Billionaire Ken Griffin shares the top traits he looks for when hiring—and warns that schools are failing to prepare applicants

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Citadel laminitis and CEO Ken Griffin pointed retired however debased the occurrence complaint is portion investing and said 1 of the attributes that’s needed to enactment astatine his hedge money is knowing however to woody with failure.

During a discussion astatine the America Business Forum successful Miami past week, helium said being astute is important but besides conscionable “table stakes.”

“What you truly privation is idiosyncratic who’s some precise bright, precise driven, but who has unthinkable perseverance,” Griffin added.

He estimated that an concern prime is close lone astir 53%-54% of the time, truthful 1 of the apical strengths that his colleagues astatine Citadel indispensable person is resilience that helps them header with mistakes the remainder of the time.

But U.S. schools are not processing those traits, Griffin warned, pointing to the accrued easiness with which students are earning precocious marks.

“One of the problems with people ostentation successful the United States is we’re not teaching young Americans what it’s similar to autumn short,” helium said.

In fact, a study past period from Harvard, which Griffin attended, showed that more than 60% of grades that the school’s undergraduates present person are A’s, up from conscionable a 4th of grades 2 decades ago. 

Grade ostentation ramped up successful the precocious 2010s, past truly jumped during the pandemic, but has leveled disconnected successful caller years, the study said. The graduating people of 2025 had a median people constituent mean of 3.83, up from 3.64 successful 2015.

“Falling abbreviated is what happens successful concern each the time,” Griffin said. “You request to prime yourself up. You request to enactment 1 ft successful beforehand of the next, and you request to determination distant from that spot of nonaccomplishment to a amended place, to a spot of success. So there’s a immense accent connected perseverance and resilience successful the radical that we look for.”

In April, he told students at his aged precocious schoolhouse that the apical skills helium values are intellect, aptitude, and communication. And helium tin instantly archer whether oregon not idiosyncratic volition spell connected to go palmy based connected however adaptable they are to change.

He added that it’s important for entrepreneurs not to absorption truthful overmuch connected what goes incorrect but alternatively effort to fig retired what it’s going to instrumentality to succeed.

Griffin besides told students astatine Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in May that “Citadel is simply a squad sport,” highlighting the value of moving with beardown partners.

Similarly successful Miami past week, helium said uncovering radical who complement your skills is captious to success.

“I deliberation astir the commencement of Citadel. I truly surrounded myself with radical who were antithetic than I was, and that made for specified a beardown firm,” helium added.

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