Kenneth C. Griffin

“I had to learn to trust people, and I realized that success was going to be born in hiring really bright people - very self-motivated, very able to make good judgment calls day in and day out.”

“The idea that the largest banks in the world would simultaneously fail, need government support, government guarantees, and/or government intervention to survive was not in my range of realistic scenarios.”

“In some industries, we refer to risk taking as 'research and development.' At financial institutions, we often take risk by investing in securities.”

“The success story at Citadel has been written by a number of people who have backgrounds from the University of Chicago.”

“It drives people nuts that I take them to McDonald's all the time.”

“We don't have a good legal justification for breaking up the banking system. But if I could wave a magic wand, I'd break up the banking system.”

“It is incredible to come to work every day surrounded by individuals whose insights and efforts place us at the forefront of finance.”

“The investment banks should either choose to be regulated as banks or should arrange to conduct their affairs to not require the stop-gap support of the Federal Reserve.”

“I am supporting many Republican candidates who embrace the principles and policies set forth in Speaker Ryan's vision and who are committed to moving our country forward on the right path.”

“Blockchain's a very interesting technology that will have some very profound applications for society over the years to come.”

“It is not my belief that we need greater government regulation of hedge funds with respect to the systemic risk they create.”

“Senator Rubio is uniquely qualified to lead our nation with conviction and courage to tackle the pressing issues of our time, whether it's strengthening our military, ensuring the safety of our people, or lifting the weight of government from our shoulders.”

“I have known Senator Rubio for a number of years, and he is an inspiring, courageous, and bold leader who embodies the American dream of freedom and equal opportunity for all.”

“So many of the great thought leaders that have shaped economics - Gary Becker, Milton Friedman - what an unbelievable success story they've had in their field.”

“I did not forsee a day where the government had to intervene to bail out basically everybody.”

“In our firm's earliest days, our understanding of the power of great software engineering and quantitative analytics helped Citadel stand out.”

“We're going through a period of retrenchment as the dynamics of the playing field are changing.”

“One of the great advantages that I had in my career is I started trading 24 hours a day in my early 20s, and I had to learn to delegate to people.”

“As Americans, I think we really believe that with the meritocracy that exists in our country, the equality of opportunity is so important to the foundation of our culture and our society.”

“Should we think about separating the investment banks from the commercial banks, a new Glass-Steagall? I would be really excited to see that. I think it would be great for the economy.”