Crain’s Headlines: Ken Griffin’s $125 Million Gift to Chicago’s MSI


Ken Griffin has buildings, gallery wings and exhibitions named after him in Palm Beach, New York and Chicago. Now the Chicago hedge fund billionaire’s latest gift of $125 million will put his name on an entire museum.

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago will become the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry after a board vote Thursday to accept what it calls the largest single gift in its history. The donation is the Citadel CEO’s biggest gift ever to a museum.

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Griffin’s donation to the MSI – which is currently undergoing a renovation – will secure its long-term future and help create the Pixel Studio, a digital gallery and performance space within the museum.

In other Chicago business news:

Ride-hailing giant Uber will launch a new app Friday called Uber Works, which will connect businesses with temporary workers. Uber Works will initially be available in Chicago, where it’s been in testing for a year, though sources say Uber is exploring the possibility of a wider rollout of this new temp labor service.

Uber Works will be headquartered in Chicago, making it the second Uber division to be based here, after Uber Freight, which recently announced plans to set up offices in Chicago’s Old Post Office.

And finally, the Loop’s Hotel Monaco has hit the market, as its owner, Xenia Hotels & Resorts, looks to unload seven Kimpton properties in cities including Denver and Salt Lake City. Observers estimate the portfolio could fetch roughly $500 million combined.


Crain’s Headlines is a joint production between WTTW and Crain’s Chicago Business. It airs every Monday through Thursday on the WTTW News program “Chicago Tonight.” 


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