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Ken Griffin has warned that Donald Trump’s plan to raise tariffs will put America on a “slippery slope to crony capitalism” and the incoming president’s agenda has been surprisingly harshly criticized by a major Republican donor. But others have offered harsh criticism.
The billionaire founder of hedge fund Citadel also signaled Thursday that he would be “open to the possibility of selling a minority stake” in his firm for the first time.
In an interview at the Economic Club of New York, Griffin said he was “deeply concerned” that Trump’s plan to impose tariffs and reduce immigration would put too much inflationary pressure on the U.S. economy.
He said: “Now you will find the halls of Washington filled with special interest groups and lobbyists as people seek . . . American businesses failing to keep out foreign competition and meet the needs of American consumers.” Higher revenues to protect
Since it was founded by Griffin in 1990, Citadel has become the most profitable investment firm in the history of the industry. He owns a large majority of the $65bn group, which has never before made an outside investment in its management company.
His comments come weeks after the Financial Times reported that Citadel’s main hedge fund rival, Millennium Management, was in talks with BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, to sell a minority stake in its business. is
Griffin said the multi-manager sector, the most profitable segment of the global hedge fund industry, is in a “phase of consolidation” and “will likely see more growth down the road”.
While Griffin made his name through his hedge fund Citadel, the bulk of his fortune – estimated by Forbes at $43bn – comes from Citadel Securities, his 22-year-old market-making firm, which That is at the forefront of a new generation of commerce. Firms that have eaten away at the traditional dominance of the big banks.
Commenting on the new administration, Griffin said there is a “real danger of going too far” under Trump. [on immigration]”
He noted that many of Silicon Valley’s top companies were founded by immigrants and that European leaders have recently spoken to them about the continent’s brightest minds — particularly in artificial intelligence — moving to the United States. He said it’s important that the U.S. keeps its borders open to the best and brightest, noting that Peng Zhao, chief executive of Citadel Securities, is an American immigrant.
Griffin, a historically influential donor to Republican candidates who stopped short of endorsing Trump for president in this month’s election, has tapped Mark Rowan, co-founder of investment firm Apollo Global Management, to become Treasury secretary in the Trump administration. threw his support behind the prospect. .
“Mark is clearly one of the great thought leaders in alternative asset management,” he said of Rowan, who is on Trump’s short list to run the Treasury. “If Mark is offered the chance to be Treasury Secretary, please take the job.”
In 2022, Griffin sold a minority stake in Citadel Securities to venture capitalist Sequoia. He said the market maker is “not focusing on going public in the future, we are focusing on building our business”.
“There are advantages to going private in this era of rapid growth. . . . Over time the demand for business capital will push us to go public, but we’re not there yet,” he said.
