Hedge Fund Manager Who Recently Dropped $300+ Million On Real Estate Is Worried About People Spending Too Much On Real Estate
As those of you who keep up with the life and times of Kenneth C. Griffin know, in the last year alone, the Citadel founder has acquired two floors at the Waldorf Astoria in Chicago ($29.3 million), an 18,000 square foot pad on Central Park South ($200 million), a penthouse in Miami Beach ($60 million), plus another apartment in Chicago ($11.75 million), and a Palm Beach mansion ($15.25 million). But please, people! Do as Ken Griffin says, not as Ken Griffin does.
Griffin also warned about another favorite asset class among today's rich: Luxury real estate...While brokers and developers like to tout real estate as an investment, Griffin contends that it's more of a lifestyle purchase. "In the high-end real estate market there is that element of consumption. And that's different from just investing," he said. "So I think one must have to keep that in mind, that when people make a decision to buy a piece of high-end real estate, it's not just an investment. It's where they spend time with their families and their loved ones."
Griffin is also worried about civilians following in his footsteps re: art.
Griffin said he has "cause for concern" about soaring prices in the art market. Griffin, founder of the Citadel hedge fund and an avid art collector, told CNBC on Thursday that the art market has seen a rapid shift from one that was dominated by collectors and dealers, to one that is filled with people using it as an investment. "I think people should be very hesitant in thinking about art as an investment," he said. "I would have some cause for concern around that."
$80 million Jasper Johns and $60.5 million Paul Cézannes are for professionals only.
