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* Let’s go back to late February…
With Chicago-area homicides, carjackings and expressway shootings up in 2021, billionaire investment tycoon Kenneth Griffin minced no words last fall when he singled out one man, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, for not confronting the crime scourge terrorizing the region.
But as Griffin characterized Pritzker’s response as a “disgrace,” Griffin’s $46 billion hedge fund — Citadel — and its corporate cousin had investments and holdings in gun and ammunition makers, federal securities records show.
In fact, Chicago police data analyzed by WBEZ show nearly one of every four guns recovered from city homicides since 2017 came off assembly lines of firearms companies in Citadel’s stock portfolio — weapons involved in the same crime wave Griffin blames on the governor. […]
Citadel’s hedge fund and its related, Griffin-owned market-maker firm, Citadel Securities, reported combined investments and holdings in gun and ammunition makers exceeding $86 million last December, according to federal securities disclosures.
But a company spokesperson told WBEZ that Griffin doesn’t choose Citadel’s stock holdings, and they have no correlation to Chicago’s crime wave.
“These investments make up less than .01% of our portfolio,” Citadel spokesperson Zia Ahmed said, calling any links between the companies’ stocks and violent crime in Chicago “quite a stretch.”
Ahmed said the vast majority of Citadel’s positions in gun and ammunition companies are held by Citadel Securities, which he said does not make direct investments but instead owns stocks investors buy and sell through third-party brokerages.
* Now, fast-forward to this week…
Formerly a prominent skeptic–he once called crypto “a jihadist call” against the dollar–Griffin backtracked in March, saying that “the crypto market today has a market capitalization of about $2 trillion in round numbers, which tells you that I haven’t been right on this call.” He said his Citadel Securities would likely move into market making in crypto in the coming months.
How’s it going?
“You’ve found the great hotspot topic of debate within my firm,” Griffin told Schatzke on Monday. “All my colleagues who are younger than I am probably think I’m a dinosaur on this issue. They’re big believers. They believe that cryptocurrency has an important role in the global economy as a means of facilitating payment in a web3 world.” Griffin is coming around–at least to the profit potential of it all. “I have to live with the reality that an asset’s worth what people perceive it to be worth,” he admitted, so it’s “reasonable to expect to see us be more involved in the crypto space, providing liquidity to institutional, and potentially retail, investors.”
Still, he isn’t exactly rushing in: “It’s difficult to build to the level of rigor that we would want to build to. Things like ensuring that we’re not a party to a transaction with North Korea are really important to us–it may not be to our competitors, but I’m not gonna help fund the North Koreans with their various ventures by mistakenly buying their cryptocurrency.”
So, there is a “level of vigor” that he’s involved with after all.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 9:37 am
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I’d be more impressed if his companies stopped making handguns* and ammo.
*I assume some of you hunt, with rifles that you are trained to use safely.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 9:46 am
Sorry, that was me.
Comment by Cheryl44 Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 9:46 am
No crypto-currencies. Only crypto-candidates. Got it.
Comment by Juice Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 9:48 am
“nearly one of every four guns recovered from city homicides since 2017 came off assembly lines of firearms companies in Citadel’s stock portfolio”
Let’s be tough on crime but profit from illegal Griffin guns flooding our streets. Can’t run an anti-crime message with this. JB should counter strong.
Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 9:51 am
==Can’t run an anti-crime message with this.==
You probably can; Griffin isn’t the candidate and it’s pretty nuanced.
The bigger problem for Irvin’s anti-crime message is that he’s a criminal defense attorney.
Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:00 am
Jesse Sullivan’s response (said with different inflections for emphasis): “Bro, Bro? Really, Bro?”
Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:00 am
So, a billionaire who doesn’t walk it like he talks it when it comes to making money?
Please stop before I get the vapors.
Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:01 am
Crypto makes sense for Griffin since he has already demonstrated his interest in investing in totally phony, made up, assets.
Comment by Henry Francis Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:02 am
Ken Griffin is all about money. He’ll come around completely at some point as long as he’s making some cash. Nothing else matters to him.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:04 am
Ken Griffin knows a good investment when he sees it whether that’s firearms or crypto. His moral compass’ north star is profits and returns. That’s why he sees unions as a grave threat. But crime? Not so much.
So the real question is why is Richard Irvin running? Because I can assure you it has nothing to do with crime.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:12 am
I am confused by the crypto currency hype. Isn’t the vast majority of the currency of the world’s largest countries held electronically? So by extention, the US dollar is a crypto currency.
