Miami-Dade Municipalities Were Asked to Give a Billionaire Honorary Keys. Here Are 13 That Didn’t.

Last month, hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin was presented with honorary keys to nearly two dozen Miami-Dade cities, as well as to Miami-Dade County.

One of the world's richest men, the South Florida-born Griffin founded the hedge fund Citadel LLC in 1990 and oversaw its growth into one of the world's largest hedge funds. He also founded Citadel Securities, which has been called "the Amazon of financial markets," and in 2022, relocated his Citadel firm to Miami. According to the Miami Herald, he was Miami-Dade's top political donor in 2024.

Still, the symbolic gesture toward the Republican megadonor and philanthropist appeared seemingly random for some of the municipalities — one of them being the tiny beachside town of Surfside, where Griffin doesn't appear to have any direct ties.

Surfside Vice Mayor Tina Paul explained that although she typically wouldn't present the honor to someone who isn't a resident or "has really contributed to this community," the request came on behalf of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities, an organization that represents the interests of the county's 34 municipalities.

"The president, Mayor Karyn Cunningham of Palmetto Bay, and all [Miami-Dade County] municipalities were asked to contribute a key to the city as a gesture of appreciation for the philanthropist Kenneth C. Griffin," Paul said.

However, not all of the municipalities complied with the organization's request.

Miami-Dade County League of Cities provided New Times with a list of all the cities, towns, and villages in Miami-Dade that gave Griffin a key, and we used good 'ol process of elimination to figure out who snubbed him of one.

Here's a list of the Miami-Dade cities that didn't give an honorary key:

1. City of Aventura
2. Village of Biscayne Park
3. Town of Cutler Bay
4. City of Doral
5. Village of El Portal
6. City of Homestead
7. Village of Miami Shores
8. City of Miami Springs
9. City of Opa-locka
10. Village of Pinecrest
11. City of Sunny Isles Beach
12. City of Sweetwater
    13. City of North Miami

And a list of those that did:

1. Village of Key Biscayne
2. City of Miami Beach
3. Village of Virginia Gardens
4. City of Hialeah
5. Town of Surfside
6. Town of Miami Lakes
7. City of Coral Gables
8. City of Miami
9. City of Florida City
10. Village of Palmetto Bay
11. Bal Harbour Village
12. Town of Bay Harbor Islands
13. Town of Golden Beach
14. City of Hialeah Gardens
15. Village of Indian Creek
16. Town of Medley
17. City of Miami Gardens
18. North Bay Village
19. City of North Miami Beach
20. City of South Miami
21. City of West Miami