Ken Griffin Waits to See Trump’s VP Pick Before Backing Him

(Bloomberg) -- Ken Griffin, one of the most prolific supporters of Republicans across the US, said he’s waiting to see who Donald Trump picks as his running mate before backing his candidacy for president.

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A Trump Administration would likely improve America’s standing on the world stage, Griffin said from the Qatar Economic Forum. He declined to name who he’d like to see as the 77-year-old’s vice presidential pick.

“He will exude a level of strength that will help stabilize the world in these trying times,” Griffin said. “You could never be certain about President Trump. And that’s part of the reason that he is more intimidating to our adversaries. You never know exactly what the response is going to be.”

In the wide-ranging interview, Griffin slammed President Joe Biden’s economic policies as “incoherent,” though he noted that neither Trump nor Biden are likely to reduce US federal spending. That’s a key impediment to reducing the rate of inflation in the US, he said.

Griffin is the chief executive officer of Citadel, a hedge fund with $63 billion in assets under management. He also founded Citadel Securities, a global market-making business. The 55-year-old has a net worth of more than $38 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Griffin has been increasingly outspoken about his views on US political issues. So far in this election cycle, though, he has said he’s focusing his giving on congressional candidates rather than the presidential race.

Elite college campuses across the US have been thrown into turmoil as thousands have turned out to protest Israel’s bombardment and ground attack on the Palestinian territory of Gaza. Griffin has also been a vocal critic of those students, previously calling the protests the product of a “failed education system.”

On Tuesday, he said the protests have devolved into a form of anarchy.

Mideast Push

The government of the State of Qatar is the underwriter of the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg.

As sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East hunt for money managers that will invest their vast troves of money, Griffin said they should be looking for asset managers that align with their interests rather than try to win their business with “superficial” offerings like low fees.

“Simply put, Coca-Cola doesn’t publish its recipe on the web,” Griffin said. “When you’re going to pick a brain surgeon, do you find the doctor with the lowest fees?”

Citadel has yet to establish a major presence in the Middle East unlike peers that have made a beeline for the region in the hopes of capturing more of the trillions of dollars in capital that the Gulf sovereign wealth funds are sitting on.

Brevan Howard Asset Management, for instance, now manages more money from the emirate than it does anywhere else on the planet. Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management set up in Dubai recently and now has a staff of more than 70, while Balyasny Asset Management aims to double its 12-person workforce in the sunny emirate.

Read more: Abu Dhabi Speeds Up Country Club Admissions to Lure Hedge Funds

Citadel recently analyzed the footprint of its peers across the region, Griffin said.

For him, a key issue when it comes to expanding anywhere is talent. Countries often try to lure top hedge funds by having very attractive tax regimes that might attract a handful of senior portfolio managers but fail to draw in the analysts and the associates who support their day-to-day work in the markets, Griffin said.

“One of the reasons that I think Citadel has been so successful is the intense collaboration that we have within our four walls,” Griffin said. “Having a PM located in a low-tax jurisdiction on Zoom intermittently with a team back in London — that’s not a winning formula.”

(Updates with additional comments beginning in third paragraph.)

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