By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-14 22:15:50 | Updated at 2024-11-15 01:30:39
3 hours ago
Billionaire hedge-fund boss Ken Griffin has unloaded two apartments in a prestigious building in Chicago for a $15million loss.
The Citadel CEO sold the properties - the entire 37th and 38th floors of the condo tower No. 9 Walton - for $9million and $10million, respectively.
He paid more than $34 million for them both, back in 2017. After selling the properties Tuesday, he blamed rampant crime in the Windy City.
He said so to The Wall Street Journal, after previously criticizing Illinois' Democrat Governor JB Pritzker for failing to keep Chicago safe.
Since the pair of purchases, Griffin has been on the move - relocating his hedge-fund to South Florida with plans to build a $1billion mega-estate just a quarter mile south of Mar-a-Lago where President-elect Donald Trump resides.
He's also bought a series of multimillion-dollar properties across the country, but appears to be set to part ways with Chicago for good.
The not-so-shrewd move meant a 44 percent loss for the Florida native, after he also sold his unit at the Waldorf Astoria - a deal itself worth about $10.2million - for $3million less than what he paid in 2014.
'The decline in value of Chicago real estate is representative of the failed political leadership in Illinois which is a loss ultimately borne by the people of the state,' he said, weeks after shelling out $45million for an 150million-year-old set of fossils.
Ken Griffin sold two apartments in Chicago for a $15million loss this past Tuesday. He bought them back in 2017 with plans to converge them
The Citadel CEO sold the properties - the entire 37th and 38th floors of the condo tower No. 9 Walton - for $9million and $10million, respectively
'Live on top of the Gold Coast in the most luxurious building in the city,' the listing for the now-sold 37th floor property had read.
'The first time ever offered- This penthouse at Chicago's most distinguished address, No. 9 Walton.
'This a one-of-a-kind and exceptional opportunity to create a 7500+ square feet dream.'
The listing for the 38th floor - an unfinished loft left abandoned by the hedge-funder - added how prospective buyers would have had access to their own private rooftop pool and pavilion on the roof, with the apartment being the building's penthouse.
'The first time ever offered- This true penthouse at Chicago's most distinguished address, No. 9 Walton,' it goes on.
The homes went on the market last month, and both were seemingly purchased by the same buyer.
The party who paid the still-hefty price has not been named, but they made the purchase at a time where the market for luxury condos are in the midst of a remarkable downturn.
A recent report from @properties showed how the median price of condos in the city above $1million dropped by nearly 10 percent this year, down from just three years ago.
The not-so-shrewd move meant a 44 percent loss for the Florida native, whose move back to the Sunshine State comes amid rising crime and violence in Chicago
Brandon Johnson, 57, an ex-teacher who spent four years as a Cook County commissioner, has failed to bring down crime substantially since replacing Lori Lightfoot - who many blame for the current state of the city - last year
On Wednesday, Griffin called Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker - seen here on-stage during night two of the Democratic National Convention, held this year in Chicago
They also did during a historic stretch of crime - one that saw it again assume the dubious distinction of being the US's murder capital for the 12th year straight in 2023.
The Big Apple - no stranger to homicide - is approximately three times larger than the Dem-led city, but had roughly 40 percent fewer murders last year, statistic show.
Moreover, since Brandon Johnson replaced languishing Lori Lightfoot last year, the statistics have continued, according to figures published Thursday by the Chicago Police Department.
Still, the totals are down 8 percent for homicide and 5 percent for shootings compared to the same time last year - showing some, albeit slow, improvement.
As for Griffin, who is 56, he bought the two homes with plans to converge them. However, he never got that far, with the 38th floor still completely gutted, photos show.
Meanwhile, he continues to snap up properties in places like New York, Miami, and Palm Beach, including a sting of posh properties on Miami's exclusive Star Island.
A major donor to Republicans in the past, he has yet to donate to Trump, but in July, he gifted $10million to a crucial conservative fundraising group - the Congressional Leadership Fund - in an apparent attempt to gain some sway over Congress.
A major donor to Republicans in the past, Griffin - believed to be worth around $50billion - has yet to donate to Trump,
However, in July, he gifted $10million to a crucial conservative fundraising group - the Congressional Leadership Fund - an apparent attempt to gain some sway over Congress
That same month, the man thought to be worth nearly 50biillion purchased a late-Jurassic stegosaurus skeleton for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s in New York City , a record-setting sum in dinosaur collecting that further demonstrated his deep pockets
That same month, the man thought to be worth nearly $50billion purchased a late-Jurassic stegosaurus skeleton for $44.6 million at Sotheby’s in New York City, a record-setting sum in dino-collecting that further demonstrated his deep pockets.
The stegosaurus, named 'Apex,' is 11 feet tall and nearly 27 feet and has been called the 'finest stegosaurus specimen ever to appear at auction.'
The skeleton was expected to sell for about $6million, with Griffin winning the live auction after competing with six other bidders for 15 minutes.
The person he sold the properties to remains unknown, but the sale was handled by Christie's International Real Estate and Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, the listings showed.
