By the measure that counts for most who take up the trade, Ken Griffin is the most successful hedge fund manager the world has ever seen.
The 56-year-old founder, chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer of hedge fund Citadel and its market maker spin-off Citadel Securities, first began trading from his Harvard dorm in 1987. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the university in 1989.
Ken Griffin Net Worth: $46 Billion
He then launched Citadel LLC, in which he still holds an 80% stake, in 1990 with initial assets under management of $4.6 million. The hedge fund business now runs more than $63 billion, while Griffin’s net worth sits at around $46 billion.
Among Citadel’s biggest investments at the moment are Microsoft, video game develop Activision Blizzard and biotechnology company Boston Scientific Corporation.
The Miami-based hedge fund netted $16 billion in profits for its investors in 2022. By this point it had made nearly $66 billion in net gains since it was first established, making it one of the best performing funds of all time.
Its flagship Wellington fund returned 38.1% the same year. Such multi-strategy hedge funds take an approach of chasing strong risk-adjusted returns with low volatility, rather than outsized bets.
Its success led Griffin to become the youngest person on the 2003 Forbes 400 list at the (relatively) young age 34, with $650 million.
However, most of Griffin’s wealth comes from Citadel’s Securities, which was recently valued at $22bn. This is on the back of the business rising to become the main buyer and seller of equities in the US, just 22 years after it was founded.
Griffin also owns personal residential property worth around $1 billion. He set the record for the most expensive residential sale ever in the US. when he purchased roughly 24,000 square feet across three floors at 220 Central Park South in Midtown Manhattan for $238 million.
Outside of his investments, Griffin has given around$2.3 billion to philanthropic causes. In 2023 he donated $300 million to Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, according to Forbes.
Robin has more than six years of experience as a financial journalist, most of which were spent at Citywire, and covers the latest developments in the investing, trading and currency transfer space. Outside of work, he enjoys reading literature and philosophy and playing the piano.
You can contact Robin at robin@goodmoneyguide.com
