Have you ever received something from your boss (other than wisdom) that made you appreciate and remember him for a long time? Well, these employees certainly did.?
For thousands of?employees of Citadel and Citadel Securities, the hedge fund and trading business, last weekend was spent at Disney World in Florida, US. Most importantly, their trip was paid for by the company's CEO and founder, Ken Griffin.?
The billionaire boss was generous enough to pay for 10,000 staff members and their families to have some fun at Disney World for three days.
Griffin paid for his employees' flights from New York, Houston, Paris, Zurich, and other cities. That's not it. He also?paid for hotels, park tickets, and meals ranging from lamb chops to sushi and paella.?
In addition to the grand gesture, the billionaire treated employees to a Coldplay concert.
The festivities marked the 20th anniversary of Citadel Securities and the 32nd anniversary of the hedge fund, whose original plans for 2020 were wiped away by the pandemic.
Ken Griffin?is worth about $31.7 billion, according to the?Forbes Rich List. That makes him the 40th?richest person?in the?world.
So, while he may have had to splash quite a bit for the?extravaganza, he can clearly afford to cough up some serious cash for?workers.
The 54-year-old billionaire thanked his staff for a bumper year of hard work and high returns.
"We have built the most extraordinary team not only in our history, but also in the history of finance. We have an incredible future ahead of us - and I look forward to the chapters yet to be written," he reportedly told his employees.?
While Wall Street firms are preparing for job cuts after a tumultuous year, this was Griffin's way to thank all of his hard workers for turning things on their heads, with Citadel recording blockbuster returns.
According to the company's spokesman, Zia Ahmed, this year is shaping up to be a record for Citadel and Citadel Securities.
The hedge fund firm manages a whopping $59 billion in assets, which is an even higher figure than Griffin's net worth.
In contrast to the trends seen on Wall Street, Citadel told its investors that its flagship Wellington fund had returned roughly 32 percent through the end of November.
The Citadel Global Fixed Income Fund is also up a huge 28.1 percent for the year, and the Citadel Tactical Trading Fund is up 22.4 percent.
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