Citadel CEO Ken Griffin announced Wednesday that the company has committed $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, including $2 billion for a new campus in Miami.
The $3 billion pledge is “the largest individual gift in the history of higher education,” the university said in a statement, calling the gift “historic.” The previous record was a $2 billion donation made by Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny to Oregon Health & Science University in August 2025.
Griffin, who is worth $57.5 billion according to Bloomberg estimates, will join Carnegie Mellon University’s board of trustees.
“The opportunity to bring Carnegie Mellon University to Miami places our city at the center of humanities advancement and expands the university’s international reach and influence,” Professor Griffin said in the release. “CMU Miami develops talent, knowledge and expertise to start new companies, contribute to Miami’s economy and community, and advance our nation’s prosperity.”
Previously, the hedge fund billionaire’s largest gift was $300 million to his alma mater, Harvard University, in 2023. Griffin also donated $125 million to the University of Chicago in 2017, when Citadel was still headquartered in the Windy City.
He moved Citadel’s headquarters to Miami in 2022, citing concerns about crime in Chicago, and has since become a vocal advocate for Miami, touting Florida’s business-friendly policies, low taxes and quality of life.
“This state is thriving,” he said at the 2022 CNBC conference. “I really enjoy being in an environment where people are embracing the future. They have hope for the future.”
Over the past four years, Griffin has become a prolific philanthropist in South Florida. He gave $50 million each to the University of Miami’s Cancer Center, the Baptist Health Foundation’s Neuroscience Institute, and Success Academy, and funded the charter school network’s expansion into Miami.
Carnegie Mellon University’s new Miami campus will be built on a 35-acre site in Wynwood, known for its art scene. Construction is expected to begin in 2027. The university will begin enrolling students in 2028 and plans to support more than 3,500 students once the campus is complete.
Academic programs at the new campus will be organized around addressing societal challenges such as climate resilience and national security, rather than academic majors, according to the release.
Griffin has criticized the leadership of elite universities, including his alma mater. In 2024, Griffin told CNBC’s Leslie Picker that he suspended donations to Harvard and verbally targeted the top university over the university’s response to anti-Semitism on campus.
“Are we going to educate future congressmen and senators and the leaders of IBM? Or are we going to educate a group of young men and women who are just getting caught up in the rhetoric of the oppressors and the oppressed, and who are, frankly, whining that this is not fair?” Griffin said.
