Ken Griffin’s Ritzy Chicago Penthouse Under Contract For Big Loss 

Citadel founder Ken Griffin has gradually withdrawn from Chicago’s real estate market after relocating his hedge fund from the lawless city run by far-left Democrats to Miami in 2022. In addition to violent crime, an unfavorable tax environment was another primary driver for Griffin in moving his hedge fund and family to the Sunshine State. 

Bloomberg cited Zillow data showing Griffin went under contract for his 38th-floor penthouse at 9 West Walton. He never lived in the 7,500-square-foot (670-square-meter) condo, marketed as unfinished. The condo was listed 89 days ago in July for $11 million, or half of what the billionaire paid in 2017.

“The first time ever offered- This true penthouse at Chicago’s most distinguished address, No. 9 Walton! This a one-of-a-kind and exceptional opportunity to create a 7500+ square feet dream home, plus the added exclusivity of a private 39th-floor interior space and rooftop pool accessed by an in-unit private elevator,” listing broker Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty wrote in the description of the condo. 

Bloomberg noted that Griffin, ranked 36th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has been trying to offload other residential real estate properties:

Griffin’s attempts to offload his Chicago real estate have faced challenges in a market where prices lag behind cities like Miami and New York. He previously sold properties in the Park Tower and Waldorf Astoria, each at losses exceeding $3 million. At No. 9 Walton, Griffin spent a total of nearly $59 million on the penthouse he’s now selling and three other units in the largest residential real estate transaction in Chicago’s history.

Taking a multi-million dollar hit to escape an imploding metro area is likely well worth it for Griffin. In 2021, during a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago, the hedge fund manager warned that Chicago would be limited to “years, not decades” unless violent crime was properly addressed. 

“It’s becoming ever more difficult to have this as our global headquarters, a city which has so much violence,” Griffin said at the time, adding, “I mean Chicago is like Afghanistan, on a good day, and that’s a problem.”

By 2022, he announced he was moving Citadel’s headquarters to Miami in a multiyear process. In a letter to employees at the time, he wrote that he personally moved to Florida—a state that doesn’t collect personal income. He noted that Florida has a better corporate environment than Chicago. 

So if all the rich people leave Chicago and dump real estate in the town, who will pay for the soaring, unfunded pension debt of the unionized public workforce? We have a hint: the suckers that are still there. Good luck. This must be the ‘utopia’ Democrats have been promising…