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    Ken Griffin

    Founder and chief executive of Citadel, and the donor behind the largest gift to a US college or university on record.

    Founder and chief executive, Citadel

    Giving tracked
    $3 billion
    Gifts
    1

    Background

    Ken Griffin is the founder and chief executive of Citadel. On September 30, 2026, he committed $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, the largest single donation to a US college or university on record. It passed the previous record, Michael Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins in 2018, by more than a billion dollars.

    Two billion dollars of the gift will build a new Carnegie Mellon campus on a 35-acre site in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, with construction expected to start in 2027. The other billion goes to Pittsburgh, half of it to the School of Computer Science. Griffin, a Harvard graduate, moved Citadel's headquarters to Miami in 2022.

    About Citadel

    Citadel: Citadel is an American hedge fund and financial services company. Ken Griffin founded it in 1990 in Chicago.

    Donations by Ken Griffin

    RecipientAmount
    Carnegie Mellon UniversityRead the story$3 billion

    Key facts

    Role
    Founder and CEO, Citadelsource
    Largest gift tracked
    $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon Universitysource
    Education
    Harvard Universitysource
    Based in
    Miami, where Citadel moved its headquarters in 2022source

    WYDE coverage of Ken Griffin

    WYDE Newsroom has published 3 articles about Ken Griffin, from Jul 16, 2026 to Oct 3, 2026. Ken Griffin is a donor in 2 stories and the subject of 1 story. The most recent is $1 Million Clipping Fund for Creators Who End Hunger.

    WYDE Weekly

    $1 Million Clipping Fund for Creators Who End Hunger

    WYDE Weekly: a new $1 million clipping fund pays creators to end hunger, plus Ken Griffin's record $3 billion gift, three record health-system donations, and the regulators chasing crypto.

    Oct 3, 2026 · 7 min read · Donor

    Philanthropy

    Ken Griffin Gives Carnegie Mellon a Record $3 Billion, the Largest US University Gift

    Citadel founder Ken Griffin's $3 billion Carnegie Mellon donation, the largest higher education gift in US history, funds a new Miami campus and computer science in Pittsburgh.

    Sep 30, 2026 · 2 min read · Donor

    Crypto & DeFi

    Citadel Securities Invests $400 Million in Crypto.com at a $20 Billion Valuation

    Crypto.com takes its first institutional funding round in ten years as Ken Griffin's market maker buys its second exchange stake in eight months

    Jul 16, 2026 · 2 min read · Subject of the story

    Reported alongside Ken Griffin

    Sources

    Follow the money in philanthropy.

    Who gives, who receives, and what it funds. Every week.