Billionaire Ken Griffin, chief of Citadel, files for divorce

Billionaire Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel LLC, a hedge fund and financial services firm based in Chicago, has filed for divorce from his wife, Anne Dias Griffin, a hedge-fund executive from France, according to a report in Crain’s Chicago Business.

Crain’s quoted a statement from Anne Griffin’s attorney, Robert Stephan Cohen: “Ken Griffin unilaterally filed a divorce petition today with no notice to either me or my client, knowing full well that she had just left for summer vacation with their three young children and would therefore be unable to respond. Anne’s highest priority remains her family, especially the wellbeing of her children. She is hopeful that this personal matter can be resolved privately and in the best interests of her children. We have no further comment at this time.”

According to Crain’s, Mr. Griffin declined to comment through an attorney and company spokeswoman.

Griffin was in the headlines last month because of his record-breaking $2.5 million contribution to Bruce Rauner’s gubernatorial campaign.

That was on top of $1 million Griffin already had given and in addition to letting Rauner use Griffin’s $50 million private jet to campaign around the state.

A Republican operative who has had conversations with Griffin but was not authorized to talk publicly about them told the Chicago Sun-Times last month, “This is do or die for the state of Illinois, that’s how he feels,” and insisted Griffin had no interest “other than the solvency of the state.”

Griffin has urged CEOs to get more involved in the political process and has shunned those who privately complained about Illinois’ bad business climate but kept quiet after taking taxpayer money in order to stay.

“You see, if Illinois is not hospitable to my business, we’re just going to move,” Griffin said, quoting what other CEOs had told him. He made the remarks in a 2013 speech before the Economic Club of Chicago. “And then I learned what the word hospitable meant, for a few weeks later, it was announced that [a CEO’s] company received tens of millions of dollars of tax incentives, and his silence was bought and paid for.”