of West Palm Beach, among others.

The plans call for a 21,433-square-foot main house that includes a master suite, home theater, living room, family room, office, gym, and a salt room. The compound will also house a 7,131-square-foot guest home as well as pools, gardens, and landscaping.

But neighbors, including Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, are raising a stink because of the size of the colossus which they say will cut off access to the beach.

Lurie is one of several billionaires who owns an estate in Palm Beach. The Super Bowl-winning owner has a two-acre lakefront estate that he bought in 2013 for $28.75 million. The eight-bedroom home measures 17,113 square feet of indoor and outdoor living spaces.

Earlier this year, a shell company with ties to Lurie filed a lawsuit against the town as well as entities affiliated with Griffin, according to The Daily Beast.

Lurie alleges that Griffin’s new compound will impede his access to the beach.

At a town hall meeting last month, an attorney representing ex-Goldman Sachs executive John Thornton and his wife, the author Margaret Bradham Thornton, blasted Griffin’s planned compound for its “inordinate size” which would “dwarf” other homes in the area.

The Post has reached out to Citadel, Lurie, and the Thorntons seeking comment.

Advertisement

• Entertainment
• Latest Mortgage Rates
• Credit Cards
• Restaurants
• Food & Drink
• Lamborghini
• Aston Martin
• Rolls Royce
• Harley Davidson
• Honda Motorcycles
• BMW Motorcycles
• Triumph Motorcycles
• Indian Motorcycles
• Patek Philippe
• A. Lange & Söhne
• Audemars Piguet
• Jaeger-LeCoultre
• Vacheron Constantin
• Electronics
• Collectibles

20 Things You Didn't Know about Ken Griffin

Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of Citadel, recently made headlines after news emerged that he’d added a $99 million beach house in Florida to his already considerable property empire. The 3.7-acre property, which boasts 8 bedrooms and occupies an enviable position on Palm Beach, represents the second-biggest property deal in the city to date. Over the past few years, Griffin has been snapping up jaw-droppingly expensive properties left, right and center, spending at least $350 million on his ever-growing Palm Beach estate alone (which is to say nothing of his historic purchase of a $238 million residence in New York City earlier this year). To learn more about the professional and personal life of the financial titan, read on.

1. He bought the most expensive property ever sold

In January 2019, Griffin made history when he closed a deal to buy the most expensive property to ever be sold in the US. The New York penthouse (which comes with some very nice views over Central Park and a stunning interior that stretches over several floors) set the Citadel founder back a mammoth $238 million. As reported by CNBC the property was purchased in its raw state, meaning Griffin will need to fork out several more millions before the home is designed, built and furnished to completion.

2. He’s known for his big property investments

New York isn’t the only state in which Griffin has closed a massive property deal: his previous investments in Chicago and Miami represent the most expensive sales the states have ever witnessed. In Chicago, Griffin laid down $58.5 million for the top four floors of a condo tower on the Gold Coast. Before that, Chicago’s most expense property sale was the comparatively minor $18.75 million paid by George Lucas and his wife for a penthouse at Park Tower. In 2015, meanwhile, Griffin broke records when he happily handed over $60 million for a penthouse in Miami- the most anyone has ever paid for the privilege of owning a condo in the city.

3. He’s going global with his spending

It’s not just the US property market that’s benefiting from Griffin’s cash; he’s also proving to be a realtor’s dream in the UK. Around about the time he was laying down $238 million for his Manhattan residence, he was also busy breaking records in London by handing over a historic $122 million for a manse near Buckingham Palace.

4. His spending spree has led to speculation

Griffin’s recent spending spree has led many to speculate about why’s he splashing so much of his cash on the housing market. “He buys them because he is a Master of the Universe — and he can,” New York City real estate broker Dolly Lenz has suggested to the Post . One of Griffin’s colleagues has offered the alternative suggestion that “Preservation of capital over the long term is the only thing I can think of.’’ Other sources close to Griffin have suggested a more personal reason for his recent investments. “He has been buying them up since his divorce to impress women he is dating,’’ one source has said.

5. He’s no socialist

Some real estate sources have suggested the real reason behind Griffin’s sudden interest in buying up swathes of prime Florida real estate is down to a very simple motivation: taxes. By moving his primary residence from Chicago to Florida, the business magnate would benefit from a much lower tax rate. While this is, of course, purely speculative, it certainly fits in with his very hostile position towards socialism. “Where we see the government involved in great degrees of subsidizations is where we often see the economy break down the greatest,’ he told the attendees of the Milken Institute Global Conference in spring this year.

