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Ken Griffin's move to Florida means losing millions on homes he never even lived in

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Ken Griffin's move to Florida means losing millions on homes he never even lived in


  • Ken Griffin’s Chicago penthouse — listed for $10 million less than he paid for it — has a buyer.
  • A representative for Griffin said that his real-estate investments in Florida make up for the loss.
  • Like Griffin, other wealthy residents have left Chicago, due in part to hefty taxes and crime rates.

Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Citadel, has found a buyer for his penthouse in Chicago.

The six-bedroom apartment at luxury condo building No. 9 Walton, in the wealthy Gold Coast neighborhood near Lake Michigan, is in contract for an undisclosed amount but was last priced at $11 million, according to its Zillow listing.

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The 7,500-square-foot property went on the market in July for $11 million — $10 million less than the $21 million Cook County records show Griffin shelled out for it in 2017.

Listing photos show the penthouse, which comes with a private rooftop pool, is unfinished. He has also never lived there.

The move comes as Griffin moves both Citadel and his own personal residence to South Florida.

A spokesperson for Griffin told Bloomberg that the loss is a minor setback in the context of his other real-estate purchases.

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“While the value of Ken’s properties in his former hometown may have declined, thankfully it is only a small loss compared to the appreciation he’s enjoyed on his property investments in Florida,” Zia Ahmed, a spokesperson for Citadel, said.

Griffin spent about $169 million on properties in Miami’s exclusive Star Island neighborhood between 2020 and 2023. In 2022, he spent over $100 million on two bayfront houses in Coconut Grove, another affluent Miami area. He has also amassed 27 acres in Palm Beach over a decade for about $450 million.

Griffin and the listing agents for the Chicago penthouse did not respond to requests for comment sent by Business Insider.

Brokers said Chicago’s luxury real-estate market has flagged

The relatively lower sale price is somewhat unsurprising, according to Chicago-area real-estate agents.

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Broker Michael LaFido said super-prime properties, which he described as $10 million or more, are a rarity in Chicagoland. In 2023, he added, only four properties sold for that amount.

Meanwhile, in Miami, 55 properties over $10 million were sold in the second quarter of 2024 alone, according to real-estate consulting company Knight Frank’s global report on super-prime properties.

According to Rafael Murillo, a Compass agent in Chicago, properties that cost eight figures are not a regular occurrence.

“We’re just a much more affordable luxury market compared to Miami or New York,” he said.

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Murillo also cited another luxury property that sold at a loss this year: a 6,100-square-foot condo in the city’s St. Regis tower that was purchased for $8.2 million in 2021 and sold for $7 million in April.

Marquee listings in the suburbs have also seen price cuts. Basketball star Michael Jordan’s mansion in Highland Park finally sold in September after going on the market in 2012, per its Zillow listing. Jordan listed the property for $29 million in 2012. It was most recently priced at $14.9 million.

Other wealthy homeowners are selling their Chicago properties

Griffin is one of several wealthy Chicago homeowners offloading their luxury properties at a loss this year, Bloomberg reported in March.

It said the city’s high taxes, crime rates, and the introduction of a “mansion tax” on properties sold for over $1 million have driven many of Chicago’s richest residents to sell and relocate to other cities, including Miami and New York.

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In 2017, Griffin purchased the Chicago penthouse, along with three other units in the same building, for a total of almost $59 million — the biggest real-estate purchase in the city’s history, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Griffin put another unfinished penthouse in the building on the market for $9 million on Wednesday; it was listed on Zillow as contingent, or in contract, on Friday. He paid $12.7 million for it. If it sells for its full asking price, it will be a more modest loss, relatively speaking: $3.7 million.

The other two units in the record-breaking buy are also up for sale.

A lot of wealthy residents first fled Chicago to its suburbs during COVID, then left Illinois altogether, LaFido told BI.

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He said that many ultrawealthy homebuyers, who can afford a property over $10 million, aren’t in Chicago anymore — leaving sellers like Griffin to take the financial hit.

“If you’re going to build something $5 million or more in Chicago,” LaFido said, “you’re going to take a loss.”





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Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone

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Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone


PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.

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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.

“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.

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“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.

“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.

“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.

“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.

“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.

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Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.

In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.

“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.

“I did not,” Thomas responds.

“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.

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“I did not,” Thomas responds.

“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.

“Hand to God,” Thomas says.

Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.





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Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida

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Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida


A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida. 

The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident. 

“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”

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A Blue Origin rocket explodes on a launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. May 28, 2026. 

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Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.

Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.

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This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink. 

The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.

Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.

The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.

In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”  

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The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.

In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”

The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion. 

Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”

Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”

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Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined $11.2M in 2026

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Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined .2M in 2026


GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.

Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.

Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.

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Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.

The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.

Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.

Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.

Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.

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Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.

Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.

The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.



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