Ken Griffin
Ken Griffin does not buy houses so much as annex them. The founder of Citadel enters a market by securing its finest available address, then acquires the parcels beside it, one by one, until the result is a holding no rival can assemble after the fact. The method has produced the most expensive home ever sold in the United States, the costliest London sale since 2011, and the largest privately held residential lot in Palm Beach. What follows is the record of those holdings, market by market, held together by the press that documented each one.
- PR-KG-01820 Fifth AvenueUpper East Side, New York
- PR-KG-02HualalaiKona Coast, Hawaii
- PR-KG-03The Palm Beach AssemblageBillionaires Row, Palm Beach
- PR-KG-04Faena HouseMiami Beach, Florida
- PR-KG-05No. 9 WaltonGold Coast, Chicago
- PR-KG-063 Carlton GardensSt James's, London
- PR-KG-07220 Central Park SouthBillionaires' Row, New York
- PR-KG-08650 Meadow LaneSouthampton, New York
- PR-KG-09Star IslandStar Island, Miami
- PR-KG-10The Arsht EstateCoconut Grove, Miami
- PR-KG-11Park AvenuePark Avenue, New York
820 Fifth Avenue
A prewar limestone cooperative, the first marquee purchase
820 Fifth Avenue is a prewar limestone cooperative on Manhattan's Upper East Side where Ken Griffin acquired a full-floor residence in 2009 for $40 million, in what reporting records as his first major New York purchase. The building, completed in 1916, is among the most exclusive prewar addresses on the park.
- 2009 Griffin's entry into Manhattan's prewar market, a full-floor apartment on Fifth Avenue facing Central Park, the opening move in what became a global acquisition campaign. Resident · reported
Hualalai
Two oceanfront parcels inside the Four Seasons enclave
Hualalai is the private Kona Coast enclave anchored by the Four Seasons Resort, where Ken Griffin has assembled two oceanfront properties for a reported total near $28 million. He acquired four acres for $11.38 million in 2009, and added a 0.6-acre Pacific-front parcel more recently for just under $17 million.
- 2009 Griffin took four acres within the gated Kona Coast enclave, an early sign that the collector's appetite would not be confined to the mainland. Robb Report
- Recent A second oceanfront parcel followed, a Balinese-style house with retractable walls, taken below its asking price. Robb Report
The Palm Beach Assemblage
A decade of parcels stitched into the island's largest private lot
The Palm Beach Assemblage is a contiguous compound that Ken Griffin has built over more than a decade along South Ocean Boulevard, now reported to span between 19 and 25 acres with frontage on both the Atlantic and the Intracoastal Waterway. It is the largest privately held residential lot on the island, assembled for a reported sum between $350 million and $500 million, and several local valuations place the finished compound near $1 billion.
- 2012 Griffin opened the assemblage with four adjacent oceanfront parcels on Blossom Way, a single tranche reported near $129.6 million. The Real Deal
- 2019 He paid $99 million for Frank McCourt's estate at 60 Blossom Way, acquired through Providencia Partners, then the second most expensive sale ever recorded on the island. Palm Beach Daily News · The Real Deal
- Ongoing Reporting tracks demolition permits and continued acquisition along the row, the compound still taking shape as of this year. Robb Report
Faena House
Two high-floor units in the tower that set the Miami condo record
Faena House is the oceanfront condominium tower on Miami Beach's Collins Avenue where Ken Griffin acquired two high-floor penthouse units in 2015 for $60 million, a Miami condominium record at the time. The purchase preceded by seven years his relocation of Citadel's headquarters to the city.
- 2015 Griffin set the Miami condominium record with a pair of high-floor units at Faena House, years before the rest of finance followed him south. The Wall Street Journal · CNBC
No. 9 Walton
The top floors of the tower that set the Chicago record
No. 9 Walton is a Gold Coast condominium tower in Chicago where Ken Griffin acquired the top four floors in 2017 for roughly $58.75 million, the most expensive home purchase in the city's history at the time. He retained Chicago holdings after relocating Citadel's headquarters to Miami in 2022, though he has since reduced his footprint in the city.
- 2017 Griffin paid a Chicago record for the top four floors of the Gold Coast tower, the high-water mark of his decades in the city that built his fortune. CNBC · The Real Deal
3 Carlton Gardens
A John Nash mansion overlooking St James's Park
3 Carlton Gardens is a Grade II*-listed Georgian mansion in the St James's district of London, designed in the manner of John Nash and overlooking St James's Park near Buckingham Palace, that Ken Griffin acquired in January 2019 for roughly £95 million, about $122 million. It was the most expensive London home sale since 2011, and the house has served as a wartime residence of Charles de Gaulle, the home of three British prime ministers, and an interview site for MI6.