6. He’s made financial contributions to both major parties

As we’ve already discovered, Griffin is no socialist, but that’s not to say he’s a dye-in-the-wool republican either. As Chicago Mag reports, Griffin has made numerous (and substantial) donations to candidates from both major parties over the years, including the Republicans Paul Ryan and Senator Tom Coburn, and the Democrats Rahm Emanuel and Senator Evan Bayh. In 2011 alone, Griffin and his then-wife, Anne, donated a reported $1,869,400 to political causes. Despite his obviously keen interest in politics, Griffin has publicly stated that he has no interest in running for election himself.

7. He started his first investment fund at Harvard

Griffin’s interest in investing was piqued after reading a Forbes magazine article on the subject during his freshman year at Harvard . After making some initial investments, he launched his first hedge fund during his second year of college, capitalized with $265,000 seed money borrowed from various friends and relatives. His success allowed him to launch a 2nd fund soon after; by the time he graduated from Harvard in 1989, he was managing over $1 million in assets.

8. Frank C. Meyer was his first major investor

Fresh from Harvard with a degree in economics, the young Griffin managed to impress Frank C. Meyer, the founder of Glenwood Capital LLC, so much that Meyer offered Griffin $1 million to invest as he saw fit. Griffin did just that, and in return for his generosity, Meyer was rewarded with a 70% return on his initial investment.

9. He founded Citadel in 1990

A year after graduating, Griffin founded Citadel Investment Group with the proceeds of his previous investments (which by then had managed to return a staggering $4.6 million). The company grew rapidly, and within just 8 years, had $1 billion in investment capital and an army of over 100 employees.

10. He shook things up in 1994

In 1994, Griffin experienced a rare set back when Citadel made its first loss. In response, Griffin made the decision to turn Citadel from a hedge fund into a mainstream investment company, believing this the best way to withstand any changes or disruptions in the market. After enjoying a sustained period of growth, the company was again shaken when the 2008 financial crisis hit. After its Kensington and Wellington Funds lost 55 percent of their value, Griffin made the decision to suspend shareholder redemptions, something he’s since described as one of the “most difficult decisions" he’s ever made. By 2012, Griffin’s strategy of managing the crisis had paid off, and the company had recouped all the loses of 2008.

11. He’s been described as a great boss

In March 2015, Citadel won the honor of ranking on the Top 10 Great Workplaces in Financial Services by the Great Places to Work Institute. As Business Insider reports, employees of the financial giant can expect to enjoy such perks as free daily meals, private museum tours, and fitness programs. Griffin’s enthusiasm for a collaborative, inclusive environment stems from his firsthand experience of working for a company at the other end of the scale. “It was a defining moment in my youth when I realized I wanted to be part of a team that liked to collaborate and work together," he told Crain's.

12. He was Forbes' youngest-ever self-made millionaire

In 2003, Griffin made the Forbes 400 for the first time, making him the youngest ever self-made millionaire to make the list. His fortune at the time was estimated to be $650 million. By the following year, that fortune had increased enough for Forbes to name him the eighth richest American under 40; by 2006, he was the fifth-youngest richest American on the Forbes 400.

13. He’s one of the highest-earning hedge fund managers in the world

In March 2019, Forbes named Griffin to their list of the highest-earning hedge fund managers and traders in the world. The ranking came after a very successful year for Citadel, which saw the firm’s flagship hedge fund return 9.1%, and its other funds return between 6% and 9% net of fees. Griffin’s personal earnings for 2018 are estimated to be a massive $870 million.

14. He’s worth $12.8 billion

Given that Griffin was already managing $1 million in assets before he’d even graduated university, it’ll be little surprise to most to learn he’s one of the world’s richest men. According the Forbes , the Citadel founder is today worth an estimated $12.8 billion, a fortune that makes him the 117th richest person in the world, and the richest resident of the state of Illinois.

15. He’s twice married, twice divorced

After Griffin’s first marriage to childhood sweetheart, Katherine Weingartt, ended in divorce, he married his second wife, Anne Dias-Griffin (founder of Aragon Global Management, a Chicago-based hedge fund firm) in 2004. Eleven years of marriage and three children later, the couple called it a day in October 2015, citing the usual “irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split.

15. He contributed to the building of a chapel

In 2011, Griffin, a member of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, donated $11 million to the building of a new chapel at the church. In honor of the significant donation, the church named the new five-story, 80,000-square-foot addition “ The Genevieve and Wayne Gratz Center” as a tribute to Griffin’s grandparents.

16. He’s noted for his philanthropy

The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago isn’t the only beneficiary of Griffin’s wealth; over the years, the financial titan has made no shortage of donations to charitable causes. In 2007, he donated $19 million to the Art Institute of Chicago, while in February 2014, he gifted $150 million to his alma mater, Harvard University, in what was then the largest single donation to ever be made to the university. Other institutes to benefit from his philanthropy include the Chicago Park District and the Department of Economics of the University of Chicago.

