Griffin criticized that the halls in Washington are now filled with special interest groups and lobbyists seeking to raise tariffs to block foreign competition and protect inefficient American companies that cannot meet the needs of usa consumers.
Following the previous criticism of Trump's tariffs and immigration policies, Ken Griffin, the 'king of hedge funds' at Citadel, harshly criticized Trump's tariffs as leading the USA down 'crony capitalism'.
On Thursday local time, Griffin, during an interview at the New York Economic Club, warned that Trump's tariff increase plan would lead the USA down the slope of 'crony capitalism' and sharply criticized Trump's other agendas.
Now you will find the halls in Washington crowded with special interest groups and lobbyists seeking to raise tariffs to block foreign competition, and protect inefficient American companies unable to meet the needs of usa consumers.
Griffin also expressed concerns about inflation:
"Deeply concerned" that Trump's tariff imposition and immigration restrictions plan would bring huge inflationary pressures to the USA economy.
Griffin further stated his concerns about the risk of immigration going too far under Trump's leadership. He pointed out that many of Silicon Valley's top companies were founded by immigrants, and European leaders recently complained to him that Europe's smartest talent (especially in the field of ai) were migrating to the usa, which must open its borders to the best and brightest talent.
It is worth noting that Griffin is a major donor to the Republican Party, but he openly opposes Trump. Regarding the most fiercely contested candidate for Treasury Secretary, he supports Mark Rowan, the founder of Apollo Global Management.
Griffin also mentioned for the first time:
Considering the possibility of selling a minority stake in the company. Citadel "just a few days ago" received a proposal from a private equity firm to invest $5 billion, a move that would help Citadel maintain its non-public status for longer.
Griffin founded Citadel in 1990, and the company has since become the most profitable investment firm in the industry's history. Griffin owns the vast majority of Citadel shares, and the group has never accepted external investments before.
Just a few weeks before he made the above remarks, previous articles from Wall Street News reported that Citadel's main competitor Millennium Funds was seeking strategic cooperation with the world's largest asset management company, BlackRock.
In addition, Griffin stated that the multi-manager field is the most profitable sector in the global hedge fund industry, currently in a "consolidation phase", and may see growth again in the future.
