American billionaire Ken Griffin raises his Miami hospital gift to $75 million

American billionaire Ken Griffin has given another $25 million to Baptist Health South Florida, raising his total support for the hospital system's neuroscience institute to $75 million.

Baptist Health announced the gift on Oct. 7 as it broke ground on a new home for the institute on the Baptist Hospital campus off Kendall Drive in Miami. The institute, previously called the Miami Neuroscience Institute, has been renamed the Baptist Health Kenneth C. Griffin Neuroscience Institute.

The donation came a week after the founder and chief executive of Citadel, the hedge fund and trading firm, pledged $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University. The university called that gift the largest ever made by an individual to higher education.

"Today we celebrate what makes Baptist Health truly special," Griffin said in a statement released by the hospital.

What the money pays for

The new $25 million will set up the Kenneth C. Griffin Neuroscience Institute Transformational Impact Fund, which will pay for research, innovation, education and disease prevention.

Griffin gave the institute $50 million in 2024. Baptist Health described that gift as the largest single donation in its history.

The building under construction will cover 197,000 square feet and is due to open in early 2029. It will add 16 subspecialty doctors, more exam rooms and the hospital system's first academic lecture theater, along with outpatient physical, speech and occupational therapy and neuroinfusion services. The institute treats conditions including dementia, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease, and plans to expand its clinical trials.

"Ken's generosity will help us accelerate research and innovation, educate the next generation of neuroscience leaders," said Bo Boulenger, Baptist Health's president and chief executive.

Michael McDermott, the neurosurgeon who leads Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care, said the goal was to build "a premier destination for brain and spine care in the South."

Griffin's bet on Miami

The hospital gift is the latest in a string of large donations Griffin has made since he moved Citadel's headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022.

The Carnegie Mellon pledge, announced Sept. 30, sets aside $2 billion to build a campus of more than 35 acres in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood. The campus is designed for more than 3,500 students and nearly 300 faculty, with construction slated to begin in 2027 and the first students arriving in 2028, subject to regulatory approvals. The remaining $1 billion goes to the university's Pittsburgh campus, including $500 million for its School of Computer Science, which will be renamed after him.

In 2023 he gave $25 million to Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami.

Citadel is building a new headquarters tower in Miami's Brickell financial district and recently unveiled plans to add a 300-unit apartment building and a parking garage to the site.

Griffin, 57, started Citadel in 1990 with about $4.6 million in capital, which he raised after trading from his dorm room at Harvard University. The firm is now one of the most profitable hedge funds in the world. He also controls Citadel Securities, one of the largest market makers on Wall Street.