17. He’s a Hall of Fame inductee

In 2008, Griffin was honored when the Institutional Investors Alpha's Hedge Fund Manager Hall of Fame inducted him as a member. Griffin was one of 12 legendary investors inducted that year, with the others being Alfred Jones, Bruce Kovner, David Swensen, George Soros , Jack Nash, James Simons, Julian Roberston, Leon Levy, Louis Bacon, Michael Steinhardt, Paul Tudor Jones, Seth Klarman and Steven A. Cohen.

18. He’s an avid art collector

Given the enormous state of his fortune, Griffin has cash to burn (or at least he did have, before he started spending vast swathes of it on prime chunks of real estate). One of his favorite ways of splashing the cash is on building his art collection. In 1999, he added to what was already a very significant collection when he purchased Paul Cézanne's Curtain, Jug and Fruit Bowl for a record $60 million. In 2006, he spent a grand total of $80 million on False Start by Jasper Johns. Other significant purchases include Willem de Kooning's 1955 oil painting, Interchange, and Jackson Pollock's 1948 painting, Number 17A, both of which were purchased from music mogul David Geffen for $300 million and $200 million respectively.

19. He’s the vice-chairman of the Chicago Public Education Fund

Outside of his activities with Citadel, Griffin is an active member of several non-business-related boards, including the University of Chicago's Board of Trustees, and the Board of Trustees for the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He also currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Chicago Public Education Fund.

20. He’s a member of the G100

While Griffin has previously confirmed he holds no political aspirations, he’s not reluctant to exert his influence in other spheres. In addition to his membership of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (a nonpartisan research organization that provides advise on US capital markets to policymakers), Griffin is also an active member of the G100, a community of 100 CEOs that, as their website declares, delivers “actionable insights that improve business performance.”

Written by  Allen Lee

Related articles, what is the difference between revit and autocad.

Serious Injuries in Personal Injury Claims: Your Options for Compensation

The Benefits of Hiring a Family Law Generalist

What is the statute of limitations for personal injury in california.

Find a Car Accident Lawyer near You

Driving errors that are leading to auto crashes in west virginia, new scams in town: protect yourself from financial fraud in 2024, transfer fees that changed football.

Wealth Insight! Subscribe to our Exclusive Newsletter

• Private Equity
• What Our Members Say
• Philanthropy
• Corporate Partnership
• Capital Raising / Marketing
• Investor Lunches / Dinners
• Newsletter Back Issues
• Palm Beach Pursuits Back Issues
• Ultra-Luxury Socials

Investor Awareness Social At Palm Beach Art & Design Center!

Announcing A Strategic Partnership With Brahman Developments

SOLD OUT: Super Yacht Deal Making Aboard ETERNITY!!

Welcome 2023 With The PBHFA At Maxwell’s Plum– Luxury Deal Making Social!

Pbhfa photo spread featured in superyacht one magazine, hedge funder ken griffin gives $20 million to norton museum, palm beach real estate market is on fire, ken griffen shelves palm beach mega mansion, ken griffin super sizes mega mansion, palm beach hedge fundee donates $125 million to university of chicago.

Take a look at Florida native Ken Griffin’s plans to build the world’s second-most expensive home in Palm Beach. The $1 billion mega-mansion of the hedge fund billionaire will have a mammoth swimming pool, spa, and lakeside gardens.

You may also like

After getting off the sanctions list, Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov got his $100 million expedition superyacht out of the dark after a year and started transmitting its location data. The 252-foot-long vessel features a submarine, a Turkish spa, and even a hospital.

His barber flies from London to give him a $20,000 haircut – The ridiculously luxurious life of the Sultan of Brunei that makes oligarchs look poor – His 1,700 room palace dwarfs the Buckingham palace, he flies in a gold plated Boeing 747 and has a fleet of 7,000 cars.

In a scene straight out of Succession, Qatar’s billionaire emir anchored his $300 million superyacht by Ischia, Italy, and took a speedboat ride just to have an ice-cold aperitif on the idyllic island.

One of the most generous billionaire of our times – Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife Mackenzie Scott has donated a Beverly Hills Estate worth $55 million to charity

To avoid billionaires at St. Barths, Jeff Bezos has sailed his $500 million Koru megayacht to Antigua. Just so that the Amazon founder and his fiancée have a relaxing time, the tourism minister of the Caribbean nation has urged the public to stay away from the couple and their vessel.

The inspiring journey on how Tyler Perry became a billionaire – The Oscar winner has Oprah Winfrey on speed dial, put a roof on Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s head and transported aid to hurricane victims on his $150 million private jet.

Capri Sun billionaire was on his 235-foot-long superyacht when it crashed not once but twice in spite of it being controlled by 12 onboard computers. The $82 million vessel that boasts a swimming pool, helipad, and even a hospital had almost destroyed the dock in Saint Maarten.

