It seems the failed liberal policies of the city of Chicago, currently championed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have created a very powerful, very expensive, new nemesis. And I guarantee you the Republican Party could not possibly be any happier about it.
CEO Ken Griffin, who was formerly the richest man in the state of Illinois and the current chief executive of hedge fund Citadel, has now donated more than $100 million to GOP midterm candidates after deciding to uproot his business, along with a whole lot of his personal estate, and relocate from Chicago to Miami.
“The financier has donated over $48 million to Republicans running in federal races, including $18.5 million in contributions to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican Super PAC, according to data from Open Secrets. Griffin also devoted $50 million toward the unsuccessful Illinois gubernatorial campaign of Richard Irvin, who was defeated in the state’s Republican primary,” the Daily Wire reported.
The Daily Wire said, “At the federal level, progressive billionaire George Soros has contributed more than any other donor. Griffin’s $48 million in contributions was also slightly surpassed by fellow Republican donor Richard Uihlein, a supply chain magnate.”
Griffin has a net worth around $29 billion, which puts him on the list of the top 50 wealthiest men on earth, according to information gleaned from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The billionaire started to acquire property in Florida earlier in the year after sharing concerns about the very mediocre business climate and spiking crime rate of Chicago. He later announced that Citadel, which manages a whopping $57 billion in assets, stated they too wanted to move to the Sunshine State.
Here are a few more details from the DW:
During a recent interview, Griffin indicated that a breaking point was the violent assault of two separate colleagues in the Windy City. The former was robbed after a person put “a gun to his head” during a coffee run, and another was attacked by “some random lunatic just trying to punch him in the head” while he was waiting for a car.
Griffin has since set his gaze on transforming Miami into “Wall Street South,” personally inviting other businessmen to pour their resources into Florida as officials in the state government prioritize a robust business climate. Citadel alone plans to invest as much as $1 billion in its new headquarters, while Griffin has spent $175 million on five acres of property in southern Florida and $450 million on land for a new estate north of Palm Beach.
“I’m going to work to create a building that’s iconic in Miami,” Griffin stated during the interview. “If it takes longer to fill the building, so be it. It’s more important to me to create the right environment to draw human capital that drives Citadel.”
Meanwhile, Griffin has divested from the state of Illinois, selling his two penthouses in Chicago. During recent remarks for a meeting of Florida Democrats, Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) bashed Griffin for leaving his state.
“So like a spoiled rich kid, Griffin announced he was taking his toys and leaving Illinois,” Pritzker retorted. “Where did he move to? You guessed it. His $400 million, 20-acre Palm Beach estate. And he’s one of Ron DeSantis’ largest donors.”
You know, that comment right there smacks of jealousy. It’s clear Pritzker hates the fact that he lost such a lucrative resident, but instead of acknowledging maybe the state needs to make some serious changes, he’d rather toss a little shade toward Griffin instead. Typical.
The state of Florida has actually witnessed the nation’s largest net domestic migration between July 2020 and July 2021, with a total of 220,000 people deciding to move to the state, the Census Bureau revealed.