Billionaire Ken Griffin, CEO of hedge fund Citadel, explained why his company is shrinking its Chicago presence and moving more staff to Miami and New York.
Speaking at the Citadel Securities Future of Global Markets conference in New York on October 6, Griffin pointed to rising crime and high taxes as the main reasons behind the shift.
Chicago had been Citadel's base for more than three decades, but in recent years, the firm gradually shifted much of its staff and business operations to other locations.
According to the NY Post, Griffin said, "Chicago, you know, over the last, unfortunately, over the last six or seven years, has been engulfed in a series of problems."
These problems include increased crime and economic challenges that have made Chicago less attractive for employees and businesses alike.
In 2022, Griffin officially moved Citadel's global headquarters to Florida, signaling a major change for the firm.
He shared, "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. From being the primary tenant of one of the largest skyscrapers to, I think we will be down to two floors in a year."
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
— Jeff Orr (@JeffO773) October 8, 2025
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
Chicago's Crime Crisis Pushed Citadel to Relocate
With an estimated net worth of about $50 billion, Griffin admitted feeling disappointed about how the situation unfolded, FoxBusiness reported.
He reflected on the fact that many longtime Chicago residents chose to leave for cities like Miami or New York because of the ongoing difficulties in Illinois.
One of the biggest concerns for Griffin is Chicago's crime rate, which remains a significant issue for the city.
His comments coincided with former President Donald Trump's renewed push for stronger federal measures to curb rising crime in major US cities.
Trump has proposed sending troops to cities with rising violence, including Democrat-led areas.
The idea of deploying National Guard troops has sparked clashes between the federal government and Democratic leaders.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has strongly criticized the plan, especially efforts to send troops and federal agents to Chicago.
Trump has also threatened to send troops to other cities such as Baltimore and New Orleans, while troops have already been deployed to Los Angeles, Washington DC, Portland, and Memphis.
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