This sanctioned Russian tycoon played every trick in the book to prevent his ex-wife from taking his beloved $360 million explorer yacht but his luck has now run out as the German authorities want to seize it. So powerful is the vessel that it can power a town of 25,000 people.

Take a look at Whatsapp founder Jon Koum’s stunning $220 million superyacht – He worked as a cleaner and lived on food stamps, and now the billionaire’s pleasure craft is longer than a football field.

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

An Olympics first

University Disability Resources celebrates Disability Pride

Brian Lee to step down as VP for alumni affairs and development

Kenneth C. Griffin spent the day on campus, stopping at the Faculty Club to meet with Naomi Bashkansky ‘25, David Paquette ’23, and other students.

Photos by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

Kenneth C. Griffin makes gift of $300 million to FAS

Graduate school of arts and sciences named in honor of alum’s four decades of philanthropy, support for expanding opportunity, advancing excellence.

Harvard University announced today that business leader and philanthropist Kenneth C. Griffin ’89 has made a gift of $300 million to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) to support the School’s mission and to advance cutting-edge research and expand access and excellence in education for students and scholars regardless of economic circumstances. This unrestricted gift furthers Griffin’s philanthropic legacy at Harvard, which spans four decades and totals more than $500 million.

In recognition of Griffin’s commitment to Harvard’s mission over the years, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will be renamed the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in his honor.

Griffin’s most recent gift builds on his commitment to expanding opportunity and his legacy of transformational support for the FAS and across Harvard. His $150 million contribution to financial aid in 2014 remains the largest single gift to undergraduate financial aid and to Harvard College. That endowed gift currently supports 228 undergraduates — and has supported more than 600 to date. It also established the Griffin Leadership Challenge, which inspired alumni and other donors to establish 654 new scholarships during a four-year period and made it possible for the FAS to raise $600 million for undergraduate financial aid.

Griffin’s latest gift positions Harvard to continue to attract the best students and scholars from around the world.

“Ken’s exceptional generosity and steadfast devotion enable excellence and opportunity at Harvard,” said Harvard President Larry Bacow. “His choice to support FAS underscores the power of education to transform lives and to expand the reach of our research in every field imaginable. It has been a great pleasure to get to know Ken throughout my presidency, and I am deeply and personally appreciative of the confidence he has placed in us — and in our mission — to do good in the world.”

Griffin’s gift to the FAS provides essential resources to support every aspect of the School’s mission, particularly long-term excellence in teaching and research within and across its many fields and disciplines. The FAS is home to Harvard’s undergraduate program as well as all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs. The 40 academic departments and 30-plus centers of the FAS support a community unparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest range of liberal arts and sciences disciplines, powering truth-seeking and problem-solving at Harvard and well beyond.

The gift also underscores the power of graduate education, with graduate students and faculty creating new knowledge that enhances understanding across every area of study. Those students become the next generation of scholars, with some advancing knowledge and innovation as academic leaders at universities throughout the world and others applying their research to create new therapies, technologies, and tools to advance human health or help drive the economy.

Griffin’s gift enables such pathways and provides a firm foundation for the FAS to pursue student success and cultivate deep expertise and new collaborations across disciplines and departments.

“Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences is committed to advancing ideas that will shape humanity’s future, while providing important insight into our past,” said Griffin. “I am excited to support the impactful work of this great institution.”

“I have witnessed firsthand the impact of Ken’s philanthropy in my time as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences,” said Claudine Gay, Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS. “His extraordinary investment in our institution and, notably, his understanding of the power of unrestricted funds have been essential to our School’s ability to confidently advance academic excellence in service to the world, while navigating headwinds from the pandemic to shifts in the economy.”

Griffin’s gift to the FAS comes at a moment of opportunity as the School undertakes a broad strategic planning process focused on delivering a forward-looking vision for excellence in graduate education, faculty support and development, and organization of academic communities. As part of that broader work in the FAS, the Graduate School convened a faculty-led working group focused on admissions and education, designed to ensure that students graduate with the potential to serve as intellectual leaders for the 21st century.

“I am deeply and personally appreciative of the confidence he has placed in us — and in our mission — to do good in the world.” Larry Bacow, Harvard president

As the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences takes on its new name, it is also marking its 150th anniversary. Situated within the FAS,  Harvard Griffin GSAS offers Ph.D. and select master’s degrees in over 57 departments and programs. Through degree and non-degree study and visiting and outreach programs, the School connects students with all parts of the University.

“As we celebrate our sesquicentennial this year, we are looking ahead to our next 150 years and imagining what our current students will achieve,” said Emma Dench, Dean of the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History and of the Classics. “This investment in the Faculty of the Arts and Sciences cannot help but support our students as they engage in the inquiry and innovation that will ultimately lead to positive impact on the world.”

