Kenneth 'Ken' Cordele Griffin is an American businessman, the self-made billionaire Founder and CEO of Citadel, one of the largest and most successful alternative asset managers in the world. His career is rooted in quantitative finance and high-stakes market-making.

Griffin's entrepreneurial drive began early: while attending Harvard University, he ran a hedge fund from his dorm room, installing a satellite dish on the roof to get real-time stock quotes. He graduated in 1989 with a B.A. in Economics. His philosophy centers on data-driven investment, intellectual talent, and aggressive competition in the financial sector.

• Citadel (Founder & CEO): The core private asset, a global multi-strategy hedge fund with $67 billion in AUM (2024 estimate), known for its quantitative and fundamental long/short equity strategies.
• Citadel Securities (Founder): The massive market-making and trading firm (handling 27 percent of U.S. stock trades).
• Political Focus: He is a mega-donor to the Republican Party and conservative causes.
• Cultural Patronage: He set the record for the largest private purchase of a single American artwork (purchasing a Willem de Kooning for $300 million in 2015).

Ken Griffin's strategic genius was his early and aggressive adoption of technology for financial trading. He founded Citadel in 1990 with a seed investment of $4.6 million, quickly expanding its focus beyond convertible arbitrage into diverse quantitative strategies. His firm is now one of the world's most dominant multi-strategy funds.

His structural contribution is tied to the successful institutionalization of quantitative finance and his founding of Citadel Securities, which provides critical market liquidity (handling a massive portion of U.S. stock and options trades). His wealth is secured by the colossal, long-term, superior returns generated by his systematic trading models. He is also a major philanthropist, committed to educational reform, economic mobility, and art patronage.

Ken Griffin is a major global philanthropist. His structural social impact is tied to Citadel's role in providing liquidity and efficiency to financial markets. His profound philanthropic contributions focus on education (donating $125 million to the University of Chicago), civic life (donating $30 million to the Museum of Science and Industry), and arts and culture (his record-breaking art purchases).

His structural contribution is tied to his belief in data-driven decision-making and his influential role in U.S. political funding (supporting candidates and super PACs). His career is a testament to the profitability of disciplined quantitative analysis and aggressive expansion.

Ken Griffin maintains the highly professional, composed style of a Wall Street executive. His attire is consistently bespoke, favoring dark, tailored suits. His aesthetic reflects stability and immense financial authority, typical of a leader in the global hedge fund sector.

Residing in Miami, Florida, his luxury is the immense security and financial reward derived from his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to financial innovation, political influence, and high-impact philanthropy.