Biography
Ken Griffin is among the world's most closely watched billionaires from UNITED STATES, with an estimated fortune of $50.5B. The bulk of Ken Griffin's wealth comes from Hedge funds, closely tied to Hedge funds. Ken Griffin is an American billionaire hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and investor. He is the founder, CEO, and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Citadel LLC, a leading global hedge fund. Griffin's career began in 1986 while at Harvard University, where he started trading from his dorm room. He founded Citadel in 1990, growing it into a financial powerhouse with over $65 billion in assets under management as of January 2025. Griffin's wealth stems primarily from hedge funds. He is also the founder of Citadel Securities, a major market maker. Known for his focus on quantitative trading strategies and technology, Griffin has also been a significant philanthropist, donating over $1.56 billion to various causes, especially education and medical research. As of January 2026, his net worth is estimated at $51.2 billion, making him the 34th wealthiest person globally. Key career milestones include Began Trading (1986); Founded Citadel (1990); Founded Citadel Securities (2002); Record Profit (2022). This profile documents verified holdings, career milestones, and multi-year net worth history drawn from Forbes rankings, company filings where available, and our editorial methodology. Readers use it to understand how public markets, private company stakes, and major business bets shape one of the largest personal fortunes on record. Wealth estimates move with stock prices, funding rounds, and disclosed transactions—figures on this page are research estimates, not cash balances. We publish year-by-year net worth history when verified data exists, link to primary sources, and update profiles when Forbes Real-Time Billionaires or major filings change the picture materially. For investors and researchers, the most useful reading pairs the headline number with ownership structure, geography, sector exposure, and the multi-year history chart on this page—especially during volatile markets when single-day moves can shift rankings without any operational change at the underlying companies.