Noting the celebration of the School’s milestone, Bacow reflected on how important graduate education and research are to Harvard’s mission. Graduate research helped create vaccines to curb the spread of COVID-19, a development made possible by basic research done decades ago that helped scientists understand how mRNA could be used to code proteins that incite a protective immune response, thereby controlling viral infections. Research in philosophy and ethics is now helping guide how colleges and universities educate those who are making advances in artificial intelligence. And research in data science is helping scholars and policymakers understand sources of economic opportunity and social mobility.

Griffin’s most recent gift builds on his previous support for faculty and students, including the $150 million gift in 2014 to expand undergraduate financial aid.

Last month, Harvard announced another expansion of the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative (HFAI) for low- and middle-income families. Beginning with the class of 2027, the cost to attend Harvard College, which includes tuition, room, board, and all fees, will be free for families with annual incomes below $85,000. This is an increase from the $75,000 annual income threshold announced last year. Today more than half of undergraduate families receive need-based scholarships and one in four families pay nothing toward the cost of a Harvard education.

Griffin, who concentrated in economics and began investing from his dorm room in Cabot House as a sophomore, has also made gifts to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School. He has supported important University priorities such as stem cell research and, recently, a professorship in economics in honor of Professor Martin Feldstein. In 1999, he established the Wayne R. Gratz Scholarship in honor of his grandfather.

Griffin is the founder and chief executive officer of Citadel, one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms. He is also the founder and non-executive chairman of Citadel Securities, one of the largest market makers in the world. His innovative philanthropic initiatives have made him a leader in advancing breakthroughs in science and medicine, enabling longer and healthier lives, as well as in expanding access and opportunity in education, equipping the next generation of leaders with the tools needed to succeed. Griffin’s leadership during the COVID-19 crisis helped mobilize partners across government, business, and healthcare to fund critical research and safely rescue hundreds of Americans from Wuhan, China. He also provided crucial thought leadership that laid the foundation for Operation Warp Speed – a U.S. program designed to accelerate the creation and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.

Share this article

You might like.

First-year fencer makes history as member of all-Harvard squad in Paris

Investments and realignment of resources creates greater access for Harvard community members

‘Champion of Harvard and our mission’ will depart at end of calendar year

When should Harvard speak out?

Institutional Voice Working Group provides a roadmap in new report

Had a bad experience meditating? You're not alone.

Altered states of consciousness through yoga, mindfulness more common than thought and mostly beneficial, study finds — though clinicians ill-equipped to help those who struggle

College sees strong yield for students accepted to Class of 2028  

Financial aid was a critical factor, dean says

FIFA World Cup 2026 Miami Host Committee 

#wearemiami

Kenneth C. Griffin

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel

Kenneth C. Griffin is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel , one of the world’s leading alternative investment firms. Ken is also the Founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Citadel Securities, one of the world’s preeminent market makers. A passionate philanthropist, Ken has donated more than $2 billion to advance education, opportunity, and health sciences initiatives that significantly transform people’s lives.

Intrigued by finance from a young age, Ken began investing in 1986 from his Harvard dorm room. The following year, he launched a small hedge fund that utilized emerging quantitative analytics to inform investment decision-making. In 1990, a year after graduating, he founded Citadel.

Ken founded Citadel on the belief that extraordinary individuals, equipped with advanced quantitative analytics and powerful software, could unlock opportunities in the world’s capital markets. A commitment to continuous learning, problem-solving, and meritocracy defines the firm’s culture. Citadel is routinely ranked among the best places to work, and the firm’s focus on advancing the careers of its team members is renowned on Wall Street.

Today, Citadel’s team of more than 2,500 professionals manages nearly $60 billion in investment capital. Citadel is recognized as one of the world’s most profitable hedge funds. The Citadel team has delivered extraordinary results for pension plans, university endowments, hospital systems, foundations, and research institutions that deliver meaningful impact for society, from curing cancer with immunotherapy to making scientific breakthroughs in particle physics.

In 2002, Ken and his partners established Citadel Securities as a market maker in the United States capital markets. Today, Citadel Securities is one of the world’s largest liquidity providers, serving more than 1,400 institutional clients, including many of the world’s largest central banks and sovereign wealth funds. Citadel Securities is recognized as a market leader in empowering clients to reach their investment goals and has proved transformative in enhancing competition in capital markets worldwide.

Ken’s decades of philanthropic involvement reflect the same strategic mindset that has contributed to his business success. Now advanced through  Griffin Catalyst , Ken’s contributions have expanded access to education at all levels for millions of Americans, transformed research and medical institutions with historic gifts, and strengthened our cultural institutions. Ken’s insights were instrumental in the launch of Operation Warp Speed’s accelerated COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment strategies.

