Billionaire Businessman Reflects on ‘Not Hard’ Decision to Leave Crime-Ridden Chicago

Conservative News DailyOctober 18, 2025

billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin announced that Citadel, his investment firm, will considerably reduce its footprint in Chicago, shrinking from occupying one of the city’s largest skyscrapers to just two floors. The firm relocated its headquarters to Miami in 2022 due to Griffin’s frustration with rising crime and high taxes in Chicago. Over the past several years, Citadel’s Chicago workforce has decreased from around 1,300 employees to a few hundred, as manny chose to leave despite having established lives in the city. Griffin expressed regret over how crime and other issues forced this migration. The move followed incidents including a colleague being robbed at gunpoint and another assaulted while waiting for a car. These developments occur amid ongoing debates on addressing Chicago’s crime problems,with federal authorities deploying National Guard troops to protect certain government facilities.Griffin’s net worth is estimated at $50 billion, and Citadel manages over $65 billion in assets, much of which has now shifted away from Chicago.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin revealed that his company’s presence in Chicago, their former home city, will shrink to a mere two floors.

The decision of Citadel to move their headquarters from Chicago to Miami came in 2022 and was the product of Griffin’s frustration with runaway crime and taxes in the Windy City.

“Chicago, you know, over the last, unfortunately, over the last six or seven years, has been engulfed in a series of problems,” Griffin said on Oct. 6, per Fox Business.

“Asking people to leave Chicago for New York or Miami has not been hard. We’ve gone from probably 1,300 people in Chicago to a few hundred,” he revealed.

Ken Griffin: Asking people to leave from Chicago or NY has not been hard. We have gone from 1300 people in Chicago to a few hundred

The sad part of the story was how many who had built lives in Chicago were willing to walk away from that

There are more murders in Chicago on a… pic.twitter.com/VoavInAKZX

— Jeff Orr (@JeffO773) October 8, 2025

Griffin is worth $50 billion, while Citadel manages over $65 billion in assets, but much of that wealth has moved out of Chicago.

“From being the primary tenant of one of the largest skyscrapers to, I think we will be down to two floors in a year,” Griffin added.

The businessman voiced regret that crime and other factors have deeply impacted his employees’ lives and necessitated the move.

“I think the sad part of the story is how many people who had built lives in Chicago were willing to walk away from that and move to Miami or New York, just given the challenges that Illinois has faced,” he said.

As the New York Post reported three years ago, the decision to move out of Chicago, where Citadel had been based for three decades, came after Griffin’s colleague was robbed at gunpoint.

Ken Griffin is taking another step in rapidly expanding his $1B-plus Florida property empire https://t.co/VuH1RexQzJ pic.twitter.com/TNmzfZ60fw

— New York Post (@nypost) October 13, 2025

Griffin noted that another colleague was waiting for a car when he was assaulted by “some random lunatic just trying to punch him in the head.”

The most recent remarks from Griffin come as President Donald Trump spars with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker about reducing crime in the Windy City.

The administration mobilized 200 National Guard members to Chicago on a mission to protect an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois.

“These forces will protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other U.S. Government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property,” U.S. Northern Command said in a statement.