The billionaire boss won over his Asia-Pacific workforce by inviting them to an all-expenses-paid trip to Tokyo Disneyland at the end of October, which included a private concert with music stars Maroon 5 and Calvin Harris.
About 1,200 employees from the firm’s offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, Tokyo and Gurugram – and their families – have been invited to celebrate the 230th anniversary of hedge fund Citadel and capital markets firm Citadel Securities.
Griffin — who has an estimated net worth of $36 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — has personally covered everyone’s expenses including travel, childcare and express passes to reduce wait times for crowded rides like Splash Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean.
It’s unclear whether Citadel employees have exclusive use of Disneyland, but a day pass to the park can cost up to 10,900 yen ($74), meaning the ticket bill alone could cost Griffin up to $88,800. .
“Today, the pool of talent we have brought together is simply amazing. “We have created not one, but two companies at the forefront of the industry,” Griffin announced before welcoming Maroon 5 to the stage. “Together, we have envisioned and built the future of finance.”
This isn’t the first time Griffin has gone out of his way to treat his employees with such greatness. Last year, he took 10,000 Citadel employees and their families on a three-day trip to Walt Disney World, which included a series of pop concerts.
The three-day event, which took place last December, saw Carly Rae Jepsen, Diplo and Coldplay take the stage to celebrate Citadel’s success.
Videos posted on TikTok at the time showed a sea of employees swaying to Coldplay songs, being sprayed with confetti and whipping out their phones to record the occasion.
One TikTok user described the work event as “the most amazing party I’ve ever attended.”
Griffin isn’t the only big-name manager trying to cheer up workers by throwing an unforgettable party.
Under former CEO Adam Neumann — and long before it filed for bankruptcy — WeWork hosted an annual Halloween party in New York and a raucous summer party in the English countryside. Staff meetings saw musical artists such as Busta Rhymes, Lorde and Bastille appear as headliners.
Meanwhile, former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer reportedly spent $7 million in 2015 to throw a Great Gatsby-themed party for her team for the holidays.
