Citadel CEO Ken Griffin Outbid a Group of Crypto Investors for Copy of US Constitution (wsj.com) 16
Chicago hedge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin said he won a $43.2 million first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution at a Sotheby' s auction on Thursday -- and now he intends to lend it to a free Arkansas art museum. From a report: The 53-year old founder and chief executive of Citadel caused a stir Thursday when he outbid a large group of cryptocurrency investors who had crowdfunded more than $40 million earlier in the week in a frenzied attempt to win the document, the last surviving first edition in private hands.
The group, organized as ConstitutionDAO, pooled funds from more than 17,000 people over a 72-hour period, with the median donation hovering around $206. ConstitutionDAO said it sought to take the Constitution copy and make it accessible to the public. "The U.S. Constitution is a sacred document that enshrines the rights of every American and all those who aspire to be," Mr. Griffin said in a statement issued by Sotheby's. "That is why I intend to ensure that this copy of our Constitution will be available for all Americans and visitors to view and appreciate."
Mr. Griffin said he intends to lend the 1787 folio to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., a museum with free admission founded a decade ago by Walmart heiress Alice Walton. The museum is known for owning Charles Willson Peale's portrait of George Washington and other examples by Thomas Eakins and Marsden Hartley. [...] The hedge-fund manager is known for looking askance at cryptocurrency. Last month in a recorded talk at the Economic Club of Chicago, he told the audience that he doesn't trade in cryptocurrency because of its "regulatory uncertainty," adding that he "wished all this passion and energy that went into crypto was directed toward making the United States stronger."
The group, organized as ConstitutionDAO, pooled funds from more than 17,000 people over a 72-hour period, with the median donation hovering around $206. ConstitutionDAO said it sought to take the Constitution copy and make it accessible to the public. "The U.S. Constitution is a sacred document that enshrines the rights of every American and all those who aspire to be," Mr. Griffin said in a statement issued by Sotheby's. "That is why I intend to ensure that this copy of our Constitution will be available for all Americans and visitors to view and appreciate."
Mr. Griffin said he intends to lend the 1787 folio to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., a museum with free admission founded a decade ago by Walmart heiress Alice Walton. The museum is known for owning Charles Willson Peale's portrait of George Washington and other examples by Thomas Eakins and Marsden Hartley. [...] The hedge-fund manager is known for looking askance at cryptocurrency. Last month in a recorded talk at the Economic Club of Chicago, he told the audience that he doesn't trade in cryptocurrency because of its "regulatory uncertainty," adding that he "wished all this passion and energy that went into crypto was directed toward making the United States stronger."
Just keep it away from Trump (Score:2, Insightful)
Or else he'll try to wipe his ass with it.
Re: (Score:1)
Or else he'll try to wipe his ass with it.
Why else would all other copies no longer be in existence?
Ummm (Score:3)
"That is why I intend to ensure that this copy of our Constitution will be available for all Americans and visitors to view and appreciate."
They do know the original Constitution is in Washington, D.C. and can be viewed by anyone who visits the National Archives, don't they? In fact, people can get within a few inches of the document. The same for the Declaration of Independence (which wasn't looking good when I visited it a decade or so ago).
Granted, I'm sure this group was going to post a high resolution picture of this copy, but claiming to make it available to anyone is disengenuous since the original one is also available to anyone, albeit via a circuitous route. Then again, the original document is also available to anyone who has internet access [archives.gov].
Re: (Score:3)
OMG, you should totally create an NFT of that thing! :/
Yo Grark
Fuck Walmart (Score:2)
And Fuck the Waltons.
Sorry Alice, can't donate your way out of this one.
Fraudsters are not "investors" (Score:2)
And the people getting rich on crapcoins at the very least ride along on the fraud, usually they are part of the people driving it.
Re: (Score:2)
Ironic indeed :P
Art? Arkansas? (Score:3)
In Arkansas, Art is the guy who lives at the back of the trailer park who sells you your meth.
just to be a dick (Score:2)
He jumped out in front of a group just to be a dick.
What happens to ConstitutionDAO now?
Who was it bought from? (Score:2)
Who previously owned this copy and just got $43 million for it?
Re: (Score:1)
Kenneth Griffin has stolen billions of dollars from worldwide investors by naked short selling American companies. His business model is to "borrow" shares of companies, sell the shares he borrows and as the company goes bankrupt never repay the loaned shares. Sears, Toys-R-Us, Radio Shack have all been decimated by Citadel and Kenny Griffin and their theft.
When the words "Enemies foreign and domestic" is spoken, Ken Griffin and Citadel is who is being spoken about.
Real money is gonna beat (Score:2)
I have to agree (Score:1)
"wished all this passion and energy that went into crypto was directed toward making the United States stronger."
don't find myself agreeing with billionaires very often....
I'm sorry we'll miss the shenannigans around the 'sort-of-joint-ownership' of a multi-million dollar artifact.... That could have been very amusing!