Ken holds an A.B. ’89 with Honors in Economics from Harvard College.

• Presidential Search
• Editor's Pick

Former Defense Department General Counsel Appointed Harvard’s Top Lawyer

Democracy Center Protesters Stage ‘Emergency Rally’ with Pro-Palestine Activists Amid Occupation

Harvard Violated Contract With HGSU in Excluding Some Grad Students, Arbitrator Rules

House Committee on China to Probe Harvard’s Handling of Anti-CCP Protest at HKS

Harvard Republican Club Endorses Donald Trump in 2024 Presidential Election

Ken Griffin: Depart To Serve Better Thy Country and Thy Kind

“Depart to serve better thy country and thy kind.”

This is the charge that Harvard University gives to you. You encounter it every time you pass through Dexter Gate, where those words are inscribed. As a graduate myself, I have read them many times and have spent four decades striving to live up to them.

Now it’s your time to honor the trust that Harvard has placed in you.

Harvard has trained centuries of leaders who have uplifted humanity through science, the arts, business, and politics. Your predecessors committed themselves to active participation in our civic life, serving and sacrificing for the sake of others. Carry the torch that is now being passed on to you and build a future that unites us.

As you embark on this next chapter of your life, give back to our country that has given you so much. Strive to honor the legacies of the remarkable people who graduated from Harvard and wrote our Constitution. Live by the words of John Adams, Class of 1755, who wrote that “Avarice, Ambition, Revenge or Gallantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People.”

Live a life for others. Seek to make tangible differences in the lives of those around you by tutoring youth in the inner city, building a business that creates jobs, or running for public office.

Second, support freedom of inquiry. Be ready to constructively debate ideas even in moments of heated disagreement. Engaging people with whom you disagree and pushing yourself to learn from them is the surest path to enlightenment. An ethos of respect for free speech, where all ideas can be debated and considered, is essential to this goal. True progress is fostered by embracing diversity in its highest form: diversity of thought.

Third, trust in your ability to shape your own future. Your intellect and resolve will be the keys to your success. Do not allow the color of your skin, the circumstances of your birth, or any other quality over which you lack control to define your aspirations. If you repudiate the flawed and divisive paradigm of a society split into “the oppressed” and “the oppressors,” and instead embrace the notion that you control your own destiny, you will have the greatest opportunity to excel.

Finally, appreciate the role you play in society as a leader. People will look to you to be constructive in your rhetoric and problem-solving approach. Protesting and shouting sloppy political slogans are beneath you. Channel your passions towards partnerships and persuasion. Societal change will require the buy-in and support of those around you. Coming to the table with a constructive attitude will produce better results than a combative one.

There is serious work ahead of us, and serious people must do it. We cannot afford a generation of activists who gripe about their own situation instead of diligently working to find solutions. And we do not need blind followers who go along with the crowd claiming adherence to rigid and divisive ideologies.

We need leaders and doers who can engage constructively across differences through deliberation and debate, and who understand that our nation’s success has been — and will be — driven by our passion for excellence and a commitment to the public good.

As you prepare to graduate, walk through Dexter Gate one final time. Pay attention to the words that soar above you. As Harvard alumni, you have not just earned a college degree. You have taken upon yourself an obligation to better serve communities and the country that has given you so much.

Kenneth C. Griffin ’89 is the founder, chief executive officer, and co-chief investment officer of Citadel LLC and the namesake of the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Griffin Financial Aid Office at Harvard College.

Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.

Related Articles

Ken Griffin paid $45 Million for a Stegosaurus

H edge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin paid Sotheby’s $44.6 million for a nearly complete Stegosaurus skeleton on Wednesday, the most ever paid for a fossil at auction.

The 150 million-year-old dinosaur, nicknamed “Apex,” was only expected to sell for up to $6 million. Its sale surpassed the $32 million paid four years ago by Abu Dhabi for a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton widely known as “Stan.” The sale also soared past the $8.4 million paid in 1997 for another T.rex nicknamed “Sue,” now on view at Chicago’s Field Museum.

Griffin, the 55 year-old founder and chief executive of Citadel, aims to lend “Apex” to a museum in the U.S., according to a person close to the collector.

Griffin has a history of splurging on trophy pieces. In 2021, Griffin said he outbid a group of cryptocurrency investors to win a $43.2 million first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution in part so he could be certain it stayed in the country. He later lent it to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Collectors tend to pay a premium for instantly recognizable predators with “Jurassic Park” ties such as the Tyrannosaurus rex and the Velociraptor, but this 27-foot-long herbivore stood out as soon as commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper unearthed it on his Dinosaur, Colo., property two years ago because it was so intact. At least 254 of its roughly 319 bones were found on site, with the rest needed to be manufactured so that Sotheby’s could pose the 11-foot-tall specimen in a fighting stance.