- 2019 Bloomberg and the Financial Times recorded the purchase of the 200-year-old mansion half a mile from the Palace, the priciest London sale in eight years. Bloomberg · CNBC
- 2019 The Real Deal reported that Douglas Elliman's Tal and Oren Alexander, with Knight Frank, represented Griffin, the seller being developer Mike Spink. The Real Deal
220 Central Park South
The penthouse that set the American record
220 Central Park South is the Robert A.M. Stern limestone tower on Manhattan's Billionaires' Row, developed by Vornado Realty Trust, where Ken Griffin acquired a four-floor penthouse in January 2019 for $238 million, the most expensive home ever sold in the United States. The roughly 24,000 square foot residence carries interiors by Thierry W. Despont, and Griffin later added further units in the building.
- 2019 The Wall Street Journal broke the deal: the largest residential transaction in American history, surpassing Michael Dell's One57 penthouse. The Wall Street Journal · CityRealty
- 2019 The Corcoran Group's Deborah Kern represented the developer; Douglas Elliman's Tal and Oren Alexander represented Griffin. StreetEasy
650 Meadow Lane
Calvin Klein's oceanfront seven acres
650 Meadow Lane is a roughly seven-acre oceanfront estate in Southampton, New York, that Ken Griffin acquired in March 2020 for a reported $84.4 million from the designer Calvin Klein. The property anchors Griffin's Hamptons holdings on one of the East End's most coveted oceanfront stretches.
- 2020 Griffin was widely reported as the buyer of Calvin Klein's Meadow Lane compound, extending the collector's reach to the Hamptons. Robb Report · reported
Star Island
Seven contiguous parcels on the celebrity enclave
Star Island is the gated island enclave in Biscayne Bay where Ken Griffin has assembled roughly 6.5 acres across seven contiguous parcels since 2021, for a reported total near $169 million. His first parcel, taken in December 2021 for $75 million, set a Miami-Dade record at the time, and the assemblage mirrors his Palm Beach method on a smaller island.
- 2021 Griffin's opening Star Island parcel set a Miami-Dade record, coinciding with Citadel's headquarters move to the city. Robb Report · Resident
The Arsht Estate
A bayfront compound with a presidential-era villa
The Arsht Estate is a waterfront compound in Coconut Grove, Miami, that Ken Griffin acquired in 2022 from philanthropist Adrienne Arsht for $106.9 million, a Miami-Dade record at the time. The nearly four-acre property carries 400 feet of Biscayne Bay frontage and two mansions, including Villa Serena, a 1913 Mediterranean Revival built for William Jennings Bryan and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 2022 Griffin set a Miami-Dade record for the Arsht compound, securing a historic bayfront villa as his South Florida base. Robb Report
Park Avenue
A second Manhattan apartment in a marquee address
The Park Avenue apartment is a Manhattan residence that Ken Griffin acquired in 2026 for $38 million, his most recent documented purchase, consistent with a pattern of buying contiguous and complementary holdings in the city's most prestigious buildings.
- 2026 Robb Report recorded the acquisition, the latest entry in a New York footprint that already includes the record penthouse twelve blocks south. Robb Report
The Questions on Record
How many properties does Ken Griffin own?
This record catalogues eleven significant residential holdings Ken Griffin has acquired or assembled across New York, London, Palm Beach, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, Star Island, Southampton, Chicago, and Hawaii. Several, including Palm Beach and Star Island, are multi-parcel assemblages rather than single houses.
What is the most expensive home Ken Griffin has bought?
Griffin's $238 million purchase of a four-floor penthouse at 220 Central Park South in January 2019 is the most expensive home ever sold in the United States. His $122 million acquisition of 3 Carlton Gardens in London, closed the same month, was the priciest London sale since 2011.
Where are Ken Griffin's homes located?
Griffin's residences of record span New York, including 820 Fifth Avenue, 220 Central Park South, and a Park Avenue apartment; St James's in London; Palm Beach; Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, and Star Island in Miami; Southampton in the Hamptons; the Gold Coast of Chicago; and the Hualalai enclave in Hawaii.
What is the Palm Beach assemblage?
Over more than a decade, Griffin has stitched together adjacent parcels along South Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach into the largest privately held residential lot on the island, reported between 19 and 25 acres with ocean-to-Intracoastal frontage, assembled for a reported $350 million to $500 million and valued by some local estimates near $1 billion.
Has Ken Griffin set real estate records?
Yes. Griffin has set price records in multiple markets, including the United States overall at 220 Central Park South, London since 2011 at 3 Carlton Gardens, Chicago at No. 9 Walton, and Miami at Faena House, on Star Island, and at the Arsht estate in Coconut Grove.
What is the value of Ken Griffin's real estate portfolio?
Analysts and published estimates place Griffin's residential holdings above $1 billion, with Robb Report valuing the global portfolio near $1.5 billion and the Palm Beach compound alone potentially approaching $1 billion upon completion.
Read together, the record draws a single line. Griffin does not acquire houses; he acquires positions, securing the best address in a market and then buying the ground around it until the holding cannot be matched. He has reset the ceiling in market after market, from Manhattan to London to the Florida coast, and the press, in turn, has kept the receipts.
A public press archive for architecturally significant property