Illinois' Richest Man Sets Chicago Record Buying $58.5M Condo

CHICAGO, IL — Proving that he deserves the title of richest resident in Illinois, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin recently purchased the top floors of a Gold Coast condo building for nearly $60 million. The historic purchase gave the CEO and founder of Chicago investment firm Citadel another notch on his financial achievement belt by being the largest home sale ever in the Chicago area — more than triple the amount of the previous record holder, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

A spokesman for Griffin, 49, told Crain's that the billionaire — whose estimated net worth of about $8.5 billlion makes him the 52nd richest person in the country, according to Forbes — is behind the entity that bought the top four floors of the residential tower at 9 W. Walton St. for $58.5 million in November. The combined living space of levels 35 through 38 is more than 25,000 square feet, but a representative for JDL Development, which is developing the tower, would not reveal the specific dimensions, Crain's reports.

The home sale that had previously held the distinction as the most expensive in Chicago was the 2015 purchase of a Park Tower condo by a buyer connected to "Star Wars" impresario George Lucas and financial exec Mellody Hobson, a Chicago native and Lucas' wife, the report stated. That residence, 800 N. Michigan Ave., was sold for $18.75 million, the report added.

RELATED: Glencoe Mansion Sold For Record $19.5 Million

When it comes to Chicago single-family homes, the highest sale ever was in 2006. That's when current Illinois gubernitorial candidate J.B. Pritzker sold his Gold Coast mansion for $14.5 million.

Expanding out to the suburbs, Eric Lefkofsky, co-founder and then-CEO of Groupon, was behind the biggest home sale ever in the Chicago metro area, spending $19.5 million for a 15,800-square-foot Glencoe mansion in 2014. Despite Cook County listing it as a sale, a $28 million deal for a Winnetka mansion between members of the wealthy Crown family in 2015 was actually a transfer of property, according to Crain's.

RELATED: $10 Million Teardown Awaits Winnetka Demolition Permit

Other notable recent home sales in the Chicago area include:

• A 110-year-old lakefront mansion in Winnetka — complete with its own 170-foot private beach — sold for $10 million earlier this month, and the couple who bought it have asked for a permit to demolish the 20-room main house but are keeping the property's coach house and a pair of pool houses.
• Late last year, the Latin School of Chicago spent $12 million to buy its next-door neighbor on Dearborn Street, the 19th-century Gold Coast mansion owned by philanthropist Ann Lurie, Crain's reported.

RELATED: Will This $50M Lincoln Park Mansion Be Chicago's All-Time, Highest-Selling Home?

Shelling out the sale price for No. 9 Walton is probably just the beginning of the spending for Griffin on his new acquisition. Factoring in high-end finishing costs for the penthouse space at more than $25 million, the overall bottom line on the purchase could be around $80 million, according to estimates by Crain's.

More via Crain's Chicago Business

Ken Griffin, the hedge fund billionaire CEO and founder of Chicago investment firm Citadel, set a Chicago area record for the largest home sale ever after he bought the top four floors of No. 9 Walton, the Gold Coast condo building at 9 W. Walton St. (Griffin photo by Larry Busacca | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images for The New York Times; No. 9 Walton photo via Realtor.com)