Citadel’s Ken Griffin Donated Over $135 Million To The GOP From 2020 To 2022
Billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, has been donating to political campaigns for over two decades. In recent years, he’s appeared to lean rightward, donating about US$135 million exclusively to Republican general political action committees (PACs) and candidate-attached PACs from 2020 to 2022.
The GOP megadonor previously donated to both Republicans and Democrats. When he was living in Chicago, he supported Democratic mayors Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel. He also helped raise money for the presidential campaigns of both John McCain and Barack Obama, and more recently, he gave $500,000 to President Joe Biden’s inaugural committee.
If personalities like disgraced FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried kept their donations to the right in the dark to look more effectively altruistic, Griffin’s donations are (the opposite of how he prefers his tax records —) a lot less obfuscated. The shift, he told Politico in November, is brought about by “concerns about public safety, schools and politicians’ lack of fiscal discipline.”
Griffin is estimated to be worth $31.1 billion, and he isn’t shy about writing checks for causes near and dear to him. ProPublica reported in July that the billionaire spent $54 million in 2020 to successfully block the tax hike on the country’s wealthiest.
In December, he sued the Internal Revenue Service for “unlawful disclosure” of his tax information to the publication, which reported that the 25 wealthiest Americans paid just $13.6 billion in federal income taxes from 2013 to 2018 through legal means of tax avoidance.
The Citadel chief recently moved his family and company to tax-friendlier Florida, and dropped $5 million for the reelection campaign of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He’s also already declared that he’s ready to back DeSantis in his 2024 presidential bid.
Griffin was the third-largest funder in the 2022 midterm election cycle, where he donated about $66 million to federal Republican candidates and campaigns. From 2020 to 2022, data collated by Unusual Whales from the Federal Election Commission show donations to general PACs amounting to $131.2 million and $3.81 million to candidate-attached PACs.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the nearest and dearest were PACs dedicated to keeping a Republican majority in the upper and lower houses. The Senate Leadership Fund received a whopping $59 million, while the Congressional Leadership Fund received $32 million.
He was the top donor of the Congressional Leadership Fund in the 2022 midterm election with $18.5 million.
Information for this story was found via Unusual Whales, Politico, Financial Times, CNBC, ProPublica, FEC, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.