Ken Griffin and Stephen Ross, who are among the highest-profile billionaires to move to South Florida during the pandemic, are bankrolling a new campaign to get others to follow in their footsteps.
The pair is funding a $10 million drive to convince more executives, investors and founders to move to the region. Their “Ambition Accelerated” push, which includes advertising and outreach comparing Miami and environs with northeastern and western US cities, is poised to kick off late Monday.
“Miami and the broader South Florida Gold Coast offer deep talent, regulatory clarity and an extraordinary quality of life,” Griffin, founder of the Citadel financial empire, said in a statement. “These are not secondary considerations; they are foundations for long-term success, and their impact compounds over time.”
The two billionaires have invested heavily in the region in recent years, often pitting their new home against the cities where they made their fortunes. Griffin relocated his headquarters to Miami from Chicago in 2022. Ross moved permanently to Palm Beach from New York during the pandemic and created a spin-off development firm — Related Ross — from his New York-based Related Cos.
While South Florida has long been a tax haven and winter playground for the wealthy, it’s been gaining ground as a hub of business and finance. Griffin and Ross have played major roles in the shift, plowing money into new construction, philanthropies and quality-of-life issues such as education and health care.
The new campaign, backed by a group of business leaders called the Florida Council of 100, will highlight Florida’s lower taxes and lighter business regulations. It will kick off at a Wall Street Journal Invest Live conference in West Palm Beach, which Ross is sponsoring.
“In previous generations, there were a limited number of American cities where companies could access opportunity and build at scale. That’s why I began my career building my businesses in those cities,” Ross said in the statement. “But to me, it’s clear that the next generation of companies belongs along Florida’s Gold Coast from West Palm Beach to Miami.”
Photo: Ken Griffin (Scott McIntyre/Bloomberg)
Topics Florida
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Beazley Agrees to Zurich’s Sweetened £8 Billion Takeover Bid 
Trapped Tesla Driver’s 911 Call: ‘It’s on Fire. Help Please’ 
Active Tornado Season Expected in the US 
Winter Storm Fern to Cause Up to $6.7B in Insured Losses 
