(Bloomberg) -- J.B. Pritzker purchased the two ritzy condos his political nemesis Ken Griffin recently sold in Chicago.
The billionaire Illinois Governor bought the top-floor units at No. 9 Walton, a person familiar said, asking not to be named discussing private matters. Griffin sold the two properties in November for a combined $19 million, public records showed without naming the buyer.
“The Governor and First Lady recently purchased a condo in Chicago. They love the city, and Chicago has been home to them for many years,” a spokeswoman for Pritzker said, without providing further details. Griffin declined to comment.
Griffin sold one of the condos roughly 53% below what he originally paid, property records show. The identity of the buyer was first reported by the Chicago Tribune.
The founder of the Citadel financial conglomerate moved his family and his businesses from Chicago to Miami in 2022, after criticizing the rise in crime and its political leadership. Griffin has since been severing his ties to the city, selling his Chicago properties sometimes at steep discounts.
To Griffin, the “precipitous decline in the value of Chicago real estate represents just a small portion of the cost of us having elected poor political leaders,” he said in a statement earlier November.
Pritzker, one of the most prominent Democratic governors, and Griffin, a Republican mega-donor, have sparred for years.
In 2020, Griffin donated about $50 million to torpedo a referendum backed by Pritzker on a new graduated income tax for high earners. In 2021, Griffin said it was “a disgrace” Pritzker “will not insert himself into the challenge of addressing crime in our city”.
Pritzker fired back, saying Griffin moved his financial empire headquarters from Chicago out of “embarrassment” after unsuccessfully spending $50 million trying to defeat him in the 2022 gubernatorial race. Pritzker wielded his own fortune into his two successful bids for governor.
The Pritzker family is one of the richest US dynasties, worth more than $50 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with assets including the Hyatt Hotels. Griffin is worth $42.6 billion.
(Updates with previous remarks from Griffin, Pritzker family net worth starting sixth paragraph.)
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