Key Takeaways
- • Ken Griffin, billionaire founder of Citadel and Citadel Securities, has been nominated for membership at Riviera Country Club in South Florida, according to The Real Deal, with the board expected to vote later this month.
- • Griffin was nominated by Sherill and Mary Ann Hudson and by Nathan and Victoria Zeder, the latter an immediate past club president and top broker with the Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker.
- • Riviera created a new non-voting full golf membership class in October priced at $2 million for 10 slots that skips the waiting list, versus $175,000 for the existing golf membership.
- • More than 150 people are on Riviera's waiting list, reflecting strong demand from the region's ultra-wealthy residents.
- • Griffin's South Florida real estate holdings include a $1.1 billion purchase of the Mana Wynwood Convention Center in late September and a new Brickell Bay headquarters tower.
Summary
Billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin is the latest high-profile figure to seek membership at Riviera Country Club at 1155 Blue Road in South Florida, according to The Real Deal. Griffin's name is among a short list of new members nominated for admission, and the club's board of directors is expected to vote on the candidates at a meeting later this month. Griffin was nominated by Sherill and Mary Ann Hudson and by Nathan and Victoria Zeder. Nathan Zeder, an immediate past president of the club and a top broker with the Jills Zeder Group at Coldwell Banker, declined to comment.
Griffin would join as a full golf member under a membership class Riviera created in October. The non-voting membership is offered at $2 million to 10 people and allows individuals to bypass the waiting list, compared with $175,000 for the existing golf membership. The Real Deal reported that more than 150 people are on Riviera's wait list and that several of them have expressed interest in the new class. Griffin is not the only new member the board is likely to accept at the upcoming meeting.
The club is positioning itself to capitalize on the influx of ultra-wealthy residents to South Florida, where waiting lists at private clubs have become common. The article notes that centibillionaires including Griffin, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have invested in luxury real estate in the region. The club has also undergone a renovation and expansion in recent years, with half of a projected $20 million directed to an interest-generating investment account to subsidize dues income and the remainder used for capital planning.
Griffin's regional footprint is substantial. He has spent billions assembling waterfront homes in Miami, Miami Beach and Palm Beach, along with commercial real estate in Brickell and Wynwood. In late September, he paid $1.1 billion for the Mana Wynwood Convention Center, where Carnegie Mellon University will open a satellite campus. He is also building a new headquarters tower on the Brickell Bay waterfront for Citadel and Citadel Securities, which relocated from Chicago after the pandemic. Other private clubs in Miami-Dade include La Gorce Country Club, Indian Creek Country Club and Deering Bay Yacht & Country Club, and developers are adding more across South Florida.
Griffin would join as a full golf member under a membership class Riviera created in October. The non-voting membership is offered at $2 million to 10 people and allows individuals to bypass the waiting list, compared with $175,000 for the existing golf membership. The Real Deal reported that more than 150 people are on Riviera's wait list and that several of them have expressed interest in the new class. Griffin is not the only new member the board is likely to accept at the upcoming meeting.
The club is positioning itself to capitalize on the influx of ultra-wealthy residents to South Florida, where waiting lists at private clubs have become common. The article notes that centibillionaires including Griffin, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have invested in luxury real estate in the region. The club has also undergone a renovation and expansion in recent years, with half of a projected $20 million directed to an interest-generating investment account to subsidize dues income and the remainder used for capital planning.
Griffin's regional footprint is substantial. He has spent billions assembling waterfront homes in Miami, Miami Beach and Palm Beach, along with commercial real estate in Brickell and Wynwood. In late September, he paid $1.1 billion for the Mana Wynwood Convention Center, where Carnegie Mellon University will open a satellite campus. He is also building a new headquarters tower on the Brickell Bay waterfront for Citadel and Citadel Securities, which relocated from Chicago after the pandemic. Other private clubs in Miami-Dade include La Gorce Country Club, Indian Creek Country Club and Deering Bay Yacht & Country Club, and developers are adding more across South Florida.
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