On September 30, 2026, Carnegie Mellon University announced the largest gift any individual has ever given to higher education. Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin is giving $3 billion, and $2 billion of it will build a brand new campus called Carnegie Mellon University Miami, on more than 35 acres in Wynwood.

I have practiced law in Miami since 1998. My family has been part of Miami Beach for generations.

I have watched this city grow from a vacation town with a skyline into a real capital of business. I have never seen a single day quite like that one.

So let me say it plainly. Thank you, Ken. This is simply amazing.

What the Gift Does

• $2 billion to launch CMU Miami, a full university campus in Wynwood, just north of downtown.
• $1 billion to Carnegie Mellon's home campus in Pittsburgh, including $500 million for its top ranked School of Computer Science, which will be renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science.
• When complete, CMU Miami is planned for more than 3,500 undergraduate, master's and PhD students, nearly 300 faculty and more than 600 staff.
• Construction is slated to begin in 2027, with the first students expected in 2028, pending approvals.
• The campus will be organized around big problems instead of traditional majors: human health and biological discovery, national security, energy and climate resilience, and advanced manufacturing. Plans include industry research labs and venture studios on campus.
• Griffin will also join Carnegie Mellon's Board of Trustees.

It is the largest individual gift in the history of higher education. It passes Michael Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift to Johns Hopkins in 2018 and Phil and Penny Knight's $2 billion gift to Oregon Health & Science University in 2025. It is also the largest gift of Griffin's own life, and he chose to spend most of it here.

Pittsburgh Built a University on Steel. Miami Is Building One on the World.

A little history explains why this feels so big.

A century ago Pittsburgh was the steel capital of the world. Andrew Carnegie made his fortune in steel. The Mellon family made theirs in banking and industry.

In 1900 Carnegie founded the Carnegie Technical Schools, and in 1967 it joined with the Mellon Institute to become Carnegie Mellon University.

Then steel collapsed. The mills closed, and plenty of people wrote Pittsburgh off.

What saved the city was the institution that steel money had built. Carnegie Mellon became a world leader in computer science, robotics and artificial intelligence, and it helped turn an old mill town into a technology city.

That is the lesson. Great cities are not made by one boom. They are made by the institutions a boom leaves behind.

Pittsburgh's boom was steel. Miami's boom is people, money and connections from every direction. Ken Griffin is making sure this boom leaves behind something permanent.

Miami: The Crossroads of the Americas, and More and More, the World

Miami has always been the front door to Latin America. What is new is how far the front door now reaches.

• Miami International Airport handled more than 55 million passengers in 2025, nearly 25 million of them international.
• Emirates has flown nonstop between Miami and Dubai since 2021. It is the longest route out of MIA.
• El Al flies nonstop between Miami and Tel Aviv, and this year it kept flying the route while major U.S. carriers stayed off it. Now Israir, Israel's low cost airline, is seeking final approval for its own Tel Aviv to Miami nonstop, which would make Miami its second U.S. city after New York.
• In 2022 Griffin moved Citadel and Citadel Securities from Chicago to Miami. He paid a record $363 million for 2.5 acres on Brickell Bay Drive, and he is now building a 54 story Foster + Partners headquarters there, a project estimated at $2.5 billion.

In May, after describing revised plans for Citadel's Miami headquarters, Griffin said, "we need to double down on our bet in Miami." On September 30 he doubled it again.

In the university's announcement, Griffin said bringing Carnegie Mellon here "places our city at the heart of humanistic and scientific advancement." Our city. That is a Boca Raton kid talking about home.

What This Means for Miami Business

A world class research university changes a city's economy for a hundred years. It brings scientists, engineers and founders.

It brings research labs and venture studios, and CMU Miami plans both on campus. It brings companies that want to be near the talent, and investors who follow the companies.

For the businesses already here, that means more partners, more investors, more contracts and more deals. Growth like that also brings more disagreements over who owns what, who owes what, and what a contract really says. I have helped Miami businesses protect what they build since 1998, and our firm will be here for the next generation of companies that CMU Miami helps create.

If you are building, buying or growing a business in Miami, call us at 305-672-7495 or schedule a consultation. Learn more about our business litigation practice.

Thank You, Ken

Ken Griffin did not have to do this. He could have given this money anywhere in the world. He gave it to Pittsburgh, where Carnegie Mellon was born, and to Miami, where he believes its next chapter should be written.

To Ken Griffin and everyone at Citadel and Griffin Catalyst who made this happen: thank you. You have given Miami something no skyline can, a place where the next great ideas of the Americas will be born.

And to Carnegie Mellon: welcome to Miami. Bienvenidos.

Aaron Resnick, Miami business attorney
Law Offices of Aaron Resnick

How Much Did Ken Griffin Give Carnegie Mellon University?

$3 billion, announced September 30, 2026. It is the largest gift by an individual in the history of higher education. $2 billion will launch Carnegie Mellon University Miami and $1 billion will support the Pittsburgh campus, including $500 million for the School of Computer Science, which will be renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science.

Where Will Carnegie Mellon University Miami Be Built?

On more than 35 acres in Wynwood, just north of downtown Miami. Construction is slated to begin in 2027, and the first students are expected to enroll in 2028, pending regulatory approvals.

How Big Will CMU Miami Be?

When complete, the campus is planned for more than 3,500 undergraduate, master's and PhD students, nearly 300 faculty and more than 600 staff.

What Will CMU Miami Focus On?

It will be organized around societal challenges instead of traditional majors. At launch the focus areas are human health and biological discovery, national security, energy and climate resilience, and advanced manufacturing. Plans include industry research labs and venture studios on campus.

Aaron Resnick has handled business disputes in Miami since 1998 and is a fourth generation Miami attorney. He works hands-on on every case; the client gets Aaron on every major litigation issue, not a junior partner. The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick represents large corporations, Miami businesses and their owners, professional athletes and entertainers in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and across Florida in business litigation and business counsel. Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.

Sources

1. Carnegie Mellon University, "Carnegie Mellon University Announces Historic $3 Billion Gift from Ken Griffin, Pioneering a New Model for Higher Education", September 30, 2026.
2. CNBC, "Ken Griffin pledges $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University in 'historic' gift", September 30, 2026.
3. CNN (via ABC 17 News), "Hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin donates $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon as part of his bet on Florida", September 30, 2026.
4. CoStar, "'We need to double down on our bet in Miami,' says Citadel CEO", May 6, 2026.
5. Miami Today, Miami International Airport 2025 passenger totals, April 1, 2026.
6. Hoodline, "El Al Cashes In at Miami International as U.S. Carriers Ghost Tel Aviv Route", August 3, 2026.
7. AirlineGeeks, "Report: Israir Pursuing Route to Florida".
8. Miami International Airport, "Emirates launches first-ever Dubai-Miami nonstop service", July 22, 2021.
9. Johns Hopkins University, Michael Bloomberg's $1.8 billion gift, November 18, 2018.
10. Oregon Health & Science University, Phil and Penny Knight's $2 billion gift, August 14, 2025.
11. Fortune, profile of Ken Griffin and Citadel in Miami, March 31, 2026.