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Ken Griffin (Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty)
Ken Griffin epitomizes the South Florida more-is-more real estate philosophy.
The billionaire founder of Citadel just raised the bar on his record-setting portfolio. Griffin, who is worth about $31 billion, now owns at least $1.3 billion of residential and commercial real estate in South Florida, on top of luxury homes in New York, Chicago, London and elsewhere. His Florida property alone is equal to about 4 percent of his net worth.
Griffin’s latest purchase of Adrienne Arsht’s Coconut Grove estate rounds out a prolific ten years of investment.
The Daytona Beach native’s first major acquisition in South Florida was of his Blossom Way assemblage in Palm Beach in early 2012. Pre-pandemic, Griffin spent even more on additional contiguous properties in the neighborhood.
Covid triggered a mad dash for South Florida real estate, and he joined the crowd, buying three waterfront properties on Miami Beach’s Star Island, where residents include Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Diddy and Phillip and Patricia Frost.
Earlier this year, Griffin’s Citadel announced it would relocate its headquarters to Miami from Chicago, and a commercial spending spree followed. His hedge fund was linked to the purchases of three Brickell properties, including another record-setting buy.
Here’s a breakdown on how Griffin built out his portfolio over the past ten years:
Griffin’s first South Florida purchase was a $130 million compound on Blossom Way in Palm Beach. He assembled four properties across 6.5 acres in the deal.
Next, he paid $15.2 million for about1.5 acres at 70 Blossom Way in Palm Beach, expanding his assemblage on the island.
Griffin’s next big purchase sent him further south to Faena House on Miami Beach’s Collins Avenue. He bought two penthouse units for a combined $60 million.
A year and a half later, he dropped $85 million for the 4.2-acre property at 1290 South Ocean Boulevard, adjacent to his Blossom Way compound. After this purchase, Griffin’s Palm Beach holdings totaled 12.1 acres.
He tacked on 2 more acres to his Palm Beach estate with a $20.3 million purchase of 10 Blossom Way. At the close of this sale, Griffin had spent $250.5 million on his Palm Beach assemblage.
Griffin’s last addition to his Blossom Way compound was a 3.6-acre, oceanfront estate at 60 Blossom Way. After acquiring the property for just over $99 million, his total spend was about $350 million on 17.7 acres on the island.
After the pandemic hit, Griffin moved his attention to an island further south. He paid $37 million for a double lot at 11 and 12 Star Island Drive in Miami Beach.
The spendy Griffin rarely parts with real estate once it’s his, but later that year he sold a pair of Faena House penthouses for $46.2 million, and took a $13.8 million loss. The hedge fund mogul’s $60 million purchase of them in 2015 was at the time a record for residential sales in the region. As he offloaded the condos five years later, he added to his Star Island assemblage, paying $25 million for 10 Star Island Drive.
Griffin bought one South Florida property in 2021, a $75 million teardown adjacent to his Star Island assemblage. His acquisition of the estate at 8 Star Island Drive brought his compound to 4.6 continuous acres on the waterfront.
Citadel made its first commercial acquisitions in South Florida earlier this year, and true to form, immediately set a record. The hedge fund paid $363 million for a 2.5-acre bayfront development site at 1201 Brickell Bay Drive.
Sources confirmed Citadel purchased the office building at 1221 Brickell Avenue in June for $286.5 million. The 28-story tower is near Citadel’s Brickell Bay Drive site.
Griffin added to his commercial assemblage on Brickell Bay Drive, buying up the addresses across the street. A Citadel affiliate paid $20 million for 1250 and 1260 Brickell Avenue.
To start the month, sources named Griffin as the buyer of Adrienne Arsht’s Coconut Grove estate for $107 million. The purchase was his largest single residential investment in Florida outside of Palm Beach to date.
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