No one knows if “Apex” was male or female, but Sotheby’s said it was an adult. There are no obvious signs that it was ever involved in a fight, and its skeleton includes fragile impressions of its skin and delicate bones, including throat armor.

The dinosaur was found in the northwestern corner of Colorado in the Morrison Formation, an area known for dinosaur fossils buried in the Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock.

Write to Kelly Crow at [email protected]

• Work & Careers
• Life & Arts

Become an FT subscriber

To read this article for free register now.

Once registered, you can:

• Read free articles
• Get our Editor's Digest and other newsletters
• Follow topics and set up personalised events
• Access Alphaville: our popular markets and finance blog
• Global news & analysis
• Expert opinion
• Special features
• FirstFT newsletter
• Videos & Podcasts
• Android & iOS app
• FT Edit app
• 10 gift articles per month

Explore more offers.

Standard digital.

• FT Digital Edition

Premium Digital

Print + premium digital, ft professional, weekend print + standard digital, weekend print + premium digital.

Then $75 per month. Complete digital access to quality FT journalism. Cancel anytime during your trial.

• Global news & analysis
• Exclusive FT analysis
• FT App on Android & iOS
• FirstFT: the day's biggest stories
• 20+ curated newsletters
• Follow topics & set alerts with myFT
• FT Videos & Podcasts
• 20 monthly gift articles to share
• Lex: FT's flagship investment column
• 15+ Premium newsletters by leading experts
• FT Digital Edition: our digitised print edition
• Weekday Print Edition
• Videos & Podcasts
• Premium newsletters
• 10 additional gift articles per month
• FT Weekend Print delivery
• Everything in Standard Digital
• Everything in Premium Digital

Today's FT newspaper for easy reading on any device. This does not include ft.com or FT App access.

• 10 monthly gift articles to share
• Everything in Print
• Make and share highlights
• FT Workspace
• Markets data widget
• Subscription Manager
• Workflow integrations
• Occasional readers go free
• Volume discount

Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. Pay a year upfront and save 20%.

Terms & Conditions apply

Explore our full range of subscriptions.

Why the ft.

See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times.

Kenneth Griffin Biography, Age, Net Worth, Wife, Girlfriend, Children, House, Yacht, Wiki.

All You Need To Know About, Kenneth C, Griffin: His Biography Wiki, Philanthropy, House, Helicopter, Investments, Citadel, House, Ken Griffin Married, Wife, Girlfriend, Son, Siblings, Twitter, Children, Ken Griffin Net Worth, Ken Griffin Family, Ken Griffin Yacht, Ken Griffin Wife, Daughter, Houses, Career, Wikipedia, Education, Ethnicity, Tribe, Chelsea, Richest Man. Etc.

Please Share:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Deep, Dark . . . and Teeming with Life

Brooke Travis, PhD candidate

Share this page

Brooke Travis is a PhD candidate in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology who studies the deep sea. She talks about her work on a clam that can go for long periods without oxygen, how her lifelong interest in marine biology brought her to Harvard, and her founding of a new club at Harvard Griffin GSAS.

Under the Sea

One of the reasons the deep sea is so interesting is that creatures who live there have adapted to an environment of low oxygen, high pressure, and an absence of light. It’s very different from the conditions under which humans exist. 

When you think more broadly about an ecosystem on land, you see how dependent it is on light. Plants feed themselves through photosynthesis, turning light into sugars they consume, which supports the entire food chain. Primary consumers eat the plants, and animals eat the primary consumers. Scientists assumed they would not find a rich and thriving animal community in the deep sea since there was no light to drive the ecosystem.

In the 1970s, scientists wanted to prove the existence of hydrothermal vents—hot springs that “ form at locations where seawater meets magma .” When they went down to the deep sea to explore these vents, they were surprised to find an abundance of rich, biodiverse life thanks to a process called chemoautotrophy, in which bacteria near the vents harness chemical energy to create their food. This is the bedrock of life in the deep sea where creatures take advantage of the bacteria that perform chemoautotrophy. 

I’m interested in the relationship between the bacteria and the creatures they support as well as the biochemistry behind these symbiotic relationships. So, I’m studying a deep-sea clam that can live without oxygen for ten months—three times longer under these conditions than other clams. I want to know how chemoautotrophic bacteria support the clam during oxygen-starved periods.  I hypothesize the bacteria are creating an internal reservoir of oxygen to support the clam’s needs, which would be a completely novel discovery! 