Comment by Huh? Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:16 am
== I have to live with the reality that an asset’s worth what people perceive it to be worth ==
Translation: “this crypto thing has reached an unhinged level of crazy, but there’s money to made off these suckers, so I’m in.”
Comment by Roman Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:25 am
The average person does not have millions of dollars so your investment making up .01 percent of your portfolio means nothing.
Comment by Real Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:37 am
Gun manufacturers: a legal industry supported by many tens of millions of Americans.
North Korea: a state sponsor of terrorism.
His distinction between how Citadel views the two seems appropriate.
Comment by natty lite Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:39 am
We think RichieRich’s biggest problem is the Proft Black Lives Matter commercials. ‘Riffie also has some beef with DeSantis over Disney. Wonder that can be twisted into another anti-RichieRich message
Comment by Annonin' Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:39 am
Selling .01% of a portfolio would be a brutal emotional effort.
Comment by zatoichi Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:42 am
=Gun manufacturers: a legal industry supported by many tens of millions of Americans.=
But only Ken Griffin has responsibility for 1 in 4 guns used in city homicides while simultaneously blaming the problem on the governor. Ken Griffin bares more direct responsibility for the crime problem in Chicago than JB Pritzker.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:46 am
If we could get rid of cryptocurrency we may not have as bad of an energy crisis (including possible brownouts downstate). A Fortune article last year stated that even the smallest Bitcoin transaction for a minor purchase (such as a latte) can cost as much as a household monthly energy bill:
https://fortune.com/2021/10/26/bitcoin-electricity-consumption-carbon-footprin/
Speaking of buying a latte with Bitcoin, doesn’t it seem like yesterday where at a lot of fast food places, including McDonalds, was Cash Only for payment? I remember those days. It was only about 20 or less years ago they started taking plastic.
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 10:46 am
“I am confused by the crypto currency hype.”
The infosec and cryptography expert, Dr. Vesselin Bontchev summarized crypto currency as follows:
He nailed it.
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:15 am
How many Americans were killed by North Korea in the last 50 years?
How many were killed with guns?
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:19 am
” Chicago police data analyzed by WBEZ show nearly one of every four guns recovered from city homicides since 2017 came off assembly lines of firearms companies in Citadel’s stock portfolio”
All guns start out as legal firearms as the purchaser must pass an FBI background check. There are numerous studies (Lawful gun owners commit less than a fifth of all gun crimes, according to the University of Pittsburgh.) that show that the vast majority of gun crimes are committed by persons not legally in possession of a firearm. We need to rely on academic studies as FBI crime data does not collect that data point. So the fact that Griffin has gun companies in his portfolio is immaterial.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 11:34 am
I suppose if I own stock in an index fund that has Smith and Wesson in it then (like KG) I am responsible for 1 in 4 deaths caused by some criminals committing murders by using a handguns.
Typical Pritzker sponsored rubbish.
Comment by Back to the Future Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:11 pm
===All guns start out as legal firearms as the purchaser must pass an FBI background check===
Is that really true? What about private party sales?
Also, do you know why the FBI doesn’t collect the data? I suspect you do.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:12 pm
“What about private party sales?”
In Illinois, every gun sale/transfer/gift/inheritance including gun show and private party sales is subject to an FBI background check via FOID.
Comment by Donnie Elgin Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:21 pm
“…can cost as much as a household monthly energy bill:”
It has also made buying video cards extremely difficult. However, that’s my first-world problem.
Comment by Proud Sucker Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:54 pm
===In Illinois, every gun sale/transfer/gift/inheritance including gun show and private party sales is subject to an FBI background check via FOID.===
And Chicago borders Indiana, where there are no such restrictions.
Donnie, I bet you don’t mind that the Court is about to let states regulate abortion but you’d have a conniption if the Court took seriously the well-regulated militia clause of your favorite amendment.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 12:58 pm
=In Illinois, every gun sale/transfer/gift/inheritance including gun show and private party sales is subject to an FBI background check via FOID.=
Jesus, another gaslighting grass bowl (which, yes, I already knew).
According to a 2016 study, 60% of guns confiscated in Chicago come from Indiana, which has no such restrictions. Do your outright lies make you feel superior? Do you chuckle to yourself every time you lie like you’re getting away with it? Are you a complete moron? Are you just a despicable POS? I’ll bet it’s all of the above
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 1:02 pm
“In Illinois, every gun sale/transfer/gift/inheritance including gun show and private party sales is subject to an FBI background check via FOID.”
Yep, that requirement is the law.
It’s also the law in Illinois that gun crimes are prohibited, so I guess those don’t happen either.
– MrJM
Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, May 4, 22 @ 2:51 pm