From a shaky Windy City to the steadier Sunshine State, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin revealed the real reason he moved his family and multi-billion-dollar hedge fund to Miami.
"I've lived in a failed city-state. I lived in Chicago for 30-some years. I had two colleagues who had bullets fly through their cars," Griffin told Fox News’ Bret Baier at the America Business Forum on Wednesday.
"I had 25 bullet holes in the front of my building where I lived. You can't live in a city awash [with] violent crime," he continued.
Griffin moved Citadel’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami after nearly three decades in the Windy City. The hedge fund is one of the largest and most successful in the world, managing an estimated $65 billion in assets.
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Now, after moving south in 2022, Griffin explained how he’s noticed a sharp difference between the two cities’ quality of life.
"Do you know how great it is to go to dinner and people talk about their children, and they talk about their future, and they do so with excitement and enthusiasm?" he asked. "We lost that in Chicago in the last 10 years. Dinner in Chicago would be about crime, about cronyism, about failed policies in the state. It is so refreshing to be in a city where people talk about tomorrow."
"Entrepreneurs are people that believe in tomorrow. It's really tough to start a business, but don't kid yourself – you don't own your business, your business owns you. So you have to have a great deal of optimism about the future," he added. "And it is so great to see the optimism that we have here in Miami. It's really special."
Not only Miami but also other major South Florida metropolitan areas like Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale have seen a surge in wealth and population growth in recent years. A report earlier this year found that both West Palm Beach and Miami surpassed New York City as the world’s fastest-growing wealth hubs. West Palm saw a 112% jump in millionaire residents over the past decade, while Miami saw a 94% increase.
Lower state taxes and overall cost of living have more broadly attracted Americans to move to Florida. A June report from the state’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research predicts that Florida’s population will surpass 24 million by 2027 and reach 27 million within the next 14 years, averaging more than 200,000 new residents per year.
When asked about a further exodus, Griffin suggested that the recent New York City mayoral election could fuel another surge of wealthy residents and business leaders moving to the Sunshine State.
"I pray that the policies that [Zohran] Mamdani uses to govern and lead New York are different than the talking points he used to win the mayoral race. The people of New York deserve better," Griffin said.
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"If I look at Miami and why it is so successful — the focus on education, the focus on public safety — these are safe streets; we live in a safe city. The focus on community — this is a city that has great pride in what we’ve accomplished together and what we will accomplish ahead," he said.
"I'm grateful for the leadership of the state of Florida. This is a great place to call home, and I really hope that when Mamdani thinks about leadership, he thinks about the right role models. And there's a lot to copy from our great state of Florida."