Ken Griffin makes historic $3 billion donation to Carnegie Mellon University

Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin announced on Wednesday he will give away a sizable chunk of his wealth to Carnegie Mellon University to build a new campus in Miami, marking a historic investment in one of Florida’s largest cities.Griffin is donating $3 billion to the institution, describing it as the “largest single investment in higher education in the history of the United States.” The donation will primarily be directed toward building a new campus in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, expected to open for graduate students in 2028 and accept undergraduates four years later. The remaining billion will go toward Carnegie Mellon University’s original computer science school in Pennsylvania, which will be renamed after Griffin, as well as other priorities.“We need more innovation, we need more job creation, we need more in areas in which American firms have a competitive advantage compared with companies around the world,” Griffin told Reuters. “That is how we are going to maintain our standard of living in America.” As one of the country’s most prestigious universities, Carnegie Mellon University is renowned for its computer science, robotics, artificial intelligence, and engineering programs. The institution, founded by steel mogul and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, is based in Pittsburgh, but has campuses in California, Qatar, and Africa.In recent years, Griffin has directed billions in investments to Miami’s academic institutions. Griffin runs Citadel, the most profitable ‌hedge fund in history. In 2022, he moved the business’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami. Griffin recently vowed to redirect investments from New York City to Miami, following a public spat with Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his skepticism of wealthy people, arguing Mamdani’s administration “doesn’t welcome success.”DOZENS OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES MAINTAIN PARTNERSHIPS WITH CHINESE MILITARY-LINKED ENTITIESOnce the Miami campus is completed, it will support more than 3,500 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students. Griffin will join Carnegie Mellon’s Board of Trustees.“We are deeply grateful to Ken Griffin for his extraordinary vision, partnership and belief in what Carnegie Mellon can achieve,” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. “Throughout our history, CMU has anticipated moments of profound technological change and responded with new ways of thinking and solving problems. Artificial intelligence represents one of the defining intellectual developments of our time, and it demands that we rethink how we educate students, conduct research and partner with others. Together, we have an opportunity to extend the very qualities that have long distinguished Carnegie Mellon — our agility, creativity, interdisciplinary culture and relentless focus on impact — to build a new model for higher education that meets the urgency of this moment.”