Florida continues to attract businesses as it will now be the destination of Citadel, a $51 billion hedge fund founded by billionaire investor Ken Griffin. Initially located in Chicago, Griffin made the announcement to employees, sharing that the global headquarters would be moving from Chicago to Miami. With Citadel moving to Miami, it now becomes the latest investment firm to move to Florida as the pandemic ensues.
Griffin made the announcement to employees ahead of the weekend, saying in a memo directed to employees, “I am excited to have recently moved to Miami with my family and look forward to rapidly expanding Citadel in a city so rich in diversity and abounding with energy.”
“Miami is a vibrant, growing metropolis that embodies the American Dream,” Griffin added.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Griffin has spoken at length “about surging downtown-area crime and about local tax and regulatory policies,” adding that Griffin “has made threats to leave for months.”
With the decision now made, Griffin did comment that “Chicago will continue to be important to the future of Citadel, as many of our colleagues have deep ties to Illinois,” adding that “over the past year, however, many of our Chicago teams have asked to relocate to Miami, New York and our other offices around the world.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has welcomed business ventures into the state, calling Florida the freest state in the country. While this has gained the Governor criticism with Democrats calling the statement a platitude, Florida did lead the country in newly formed businesses last year, and numerous companies have relocated to Florida.
The Citadel headquarters will be relocated to Brickell Bay, and Sterling Bay, a Chicago developer, is expected to manage the project. Chicago has also lost the corporate headquarters of Boeing and Caterpillar, but Chicago has also gained Kellog.
