Ken Griffin and Steve Ross Collaborate to Attract More CEOs to Florida

Ken Griffin and Stephen Ross, two of the most prominent billionaires who relocated to South Florida during the pandemic, are spearheading a new initiative aimed at encouraging others to make the move.

The duo is investing $10 million in a campaign designed to attract more executives, investors, and founders to the region. Their initiative, dubbed “Ambition Accelerated,” will launch with advertising and outreach efforts that compare Miami and its surroundings to major cities in the northeastern and western United States. The campaign is set to kick off late Monday.

“Miami and the broader South Florida Gold Coast offer deep talent, regulatory clarity, and an extraordinary quality of life,” stated Griffin, the founder of the Citadel financial empire, in a press release. “These are not secondary considerations; they are foundations for long-term success, and their impact compounds over time.”

Both billionaires have made significant investments in the region in recent years, often contrasting their new home with the cities where they initially built their fortunes. Griffin moved his headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, while Ross permanently relocated to Palm Beach from New York during the pandemic, subsequently launching a spin-off development firm—Related Ross—from his New York-based Related Companies.

While South Florida has traditionally served as a tax haven and winter retreat for the affluent, it is increasingly establishing itself as a center for business and finance. Griffin and Ross have been instrumental in this transformation, investing in new construction, philanthropic efforts, and enhancing quality-of-life factors such as education and healthcare.

The new campaign, supported by a consortium of business leaders known as the Florida Council of 100, will emphasize Florida’s lower taxes and more favorable business regulations. The campaign will officially launch at a Wall Street Journal Invest Live conference in West Palm Beach, which is being sponsored by Ross.

“In previous generations, there were a limited number of American cities where companies could access opportunity and build at scale. That’s why I began my career building my businesses in those cities,” Ross remarked in the statement. “But to me, it’s clear that the next generation of companies belongs along Florida’s Gold Coast from West Palm Beach to Miami.”

Photo: Ken Griffin (Scott McIntyre/Bloomberg)

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