Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of investment firm Citadel, has donated a total of $545 million to various hospitals, health systems and cancer treatment and research specialists over the last 18 months.
The hedge fund manager and entrepreneur is also the co-chief investment officer and 80% owner of Citadel and has a net worth of about $41.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. He has donated more than $2 billion towards education, opportunity and health sciences initiatives.
Northwestern Medicine, Baptist Health South Florida and Nicklaus Children's Hospital are among the health systems that recently received donations from Mr. Griffin:
- Last month, Mr. Griffin donated $10 million to Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine to support research and treatment advancements for patients with esophageal diseases through the newly named Kenneth C. Griffin Esophageal Center. The center treats more than 5,000 patients a year for swallowing disorders, esophageal cancers, reflux disease and other esophageal conditions.
- New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery also received a $10 million gift from Mr. Griffin in June. The donation will establish the Kenneth C. Griffin Research Accelerator to expedite HSS research and support construction of the HSS Kellen Tower, a new headquarters for joint replacement surgery that HSS expects to open in 2025. HSS performs more than 12,000 hip and knee replacement surgeries a year, more than any other hospital in the country.
- Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida received a $50 million donation from Mr. Griffin in March. The health system said it will use the funds to advance care and research neurodegenerative disorders — such as Alzheimer's disease — and build a neuroscience center on the Kendall campus of its Baptist Hospital. The Kenneth C. Griffin Center at Miami Neuroscience Institute will break ground in 2025 and open in three years.
- Miami-based Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center also received a $50 million gift from Mr. Griffin in March. The gift will be used to improve access to services provided in the center's new 244,000-square-foot facility, which is set to open in 2025. It will also double the center's research footprint, enhance patient care and expand access to clinical trials.
- In December, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center received a $400 million donation — the largest in its history — from Mr. Griffin and David Geffen, an entrepreneur and record executive, in December. The funds are being used to expand clinical services and educational programs and create more prevention programs.
- Miami-based Nicklaus Children's Hospital received a $25 million gift from Mr. Griffin in February 2023. The donation is being used to develop a 127,000-square-foot surgical tower and fund Nicklaus Children's four major institutes advancing pediatric care related to the brain, cancer and blood disorders, the heart and orthopedics.