Billionaire Ken Cordele Griffin, an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and investor, has recently made a $83 million acquisition of a property on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. This purchase is located adjacent to a former Neiman Marcus store, which Griffin’s firm intends to utilize as an office.
With this latest transaction, the 55-year-old entrepreneur, as confirmed by his spokesman Zia Ahmed, has become the owner of both properties at 125 Worth Ave. and 151 Worth Ave. The sellers of 125 Worth Ave. were the Frisbie Group and Dreyfuss Management, according to Rob Frisbie, a principal of the Frisbie Group.
This purchase is part of Griffin’s efforts to expand his presence in Florida, following the relocation of Citadel and Citadel Securities’ headquarters from Chicago to the state. Moreover, he has plans to construct an office tower in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood, which could potentially become one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city.
In the past year, Griffin had acquired the former Neiman Marcus building on Palm Beach’s primary shopping street for $78 million, intending to convert it into an office space.
While Griffin’s main residence is in Miami, where he owns properties on Star Island and in Coconut Grove, he has amassed a significant amount of land in a residential area of Palm Beach. There, he is currently building a home for his mother and has plans to construct one for himself as well.
His estimated net worth, as recently reported by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, stands at nearly $37 billion. His wealth primarily stems from his successful management of Citadel Advisors, a hedge fund firm he founded in 1990.
In 2022, his net worth was approximated at $27.2 billion, landing him at the 53rd spot on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest individuals in the United States. Apart from being the founder, CEO, and co-chief investment officer of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund, Griffin also holds an 80% ownership stake in the company.
Griffin, originally from Daytona Beach, moved to Miami last year from Chicago. Griffin’s consistent criticism to the increasing crime rates in Chicago seems to have played a vital role in the choice to relocate Citadel to Miami.
