Ending Soon! Save 33% on All Access

Ken Griffin Is on Top of the Hedge Fund World. Read His Memo to the Citadel Team. The internal memo was titled "Citadel Widens Lead as Most Profitable Hedge Fund of All Time."

By Bradley Saacks

Key Takeaways

  • Citadel generated $8.1 billion in gains for investors last year, according to LCH Investments.
  • The firm, based in Miami, has made the most money for its investors than any other hedge fund.
  • Griffin congratulated his team on "a challenging year" for multi-strategy managers.
Getty Images via Business Insider
Citadel founder Ken Griffin now runs $56 billion at his hedge fund, as of the start of 2024.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider.

Another big year for billionaire Ken Griffin and Citadel has extended the lead the Miami-based money manager has over its peers.

While Citadel didn't reach the lofty heights it hit in 2022 — when it made the most-ever for investors of any hedge fund in a single year, according to data from LCH Investments — the $56 billion firm still generated $8.1 billion in gains last year.

It brought the firm's all-time gains to $74 billion, close to $20 billion more than the two firms tied for second all-time, D.E. Shaw and Millennium. The two firms have generated $56.1 billion in profits since they launched, according to the rankings.

The Miami-based manager overtook billionaire Ray Dalio's Bridgewater in the all-time rankings last year when it recorded $16 billion in profits for investors. Bridgewater's tough year — its Pure Alpha fund was up for most of the year until bond prices jumped in the fourth quarter, causing the strategy to fall 7.6% in 2023, Bloomberg reported — dropped the Connecticut-based firm to fourth all-time.

LCH Investments, a fund-of-funds that's a part of Edmond de Rothschild, published its annual ranking of hedge funds based on the gains they generated in the previous year and since inception Monday.

In an internal memo titled "Citadel Widens Lead as Most Profitable Hedge Fund of All Time," Griffin wrote, "We not only retained the #1 ranking, but we also more than doubled our lead over our closest competitors in the past year."

He congratulated the firm on what he called "a challenging year overall for multi-strategy managers." While Citadel beat out its peers, with a 15.3% gain in its Wellington fund, there were plenty of smaller peers that notched single-digit returns for their investors despite the S&P 500 surging 24%.

Citadel confirmed the contents of the memo but declined to comment further.

Read below for the full memo:

Colleagues,

I am incredibly proud to share that Citadel has once again topped LCH Investments' list of the most profitable hedge funds of all time. We not only retained the #1 ranking, but we also more than doubled our lead over our closest competitors in the past year. This is a particularly remarkable accomplishment in what was a challenging year overall for multi-strategy managers.

Our leading position among hedge funds reflects our relentless focus on delivering superior returns to our capital partners, which include many of the preeminent research institutions, universities, and healthcare organizations around the world.

While this news is another important milestone in the history of Citadel, I am confident that the best chapters of our story still lie ahead. I look forward to writing them together with all of you.

With deep appreciation,

Kenneth C. Griffin

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Science & Technology

Make Music from Prompts with This AI Subscription, Just $50

This AI music generator promises to take you from prompt to song in just a few seconds.

Business News

Scarlett Johansson 'Shocked' That OpenAI Used a Voice 'So Eerily Similar' to Hers After Already Telling the Company 'No'

Johansson asked OpenAI how they created the AI voice that her "closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference."

Starting a Business

How to Start an Event Planning Business: Your Comprehensive Guide

Not sure how to become an event planner? Use this step-by-step guide to launch your event planning business from scratch.

Business News

Now that OpenAI's Superalignment Team Has Been Disbanded, Who's Preventing AI from Going Rogue?

We spoke to an AI expert who says safety and innovation are not separate things that must be balanced; they go hand in hand.

Employee Experience & Recruiting

Beyond the Great Resignation — How to Attract Freelancers and Independent Talent Back to Traditional Work

Discussing the recent workplace exit of employees in search of more meaningful work and ways companies can attract that talent back.

Franchise

What Franchising Can Teach The NFL About The Impact of Private Equity

The NFL is smart to take a thoughtful approach before approving institutional capital's investment in teams.