Billionaire Ken Griffin Finds Buyer for $11M Chicago Penthouse

Billionaire Ken Griffin has secured a buyer for a Gold Coast condo that he listed for $11 million earlier this summer.

The deal marks another step in the hedge fund manager’s gradual withdrawal from Chicago’s real estate market after relocating his residence and his hedge fund, Citadel, to Miami, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The 38th-floor penthouse at 9 West Walton is under contract with an undisclosed buyer. The property features two terraces, 16-foot windows and elevator access to a private rooftop pool and 39th-floor interior space.

The condo was co-listed by real estate agents Nancy Tassone of Jameson Sotheby’s International Real Estate and Emily Sachs Wong of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate. The sale price was not disclosed.

Griffin, who made headlines with his 2017 purchase of the building’s top four floors for a record-setting $58.75 million, never completed or occupied the property. Instead, he maintained his residence at the nearby Waldorf Astoria.

In addition to the 9 West Walton property, Griffin has been offloading his other high-end Chicago condos.

Those include a 9,250-square-foot penthouse on the 67th floor of Park Tower for $11.2 million, and his Waldorf Astoria condo, which sold for $10.225 million in October 2022. He also sold another Park Tower unit last year to filmmaker George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson for $11.2 million.

Though Griffin has not publicly listed his other units in 9 West Walton, his real estate agents indicated they are also available for interested buyers.

Chicago’s luxury market is experiencing a mix of record-setting sales and challenges, with transactions in South Barrington and Arlington Heights setting price records, while Lincoln Park continues to see high-value sales, such as a mansion selling for over $14 million However, the market faces price cuts on the high end and inventory shortages on the lower end.

— Andrew Terrell