The billionaire founder of the hedge fund Citadel, who is reportedly worth $35 billion, was the wealthiest person in Illinois—then he moved himself and his company to Miami in 2022, reportedly to escape crime in Chicago.
These days, he’s scoring headlines for his educational donations: $20 million to Miami-Dade College and $300 million to his alma mater, Harvard.
“It’s about how we make America’s schools work better for our students and our country,” Griffin said, “whether it’s the Success Academy in New York, which has done a tremendous job in K-12 education; or, our great universities in the northeast; or schools such as Miami Dade, which are such a huge, huge first-generation opportunity. These are all really important institutions.”
“Every great city is anchored by its universities. It’s that simple,” Griffin said.
Griffin is one of the country’s most powerful Republican donors, but his intentions and loyalties remain murky. While he “has made clear that he wants to move on from former President Donald J. Trump,” according to The New York Times and other sources, he is also less than thrilled about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s waffling and less-than-enthusiastic stance on the U.S. support of Ukraine—and the six-week abortion ban supported and signed by DeSantis. The two have met in the last two weeks and reportedly discussed Griffin’s concerns.
This reporting comes as some deep-pocketed GOP donors are said to be cooling on DeSantis, given worries about the governor calling the war in Ukraine “a territorial dispute,” as well as his extremist positions on book banning and abortion.
DeSantis, who has not announced a run for the 2024 presidential election, trails the former President in hypothetical matchups.
Photo courtesy of Citadel