From Seminar to Graduate School

I never thought I would study deep ocean science. I grew up in upstate New York, which is pretty landlocked. But throughout my life, I have been interested in marine biology. I tried my best to do summer programs in marine science to make sure it was what I wanted. When I went to college at Cornell, I studied marine science and did lots of research to try and gauge what piqued my interest. I was drawn to the molecular level of biology—what happens within a cell, what kind of biochemistry is going on. I started to piece together the things that I wanted to study: the marine angle, the molecular science, and the bacterial aspect. 

Before coming to Harvard, my current advisor, Professor Peter Girguis, gave a talk at Cornell in 2019. Even though the event was supposed to be just for graduate students, I snuck in. We got to talking afterward and found that our interests and how we think about science aligned. I applied to graduate school at Harvard Griffin GSAS so I could work with him, and I’ve been happy ever since. 

Interdisciplinary Innovation

One thing I have enjoyed about my time at Harvard Griffin GSAS is the freedom to create my curriculum. For instance, I took a class on microbial pathogenesis at the Medical School. It was about trying to understand infectious disease from the perspective of bacteria—what makes a pathogen successful. I loved that framing, and as I took the class, I noticed a shift in the way I thought about my own work. I now had this medical lens that gave me new opportunities to connect my research to other fields and learn from them.

That experience inspired me to start the InterDisciplinary Club at Harvard Griffin GSAS. The purpose is to provide a space where scholars from different fields can discuss their work and gain different perspectives on it. Our first meeting took place on Harvard’s Cambridge campus in November 2023 and featured Harvard Medical School Professor Jonathan Kagan who spoke on “Challenging Assumptions in Immunology Using Deep-Sea Microbes.” Afterward, some of my colleagues in biology were thinking about how to apply what they learned to their work. I am very grateful to have had the chance to explore this approach at Harvard.

Get the Latest Updates

Join our newsletter, subscribe to colloquy podcast, connect with us, related news.

La Erudita del Cine

USC Cinema and Media Studies Professor Laura Isabel Serna, PhD ’08, talks about her research on American film and Mexican immigration, her attraction to off-beat projects, and how two Harvard mentors helped propel her to success.

Finding Secrets in Fossils

How did different animals develop the same protection mechanism despite not being closely related? Recent PhD graduate Sarah Losso investigates.

Fitness, Physics, and Fighting Pathogens

Student Vaibhav Mohanty brings together chemistry, physics, and evolutionary biology to develop new strategies for treating disease.

Speaking Out on Inequality

PhD student Fiona Chen combines her passion for social change with the study of labor markets to inform the effort to address widening inequality in the US.

• Crimson Careers
• For Employers
• Harvard College
• Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
• Harvard Extension School
• Premed / Pre-Health
• Families & Supporters
• Faculty & Staff
• Prospective Students
• First Generation / Low Income
• International Students
• Students of Color
• Students with Disabilities
• Undocumented Students
• Explore Interests & Make Career Decisions
• Create a Resume/CV or Cover Letter
• Expand Your Network
• Engage with Employers
• Search for a Job
• Find an Internship
• January Experiences (College)
• Find & Apply for Summer Opportunities Funding
• Prepare for an Interview
• Negotiate an Offer
• Apply to Graduate or Professional School
• Access Resources
• AI for Professional Development and Exploration
• Arts & Entertainment
• Business & Entrepreneurship
• Climate, Sustainability, Environment, Energy
• Government, Int’l Relations, Education, Law, Nonprofits
• Life Sciences & Health
• Technology & Engineering
• Still Exploring
• Talk to an Advisor

Here’s What it’s Like to Work on Ground-Breaking AI Projects at Meta

• Share This: Share Here’s What it’s Like to Work on Ground-Breaking AI Projects at Meta on Facebook Share Here’s What it’s Like to Work on Ground-Breaking AI Projects at Meta on LinkedIn Share Here’s What it’s Like to Work on Ground-Breaking AI Projects at Meta on X

“If you’d asked Angela F. as a college student if she thought she’d one day work on groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) projects, her answer would have been a resounding “‘”no.”

“I was pre-med because I was passionate about helping people,” she says. “I didn’t switch to consider a career in tech until the latter half of college.”

But once she discovered data science, Angela was hooked. She pivoted immediately and began pursuing a future in tech. Her first stop? Meta, where she participated in the Meta Immersion Program, which teaches people without a data science background to code… Today, Angela—who recently relocated from Meta’s Paris office to New York—is doing just that as a research scientist at Meta. Her work focuses on generative AI and large language models (LLMs), and she also collaborates closely with the machine learning and product teams.

Here, Angela shares the most meaningful AI project she’s worked on, how Meta’s culture inspires her to be her true self, and the one skill that has helped her succeed.”

Read more of the Q&A with Angela in the Muse article published on 3/7/2024 .