Ken Griffin Moving Hedge Fund Giant Citadel From Chicago to Miami

The $51 billion hedge fund Citadel is joining the American exodus to Miami.

Billionaire Ken Griffin told Citadel employees on Thursday that the hedge fund is moving its global headquarters from Chicago to Miami. Griffin himself moved there with his family.

“Miami is a vibrant, growing metropolis that embodies the American Dream – embracing the possibilities of what can be achieved by a community working to build a future together,” Griffin wrote in an email to employees viewed by Breitbart News. “I am excited to have recently moved to Miami with my family and look forward to rapidly expanding Citadel in a city so rich in diversity and abounding with energy.”

Griffin wrote that he views Florida as a better corporate environment. The move is a feather in the cap of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. It is also a sign that the state’s recent rebuke of Disney has not deterred businesses from wanting to base themselves in the Sunshine State.

The email did not single out Chicago’s crime wave but the Wall Street Journal reported that this was a factor in the move. In an April interview with the Journal, suggested he might move his operations out of Illinois because of a rising crime rate and incidents involving employees.
“I’ve had multiple colleagues mugged at gunpoint. I’ve had a colleague stabbed on the way to work,” Griffin, who is based in Chicago, said in an The Bloomberg Billionaires Index puts him among the top 50 wealthiest people in the world. He is also an American patriot. Last year, he purchased a first-edition copy of the U.S. constitution for $43.2 million and is putting it on display for the public to view at venues across the country.

Griffin is a major donor to Republicans and has reportedly contributed $40 million toward the midterm elections. The New York Post reported that Grifin has given $5 million to a political action committee associated with DeSantis.

Griffin has been feuding in recent years with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a member of the family of heirs to the Hyatt hotel fortune that includes former U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and transgender philanthropist-advocate Jennifer Pritzker.

Many Americans have moved to Florida after uprooting themselves from cities plagued by the crime wave that went into overdrive in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd//BLM riots and protests. Stringent pandemic social distancing and other pandemic policies, including school closures, drove many to seek shelter in DeSantis’ Florida, where the governor saw to it that residents and visitors enjoyed a less panicked response to the pandemic.

“I am leaving New York City, the place where my husband and I both grew up and where we had planned to raise our own kids. The response to COVID-19 in New York, in particular where children are concerned, has driven our family out,” writer Karol Markowicz announced in December. She moved her family to Miami.

Earlier this month, Caterpillar announced it is moving its corporate headquarters from Illinois to Texas. Last month, Boeing announced that it was moving its headquarters from Chicago, Illinois, to Arlington, Virginia.

“Chicago has been a remarkable home for Citadel. I still remember the incredible civic pride and engagement when I arrived more than thirty years ago – and the outreach by business and political leaders who wanted us to succeed and be a part of the fabric of Chicago’s community. That ethos served us well in building our firm – and I am proud of all that we have contributed to Chicago over the past three decades. I hope we continue to make such a meaningful impact in all the cities around the world that we call home,” Griffin wrote in his email.