Why Did Illinois’ Richest Man Pack His Bags & Leave Chicago?
Imagine having billions of dollars in your bank account and you choose to live in Illinois with all your money. I would've already said SEE YA years ago and went ghost mode with that amount of money.
For Illinois' richest man, Ken Griffin, one of his reasons for packing his bags after over 30 years in Illinois is not going to shock you. It'll probably just make you a little upset that nothing has changed to make this city a safer place for everybody living in it - even for the richest of the rich.
Who is Ken Griffin you ask? He's an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder, chief executive officer, co-chief investment officer, and 80% owner of Citadel.
In 2021, Ken was worth over $16.1 billion making him the RICHEST person in Illinois. Well, that's not the case much longer.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Ken decided to move himself, over 300 employees, and his entire company headquarters to Miami because crime is just one of the many reasons they needed to escape Chicago. Many of his employees have been robbed, violently attacked, and there's a lot of looting near his business.
He also stated in an email to employees, "Miami is a vibrant, growing metropolis that embodies the American Dream — embracing the possibilities of what can be achieved by a community working to build a future together."
If I was Ken, I would've been out of Chicago in a heartbeat when I made my first billion dollars. The weather is so much nicer elsewhere and why not be able to have INCREDIBLE views of the ocean from your office? Sounds like something he could definitely afford with the income he's taking in.