Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pointed the finger at New Yorkers for the spread of the coronavirus in the state, and required that visitors to Florida coming from New York and surrounding states be screened and self-isolate after entering Florida.
And Palm Beach County has ordered that hotels stop taking reservations.
But it’s a different world when you’re a billionaire.
Kenneth Griffin, the 38th richest American and the biggest backer of DeSantis’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign, has quietly flown in traders and staff from New York and Chicago to set up shop in the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the arrangement.
Griffin’s Citadel Securities has set up a makeshift trading floor in the swank hotel, secluded behind a wall of palm trees and other dense foliage, despite orders from Palm Beach County requiring hotels to stop taking reservations this past Monday.
The cops were there this week — not to shut it down but to provide security. Two imposing blue-and-white Town of Palm Beach police cruisers were parked in front.
The move is for business continuity, the market-making firm says, but that hasn’t stopped employees and their guests from enjoying the hotel’s private beach, poolside cabanas and gourmet dining.
Griffin is no stranger to Palm Beach — he has bought more than $300 million worth of beachfront property within five miles of the Four Seasons and less than a mile from the Trump Organization’s Mar-a-Lago club.
And though he made his $12.3 billion fortune in Chicago, Griffin was born in Daytona Beach and largely grew up in Boca Raton.
As of midnight on Monday, hotels in Palm Beach county were barred from making new reservations except for “critical lodgers,” which includes health care workers, National Guard members, government officials and other essential personnel. The website for the Four Seasons indicates that it’s not taking reservations until June. Recent social media posts from the resort have indicated that guests were quarantining at the hotel.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article241707621.html
And Palm Beach County has ordered that hotels stop taking reservations.
But it’s a different world when you’re a billionaire.
Kenneth Griffin, the 38th richest American and the biggest backer of DeSantis’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign, has quietly flown in traders and staff from New York and Chicago to set up shop in the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the arrangement.
Griffin’s Citadel Securities has set up a makeshift trading floor in the swank hotel, secluded behind a wall of palm trees and other dense foliage, despite orders from Palm Beach County requiring hotels to stop taking reservations this past Monday.
The cops were there this week — not to shut it down but to provide security. Two imposing blue-and-white Town of Palm Beach police cruisers were parked in front.
The move is for business continuity, the market-making firm says, but that hasn’t stopped employees and their guests from enjoying the hotel’s private beach, poolside cabanas and gourmet dining.
Griffin is no stranger to Palm Beach — he has bought more than $300 million worth of beachfront property within five miles of the Four Seasons and less than a mile from the Trump Organization’s Mar-a-Lago club.
And though he made his $12.3 billion fortune in Chicago, Griffin was born in Daytona Beach and largely grew up in Boca Raton.
As of midnight on Monday, hotels in Palm Beach county were barred from making new reservations except for “critical lodgers,” which includes health care workers, National Guard members, government officials and other essential personnel. The website for the Four Seasons indicates that it’s not taking reservations until June. Recent social media posts from the resort have indicated that guests were quarantining at the hotel.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article241707621.html
