Ken Griffin Reshaped Law Banning Chinese Real Estate Purchases

(Bloomberg) -- When Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pushed through an anti-China crackdown in his state earlier this year, he won praise from populist Republicans across the country. Most Read from BloombergBut to Ken Griffin, the state’s wealthiest man, the effort represented an ideological affront. So the Citadel founder assembled a network of influence to rework the proposed law, according to people familiar with the matter. The episode demonstrates the power Griffin has amassed in Florida roughly a year after moving from Chicago, becoming a force in local politics, philanthropy and real estate. The Florida law is now less restrictive than originally planned, but it could still impact private companies with real estate in Florida that have any Chinese investors, said Joseph Hernandez, a real estate lawyer at Bilzin Sumberg, a Miami-based law firm.