Because his 308-foot superyacht won’t fit in his mansion, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin is building a 3.7-acre private marina in Miami that will house his $250 million yacht.
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin has already received permission to build a private marina (waterfront facility) for his 308-foot luxury yacht on Terminal Island in Miami. Now he wants Miami Beach to go one step further by changing its zoning rules so he can add a private helipad on the waterfront and avoid city traffic.If approved, the plan would create a special travel system by air, sea and land for the castle’s founder. It will allow him to fly directly to his yacht instead of driving through the crowded streets of Miami.The new application includes a 30,000-square-foot waterfront parcel at 120 MacArthur Causeway. The project, designed by BMA Architects, includes an owner’s building, a separate crew building, maintenance facilities, security offices, and at least one rooftop pool.Now, Griffin wants to add a helipad to the property.
Zoning change is the only hurdle
According to the Miami Herald, Miami Beach Commissioner Joseph put forward the proposal on June 24. This will decide whether the city’s zoning rules will be changed to allow a private helipad on the land.The request is very specific. Griffin is not asking for helipads to be built all over Miami Beach. Instead, he just wants to change the rules for the industrial zone on Terminal Island, where private helipads are currently banned.
This specific site may help his case.The marina is located on artificial land surrounded by ferry docks, the Florida Power and Lighting Facility, and the U.S. Coast Guard, rather than homes. From a city planning standpoint, this makes the request less controversial than placing a helipad near a residential neighborhood.Even if Miami Beach approves the zoning change, Griffin would still need separate permissions from the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before any helicopters could fly there.
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It is built around one of the largest private yachts in the world
The helipad plan also matches perfectly with the newest Griffin superyacht.His boat is called Defy (formerly Viva) and it costs about $250 million. It is 308 feet long and has a small helipad on its front deck. Adding a helipad at the marina will allow him to fly directly from his other property in South Florida directly to his yacht without using roads.The marina and helipad will work together as a private travel hub, connecting its helicopter, dock and yacht in one place.This type of facility would be very rare. Miami-Dade County has very few helipads, most of which are designated for hospitals and emergency services. Even in a city known for luxury waterfront real estate, a private marina with its own airstrip will stand out.
The billionaire behind the castle
Griffin, 57, started the massive hedge fund Citadel in 1990. He began his investing career while studying at Harvard, but his interest in trading began even before that.
In 1987, while living in a dorm at Harvard University, he installed a satellite dish on the roof so he could get real-time stock market prices.Today, Citadel manages about $68 billion in investments and is considered the most profitable hedge fund in the world. According to LCH Investments, the company has made a clear profit of $83 billion since its inception.Griffin also built Citadel Securities into one of the largest market makers on Wall Street.
The company now handles one out of every four stock trades made in the United States.The billionaire, who is worth about $51.7 billion, moved himself and the main Citadel offices from New York to Miami. Aside from finance, Griffin has donated around $2.4 billion to charities. Some of his recent donations have gone to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and several hospital charities in Miami.
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Griffin recently criticized the Trump administration on ethics
Although Griffin has long been a major donor to the Republican Party, he made headlines earlier this year by publicly criticizing parts of US President Donald Trump’s administration.Speaking at a Wall Street Journal event in February, Griffin said the administration “certainly made mistakes by making decisions or choices that brought a lot of wealth to the families of people within the administration.”He added that he was concerned about what he considered a conflict of interest.“I think our society really needs to get back to basic ethical ideas in public service,” Griffin said.He also questioned whether public officials really work for the people. He said he wants to believe politicians “have the public interest in everything they do,” but said their actions make people wonder: “Are the public interest really being served?”Despite those criticisms, Griffin praised some of Trump’s policies.“He secured the border,” Griffin said, calling it a “huge victory.” He also praised Trump’s selection of Kevin Warsh to lead the Fed, saying it was a strong sign that the Fed would maintain its required independence when setting financial policies.Meanwhile, Griffin criticized the government for getting too involved in business decisions.“When the U.S. government starts getting involved with corporate America in a way that looks like favoritism, most CEOs I know find that very unattractive,” he said.“I’m close to this administration, but does that mean the next administration will do one of my competitors a favor, or take something from me because I don’t publicly support them? Most CEOs don’t want to be in a position where they have to please one administration after another just to run their business successfully.”He also stated that he did not want the US government to act like private investors.
