Billionaire hedge-fund magnate Ken Griffin paid for 1,200 Citadel and Citadel Securities’ Asia-based staffers and their family members go to Walt Disney World Tokyo for a three-day celebration of the financial giants’ anniversaries.
The Citadel founder shelled out for the shindig from Oct. 27 to Oct. 29 in honor of Citadel’s 30th anniversary and Citadel Securities’ 20th anniversary after COVID delayed the initial festivities, Citadel spokesperson Yin Ai confirmed to The Post.
The celebration saw Griffin footing the bill for employees from six Asia Pacific offices — as well as their spouses or significant others and 300 of his workers’ children — to go to Walt Disney World Tokyo, including Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.
Ai said Griffin also provided express passes to his workforce, which allowed them to skip the lines on rides and other attractions, like the popular Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Big Thunder Mountain rides that are also at Disney World’s Orlando amusement park.
For reference, a one-day pass to the Japanese Disney location costs anywhere from 7,900 yen to 10,900 yen, or $52.75 to $72.78. If there were 1,200 adults with tickets, Griffin could have spent as much as $87,336 for just one day at the park, not including fast passes.
During an official anniversary celebration party on Saturday, Griffin tapped Maroon 5 and Calvin Harris for a private performance, the company said.
Griffin and Zhao Peng, chief executive officer of capital markets firm Citadel Securities, as well as other C-suite executives at the company were also at the event, which was earlier reported on by Bloomberg.
Ai emphasized “that Ken paid for the entire anniversary events, travel, hotels, food, park tickets, entertainment and childcare” during the Tokyo celebrations, noting that Griffin would never expect investors to foot this kind of bill.
It wasn’t clear if Griffin brought his three children, though his ex-wife said in a divorce filing back in 2014 that the 55-year-old billionaire, who’s worth a cool $33.6 billion, doesn’t show much interest in his kids, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Citadel and Citadel Securities have doubled their headcount over the past three years, and now boast more than 400 staffers in Asia, according to Bloomberg.
Hong Kong is the largest operation for both companies, the outlet reported, where Griffin’s hedge fund leases the 22,000-square-foot 59th floor in premium office tower Two IFC, and Citadel Securities occupies the similarly-sized 42nd floor, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg last year.
The Griffin-owned companies also jointly use a third floor in the building, and have plans to expand their footprint in Tokyo.
Citadel opening an office space in Japan would be a type of homecoming for the firm — which has over $62.3 billion assets under management — after it shuttered its operations in the country during the global financial crisis.
Citadel Securities last year also opened a new Tokyo office to sell US fixed-income offerings in Japan, Bloomberg reported at the time, expanding its footprint in a city it’s been operating in since 2009.
Staffers from both the Hong Kong and Tokyo offices — as well as employees based in Singapore, Shanghai and Sydney, Australia, were reportedly invited to the Tokyo Disney Resort affair, per Bloomberg.
Citadel’s multi-strategy flagship Wellington fund gained 1.7% in September, Bloomberg reported, bringing its 2023 performance to 12.6% — well above the 7% increase the S&P 500 Index experienced so far this year.
Representatives for Griffin at Citadel and Citadel Securities did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Late last year, Griffin’s deep pockets funded a similar celebration for his US and European workforce, who he flew to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to applaud blockbuster returns and big anniversaries.
In December, Griffin picked up the tab for airfares from New York, Houston, Paris, Zurich and other cities and paid for hotels, park tickets and meals ranging from lamb chops to sushi and paella for about 10,000 staff members and their families.
During the three-day trip, employees and their loved ones romped around Magic Kingdom and other theme parks, Citadel spokesman Zia Ahmed said at the time, and Griffin tapped Carly Rae Jepsen, DJ Diplo and Coldplay — the British rock band that Griffin is especially fond of — for a Saturday concert.