The hedge fund Citadel and trading firm Citadel Securities, both run by billionaire Ken Griffin, are moving their offices to Miami after more than three decades in Chicago, according to a memo to employees obtained Thursday by The New York Times.
The move follows heightened tensions between Mr. Griffin and Illinois Democrat JB Pritzker on taxes and the city’s crime rates. (Florida is one of the few states that doesn’t have an income tax.) And it’s because the rise of remote work during the coronavirus pandemic has allowed companies to move their offices more freely in search of lower taxes, a more affordable workforce, or other potential. advantages. In recent months, Caterpillar said it would move its office from Illinois to Texas, and Boeing said it would move from Illinois to Virginia. Kellogg, on the other hand, said this week it would move its headquarters from Battle Creek, Michigan, to Chicago.
“The companies are struggling to recruit top talent from around the world to Chicago given the increasing and senseless violence in the city,” said Zia Ahmed, a spokesperson for Citadel. “Talent wants to live in cities where they feel safe.”
While not a direct comparison, Miami Dade County reported 30 homicide crimes through May this year, up from 48 in the same period last year.
mr. Griffin has been threatening to relocate Citadel’s headquarters for years, out of concern about local crime. At a recent DealBook conference, he told the story of a Citadel partner who was accosted outside his home with a gun to his head. He said that when he raised the matter with Governor Pritzker, “he took a moment to call me a liar.”
“I’m going to make sure that if he runs again, I’m going to go all out to support the candidate who will beat him. He doesn’t deserve to be the governor of our state,” Mr. Griffin said.
He said whether he kept Citadel in Chicago “will come down to whether we are willing to embrace the policies in Chicago that we need to keep people safe.”
A spokeswoman for Governor Pritzker, Emily Bittner, pointed to Kellogg’s announcement, saying the government is “supporting emerging industries that are already creating good jobs and investing billions in Illinois, such as data centers, electric vehicles and quantum computing.”
“We continue to lead the nation in corporate relocations and have had a record number of start-ups in the past year,” said Ms. Bittner.
A spokesman for Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement, “The Citadel leadership has been signaling a strengthened presence in Florida for some time, and while this announcement isn’t surprising, it’s still disappointing.” He added: “We thank the Citadel team for their contributions to our city and their many philanthropic commitments.”
Ahmed, the spokesman for the Citadel, said, “In Chicago alone, Ken has donated more than $600 million to educational, cultural, medical and community organizations.”
According to Open Secrets, through March, Mr. Griffin gave approximately $21.5 million to groups supporting the election of Republican candidates across the country during the 2022 election cycle. He is one of the biggest supporters of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, according to Open Secrets.
Mr. Griffin founded Citadel in Chicago in 1990 and, with his partners, Citadel Securities in 2002. Together, the two companies employ more than 1,000 people in Illinois. They employ 4,000 professionals in 17 offices worldwide.
Citadel told employees the company’s new headquarters would be in Brickell, Miami’s financial district, and the move was expected to take several years. Some Citadel Securities employees have already started working from temporary offices in the city, and Citadel employees will soon follow.
mr. Griffin, born in Daytona Beach, Florida, and raised in Boca Raton, Florida, will also move to Miami.
In the memo to employees, he recalled the welcome he received in Chicago when he started his company. “I still remember the incredible citizen pride and commitment when I got there over 30 years ago — and the outreach of business and political leaders who wanted us to succeed and be part of the fabric of Chicago’s community he wrote.
The announcement was celebrated by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who offered Mr. Griffin a “warm welcome to Miami.” Suarez has courted major corporations since his election in November 2017, and many businesses have benefited from Florida’s lack of state and local income taxes. Among those who have moved from office are the hedge fund Elliott Management and the private equity firm Black stone.
