Billionaire and investor Ken Griffin accused the administration of Donald Trump of enriching its own families and criticized its interference in the affairs of American companies as “distasteful.” Griffin, the founder and CEO of the hedge fund Citadel and a prominent donor to the Republican Party, said the administration made decisions that were not in the public interest, The Guardian reports.
Griffin strongly criticized the Trump administration, saying it had “definitely made mistakes with decisions that were extremely lucrative for the families of people within the administration itself.” “That raises the question of whether the public interest is being served,” he said on Tuesday at a conference in Florida organized by the Wall Street Journal, according to Index.hr.
Although Griffin is one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump on Wall Street, this is the first time he has publicly commented on the apparent financial gains of the president’s family due to their proximity to the White House.
Trump’s eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have benefited from White House policies favorable to cryptocurrencies and secured a number of major deals following their father’s re-election. They have previously insisted that there is a “clear separation” between their business ventures and their father’s official duties.
It was recently revealed that a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family was behind a $500 million investment in the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial, which is owned by the Trump family, just days before Trump’s inauguration. Griffin said that this type of investment, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, “bothers” him.
Griffin added that most executives he is friends with “find it extremely distasteful” when “the US government starts interfering in corporate America in a way that reeks of favoritism.” “Most executives simply do not want to find themselves in a position where, in some way, they have to curry favor with each new administration in order to successfully run their companies,” he said.
Griffin is a longtime donor to the Republican Party and, during the 2024 election cycle, donated millions of dollars to conservative groups. He did not finance Trump’s re-election campaign but did contribute $1 million to the president’s inaugural committee after Trump’s victory.
At the Florida conference, he also highlighted some Trump policies he supported, including the president’s focus on securing the US–Mexico border and his recent nomination of Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve. The billionaire also hinted that he might run for public office himself, saying: “In the future, I would like to get involved in public service.”
Responding to Griffin’s comments, White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Financial Times: “The only special interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the well-being of the American people.”
“The fact that major stock market indices have reached record highs, real wages have risen, and inflation has eased since President Trump took office is proof that this administration is delivering on its promises to all Americans,” Desai added.
Foto: Wikimedia/Washington Photo Safari – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International – CC-BY-SA-4.0
