Citadel CEO Ken Griffin's $44.6M dinosaur skeleton to go on display
"Apex," purchased by Griffin over the summer, is 150 million years old
New York City’s American Museum of Natural History on Sunday will start displaying the nearly $45 million "Apex" dinosaur skeleton that Citadel CEO Ken Griffin purchased at auction earlier this year.
The museum said Thursday the 27-foot-long Stegosaurus skeleton will initially be located in the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium within its Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.
"Apex" is "thought to be the largest and one of the most complete Stegosaurus specimens ever found," according to the AMNH. The fossil dates back 150 million years.
The stegosaurus fossil nicknamed Apex is unveiled to the media at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, December 5, 2024. Billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin, who bought the stegosaurus fossil for $44.6 million, is loaning it to the museum f (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Griffin has loaned the dinosaur skeleton to the AMNH, enabling the museum to put it on display for four years, the AMNH said.
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"Apex offers a unique window into our planet's distant past, and I’m so pleased to partner with the American Museum of Natural History to showcase it at one of our country’s preeminent scientific institutions," Griffin said. "I am grateful that millions of visitors and researchers will now be able to see and learn from this magnificent specimen of the Late Jurassic Period."
Ken Griffin, chief executive officer and founder of Citadel Advisors LLC, speaks at the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida, US, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Griffin said the setup for a US recession is unfolding, with the Federal Reserve n (Photographer: Saul Martinez/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Scientists from the museum’s division of paleontology plan to conduct research on "Apex" as part of a "new research initiative" centered on the species’ biology "including the unique ornithischian dinosaur’s growth and life history," the AMNH said.
The massive Stegosaurus skeleton has belonged to Griffin since July, when it went under the hammer at Sotheby’s. The hedge fund CEO paid $44.6 million for it, a figure that the auction house said made it the "most valuable fossil ever sold at auction."
Its display at the AMNH comes after Griffin had previously indicated he wanted to loan it out for public viewing at an American institution.
After its stint in the Kenneth C. Griffin Atrium, "Apex" will be placed on fourth floor to "anchor a dramatic new entrance to the Museum’s famed fossil halls from the Gilder Center," the AMNH said. That move will happen in the fall.
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The museum will replace "Apex" with a cast of the skeleton at the end of its four years on display.
While at the AMNH, "Apex" will be at the center of a slew of "educational resources" that the museum is going to develop, according to a press release.
The stegosaurus fossil nicknamed Apex is unveiled to the media at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, December 5, 2024. Billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin, who bought the stegosaurus fossil for $44.6 million, is loaning it to the museum f (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The AMNH noted Griffin has previously provided "significant support to the Museum through the new Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium in the Gilder Center."
The Gilder Center started welcoming guests in May 2023. It has an insectarium, butterfly vivarium and numerous other exhibits, according to the museum’s website.
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Griffin has also previously made dinosaur-related donations in the past. He provided $16.5 million to the Field Museum in Chicago seven years ago for a gallery to exhibit a famous T. rex skeleton and for a massive titanosaur cast that guests can touch.
The hedge fund CEO has a net worth of $47.1 billion, according to Forbes.