- Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin has been on a real-estate spending spree.
- In January, he purchased a $238 million NYC penthouse that’s now the most expensive home sale in the US.
- Then, in October, the New York Post reported that he purchased two more units on the building’s 20th floor.
- Griffin’s other notable recent transactions include a $58.75 million purchase in Chicago, a $122 million London mansion, and a $99.13 million a home in Palm Beach.
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Ken Griffin has been on a real-estate spending spree this year.
In January, he dished out $238 million for a sprawling New York City apartment. The 23,000-square-foot penthouse unit at 220 Central Park South is the most expensive home ever sold in the US; it shattered the previous record, a $137 million Hamptons home purchased by Barry Rosenstein in 2014, by more than $100 million.
Then, in October, the New York Post reported that Griffin dropped nearly $4 million on two more units on the building’s 20th floor.
But that’s just the tip of the real estate iceberg.
Just days before news of his January NYC purchase was announced, news broke of Griffin's $122 million mansion purchase in London. According to Bloomberg, the historic mansion is about a half-mile from Buckingham Palace. And, on January 11, the Chicago Tribune reported that he dropped $58.75 million on four top-level floors in a Near North condo in Chicago.
Another one of his recent purchases includes a $99.13 million on a home in Palm Beach that sits next door to his massive 17-acre oceanfront property - the largest estate in Palm Beach, according to the Palm Beach Daily News.
Here's a quick look at some of Griffin's notable properties, in the US and beyond.
Ken Griffin is a hedge-fund manager whose net worth is an estimated $12.7 billion. That makes him the richest man in Illinois and one of the richest men in the world.
Source: Forbes
Griffin is the CEO of Citadel, a hedge fund founded in 1990 that manages $30 billion in assets. He's also well-known for his philanthropy — in August, for example, he donated $20 million to Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida — but currently, it's his real-estate investments that are making the news.
Source: Bloomberg, Philanthropy News Digest
In January, Griffin bought the penthouse apartment of 220 Central Park South. It's the most expensive real estate transaction in the US.
Source: Business Insider
The luxury apartment takes up floors 50 through 53 and sits on the southern edge of Central Park.
Source: Google Maps, Business Insider
Then, in October, the New York Post reported that Griffin purchased two more units on the building's 20th floor, totalling nearly $4 million.
Source: New York Post
The building is still under construction ...
Source: Google Street View
... and is separated from the southern entrance to Central Park by just one street.
Source: Google Street View
Just days prior to his January NYC purchase, news also broke of Griffin purchasing a $122 million London mansion at 3 Carlton Gardens. The Wall Street Journal reports that the purchase is one of the most expensive London has ever seen.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
The mansion is a half mile away from Buckingham Palace.
Source: Google Maps
Griffin's 200-year-old London pad overlooks St. James Park and includes a gym, a pool, and an underground extension.
Source: Google Street View, Bloomberg
Griffin also holds the record for the Chicago area's priciest real-estate sale: According to the Chicago Tribune, in November 2018, he bought four floors of luxury condo building No. 9 Walton for $58.75 million.
Source: The Chicago Tribune
His purchase encompasses floors 35 through 38 of No. 9 Walton.
Source: The Chicago Tribune
The building is in the Near North area of Chicago, near the banks of Lake Michigan and in the midst of a thriving restaurant scene on Oak and Rush streets.
Source: The Chicago Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business
The building has been described as Chicago's "number one address" and is about a block away from the Waldorf Astoria.
Source: Crain's Chicago Business
Griffin also holds the real-estate record in Miami: In 2015, he dropped $60 million on two properties — a five-bedroom penthouse and the three-bedroom condo directly below it — in an 18-story condo called Faena House in Miami Beach.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider
Faena House sits on Miami Beach's widest stretch of white sand. The penthouse has a 70-foot infinity pool on one of its terraces.
Faena House is directly next to Faena Hotel ...
... and sits on a street of high-rise buildings just off of the beach.
Beyond his Miami penthouse, Griffin has also accumulated nearly $250 million of real estate in the Billionaires Row area of Palm Beach, Florida, with intentions of building a mansion.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Palm Beach Daily News, The Real Deal
Notably, Griffin's Palm Beach property is just south of Donald Trump's Mar-A-Lago Club.
Source: Palm Beach Daily News
The property reportedly spans more than 12 acres; Griffin has, according to the Real Deal, cleared it to make room for a house that will be longer than a football field.
Source: Palm Beach Daily News, The Real Deal
But Griffin's interest in Palm Beach doesn't end there. The Palm Beach Daily News reported in September that, according to sources, the billionaire dropped $99.13 million on the house next door to his 17-acre property.
Source: Palm Beach Daily News
According to the Palm Beach Daily News, the $99 million home on 60 Blossom Way spans 3.7 acres and adds about 320 feet of beach frontage to Griffin's real-estate portfolio.
Source: Palm Beach Daily News, Bloomberg
- Read more about record-breaking real estate:
- A $446 million mansion in Hong Kong could break the record as the most expensive home ever sold in the world's most expensive housing market
- A $45 million San Francisco home could shatter the city's real-estate record - take a look inside the gorgeous complex
- A $68 million Miami penthouse with 2 infinity pools could shatter Florida's real-estate record. Here's a look inside the sprawling apartment