Ken Griffin purchases Palm Beach property for US$83 million

BILLIONAIRE Ken Griffin snapped up a property on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue for US$83 million, located next to a former Neiman Marcus store that his firm has planned to use as an office.

With the latest purchase, Griffin now owns both properties at 125 Worth Ave and 151 Worth Ave, according to spokesperson Zia Ahmed. The seller of 125 Worth Ave was the Frisbie Group and Dreyfuss Management, said Rob Frisbie, a principal of the Frisbie Group.

Griffin has been boosting his Florida presence after moving headquarters for Citadel and Citadel Securities to the state. Griffin plans to build an office tower in Miami’s Brickell neighbourhood, which could end up as one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city.

Last year, Griffin bought the old Neiman Marcus building on Palm Beach’s main shopping street for US$78 million, intending to use it as an office. Griffin has an estimated fortune of nearly US$37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Palm Beach Daily News reported the sale of 125 Worth Ave earlier.

Griffin’s primary residence is in Miami, where he owns properties on Star Island and in Coconut Grove. In Palm Beach, he has amassed dozens of acres of land in a residential section of town where he’s building a home for his mother and plans to construct one for himself. BLOOMBERG