Citadel, the hedge fund and financial conglomerate founded by Ken Griffin, is relocating its remaining Chicago staff from the iconic Citadel Center in the Loop to a smaller office north of the Chicago River, according to a report by Bloomberg citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The new 50,000-square-foot space represents roughly 10% of the firm’s previous footprint in the tower, which is now for sale and no longer bears the Citadel name.
The downsizing follows Griffin’s high-profile move of Citadel’s headquarters to Miami in 2022, which he cited was due to high taxes and crime in Chicago. The firm, which once employed around 1,100 staff locally, now has approximately 200 employees remaining in the city after relocations to Miami and New York.
Citadel’s retreat comes amid political debate over a proposed Chicago “head tax,” a $33-per-employee levy on companies with at least 500 staff, aimed at funding public safety initiatives. Business leaders have long warned that such taxes could drive away high-paying jobs. Oren Richland, managing principal at Dearborn Capital Group, part-owner of the former Citadel Center, said, “You want to bring the Citadels and the Caterpillars back into Chicago.”
Griffin’s exit has had a wider economic and philanthropic impact on the city. He donated over $600m to Chicago-based institutions, including a $125m gift to the city’s science museum, now named the Kenneth C Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Following his move to Miami, Griffin has allocated roughly $325m to Florida-based organisations.
The hedge fund industry in Illinois has also felt the effect. Finance roles statewide dropped 2.7% since Griffin left, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, a notable setback for a city historically central to the derivatives and futures markets.
Citadel’s scaled-down Chicago office is located near the Magnificent Mile and the company will continue to reduce its presence in the city as it prepares to break ground on its new Miami headquarters in the first quarter of 2026, with Related Companies taking over as developer.
