Ken Griffin, CEO and founder of Citadel Advisors LLC, speaks at an Economic Club of New York event on Thursday, November 21, 2024 in New York, USA.
Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin warned against high tariffs promised by President-elect Donald Trump, saying crony capitalism could lead to their consequences.
“I’m very concerned that higher tariffs will put us on a slippery slope towards crony capitalism,” the billionaire investor said Thursday at New York’s Economic Club.
Citadel’s founder said domestic companies could enjoy short-term benefits by eliminating competitors. But in the long run, he said, it would have an even greater negative impact on U.S. businesses and the economy as companies lose their competitiveness and productivity.
Crony capitalism is an economic system characterized by close and mutually beneficial relationships between business leaders and government bureaucrats.
“Companies that enjoy the temporary sugar rush of eliminating competitors from the battlefield also become complacent, take their newfound economic advantage for granted, and, frankly, lose their ability on the world stage. and less competitive in meeting their needs,” Griffin said at the event.
President Trump has made universal tariffs a central tenet of his economic campaign, calling for a 20% tariff on imports from all countries and a particularly steep 60% tariff on Chinese products.
Just as the world recovers from a pandemic-era inflation surge, protectionist trade policies could make goods more expensive to produce and raise consumer prices.
“The halls of Washington will really fill up with special interests and lobbyists as people push for continued increases in tariffs to fend off foreign competition and protect inefficient U.S. companies that fail to meet their needs.” .The opinion of American consumers,” Griffin said.
At the same event, Griffin also said that he is not focused on taking Citadel Securities public for the time being. Citadel is a market maker founded by Mr. Griffin in 2002.
“We are focused on building our business and investing in our future, and we believe there are benefits to being private during this period of very rapid growth,” he said.
