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{{Infobox CEO
| name = Kenneth Cordele Griffin
| image = Ken_Griffin.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Griffin at an event
| birth_name = Kenneth Cordele Griffin
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|10|15}}
| birth_place = Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
| nationality = {{flag|United States}} American
| education = Harvard College (BA Economics)
| occupation = Hedge fund manager, investor, philanthropist
| years_active = 1987-present
| known_for = Founder and CEO of Citadel LLC
| employer = Citadel LLC
| title = Founder, Chief Executive Officer
| net_worth = $48 billion (August 2025 est.)
}}

'''Kenneth Cordele Griffin''' (born October 15, 1968) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist who serves as the founder, chief executive officer, co-chief investment officer, and 80% owner of [[Citadel LLC]], one of the world's largest and most successful hedge funds.<ref>{{cite news |title=Citadel Profile |url=https://www.citadel.com/about/our-firm/ |publisher=Citadel |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref> He also founded and owns 85% of [[Citadel Securities]], one of the largest market makers in the United States, handling approximately 47% of all U.S. Retail trading volume.<ref>{{cite news |title=Citadel Securities Market Share |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-02/citadel-securities-gets-half-of-robinhood-orders-filing-shows |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=February 2, 2021 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

With an estimated net worth of $48 billion as of August 2025, Griffin ranks among the 35 wealthiest individuals in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ken Griffin Forbes Profile |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/ken-griffin/ |publisher=Forbes |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

Griffin is legendary in financial circles for having started his investment career while an undergraduate at Harvard University, trading convertible bonds from his dormitory room.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ken Griffin's Harvard Start |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ken-griffin-traded-from-harvard-dorm-room-2014-9 |newspaper=Business Insider |date=September 2014 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref> He launched his first investment fund at age 19, just days after his birthday, and the fund's short positions profited from the Black Monday crash of October 1987.<ref>{{cite news |title=Griffin Black Monday Profits |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/citadel-chief-ken-griffins-long-journey-from-harvard-dorm-to-hedge-fund-giant-1458321178 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 18, 2016 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref> Griffin founded Citadel in 1990 at age 22 with $4.6 million in capital.<ref>{{cite news |title=Citadel Founding |url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1505t3v9j4mgn/citadels-ken-griffin-on-building-a-65-billion-hedge-fund |newspaper=Institutional Investor |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

Griffin's art collection, valued near $800 million, includes Willem de Kooning's "Interchange" purchased for $300 million and Jackson Pollock's "Number 17A" purchased for $200 million - both acquired from David Geffen in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Griffin Art Collection |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/19/arts/design/ken-griffin-buys-two-paintings-for-500-million.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 18, 2016 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

== Early life and education ==

Kenneth Cordele Griffin was born on October 15, 1968, in Daytona Beach, Florida.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ken Griffin Biography |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ken-Griffin |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

Griffin graduated from Harvard College in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in economics.<ref>{{cite news |title=Griffin Harvard Graduation |url=https://www.harvard.edu/about/news-announcements/ken-griffin |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref> During his time at Harvard, he convinced administrators to install a satellite dish on his dormitory roof to receive stock quotes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Griffin's Harvard Satellite Dish |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/12/how-citadel-founder-ken-griffin-started-trading-from-his-harvard-dorm-room.html |newspaper=CNBC |date=October 12, 2017 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

== Career ==

=== Early trading (1987-1990) ===

Griffin launched his first investment fund in 1987, just days after his 19th birthday, with capital from investors including his grandmother.<ref>{{cite news |title=Griffin First Fund |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2018/02/06/ken-griffin-citadel-hedge-fund/ |newspaper=Forbes |date=February 6, 2018 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

Upon graduating from Harvard in 1989, Griffin moved to Chicago to work with Frank Meyer at Glenwood Capital Investments, where he generated approximately 70% annual returns.<ref>{{cite news |title=Griffin at Glenwood |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-ken-griffin-citadel-chicago-history-20220727-nvllbjwdqng5lhpg4amtgvgxwi-story.html |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=July 27, 2022 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

=== Citadel (1990-present) ===

In November 1990, Griffin founded Citadel LLC in Chicago with $4.6 million in assets under management.<ref>{{cite news |title=Citadel Founding History |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/citadels-ken-griffin-is-transforming-from-trading-titan-to-business-builder-1490703601 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=March 28, 2017 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

As of 2025, Citadel manages approximately $65 billion in assets.<ref>{{cite news |title=Citadel AUM |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-22/ken-griffin-s-citadel-flagship-fund-returned-15-3-in-2023 |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=January 22, 2024 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

=== GameStop controversy (2021) ===

In January 2021, Citadel invested $2 billion in Melvin Capital during the GameStop short squeeze, drawing scrutiny from investors and Congress.<ref>{{cite news |title=Citadel Melvin Capital Investment |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/citadel-point72-to-invest-2-75-billion-into-melvin-capital-management-11611604340 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

=== Miami relocation (2022) ===

In 2022, Griffin announced Citadel's headquarters would move from Chicago to Miami, citing crime and taxes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Citadel Moving to Miami |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/23/business/citadel-miami-ken-griffin.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 23, 2022 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

== Philanthropy ==

Griffin has donated over $2 billion to causes including education, medical research, and arts institutions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ken Griffin Philanthropy |url=https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/resource/ken-griffin/ |publisher=Philanthropy Roundtable |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

Major donations include $150 million to Harvard University and $125 million to the University of Chicago.<ref>{{cite news |title=Griffin Harvard Donation |url=https://www.harvard.edu/about/news-announcements/ken-griffin-donates-150-million |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

Griffin was married to Katherine Weingartt (1991-1996) and Anne Dias (2003-2015). He has three children with Dias.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ken Griffin Divorce |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-ken-griffin-anne-dias-divorce-0417-biz-20150416-story.html |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 16, 2015 |access-date=December 15, 2025}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Citadel LLC]]
* [[Citadel Securities]]
* [[GameStop short squeeze]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://www.citadel.com Citadel official website]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American billionaires]]
[[Category:American hedge fund managers]]
[[Category:Harvard College alumni]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Florida]]
[[Category:American philanthropists]]
[[Category:American art collectors]]

[[Category:Chief executive officers]]