Hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin gives record $3B to Carnegie Mellon to build Miami campus

Carnegie Mellon University revealed on Wednesday that hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin has contributed a record $3 billion to establish a new campus in Miami centered on societal challenges. This substantial donation is the largest single gift ever made to a U.S. university, surpassing contributions from notable figures like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

The bulk of Griffin's $3 billion donation will fund the construction of a 35-acre campus in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, poised to accommodate approximately 3,500 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The remainder of the funds will bolster Carnegie Mellon's computer science program, which will be renamed in Griffin's honor, as well as other unspecified initiatives at the main campus.

Griffin, a prominent GOP donor who founded Citadel investment firm, expressed optimism about the new campus, stating that it would position Miami as a focal point for humanistic and scientific progress, bolstering the university's global influence.