Ken Griffin donating $3B to Carnegie Mellon

Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin is donating $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University, according to an announcement from the institution on Wednesday.

The donation is the largest individual gift in higher education history and the largest donation ever made by the hedge fund manager.

“Carnegie Mellon University has made profound contributions to America’s preeminence in science, engineering, technology, and the arts and humanities,” said Griffin. “Since its founding, Carnegie Mellon has fostered remarkable talent, pioneered scientific breakthroughs, and expanded the frontiers of research — shaping global leaders and innovators.”

One-third of the donation will be invested in Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus, and the other $2 billion will go to building a branch campus in Miami.

The Miami school will be built on 25 acres in the heart of the city with the goal of supporting 3,500 undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. students. Construction is set to begin next year, with the hope of enrolling its first students in 2028, according to the university.

“We are deeply grateful to Ken Griffin for his extraordinary vision, partnership and belief in what Carnegie Mellon can achieve,” said Carnegie Mellon 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,” he added.

“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.”

Griffin will also be joining the university’s board of trustees as it uses his money to invest in many research areas including national security and strategic capabilities, energy and climate resilience and human health and biological discovery.