As the United States men’s national soccer team makes its run through the 2026 World Cup, fans may be surprised to learn that a prominent Wall Street billionaire played a key behind-the-scenes role in putting the team in a position to succeed.
Ken Griffin, the 57-year-old billionaire who founded and runs the hedge fund Citadel, made the single largest financial contribution toward hiring Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino to lead the U.S. men’s national team — a fact confirmed by a Citadel spokesman. The deal was struck nearly two years ago.
Pochettino brings a wealth of high-level coaching experience, having previously led major European clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain, and Chelsea. He was brought on to revitalize a U.S. squad that had been knocked out of the Copa America in 2024. The team has since turned things around, reaching the knockout stage of the current World Cup.
Next up for the Americans is a round of 32 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1. The team’s strong showing has generated enormous excitement, with Wall Street portfolio managers, bankers, and lawyers reportedly flying across the country to attend matches and telling colleagues not to disturb them during the three hours of game play.
Griffin was approached by fellow hedge fund manager Scott Goodwin, who asked him to help fund Pochettino’s two-year contract. According to a Citadel spokesman, Griffin didn’t hesitate — consistent with his well-established reputation for paying top dollar to attract elite talent, whether in finance or elsewhere. The exact dollar amount Griffin contributed was not disclosed.
Griffin’s passion for soccer runs deep. A Citadel spokesman said he began playing the sport at age 6, competed on a high school team that finished second in the state, and continued both playing and coaching into adulthood.
His Miami-based firm, Citadel, manages $68 billion in assets and was recognized as the most profitable hedge fund of all time for the fourth straight year in 2025, according to LCH Investments. The firm’s flagship Wellington multi-strategy fund is up 5% through June 22 of this year, according to a fund investor.
Griffin has given away more than $2.5 billion over the years to a wide range of causes, from medical research to political campaigns. He made national headlines for donating more than half a billion dollars to his alma mater, Harvard University, where he first began trading stocks from his college dormitory room.
Soccer has long been a beneficiary of his generosity. In 2017, Griffin donated $3 million to the U.S. Soccer Foundation to build 50 mini-pitches throughout Chicago, where Citadel was headquartered at the time. Six years later, he gave $5 million to fund 50 more mini-pitches in Miami-Dade County, Florida — where both he and Citadel are now based. Griffin also founded Citadel Securities, a market-making firm also headquartered in Miami. He has spoken about soccer as a vehicle for teaching young players teamwork, discipline, and the joy of competition.
For the 2026 World Cup, Griffin teamed up with real estate developer Stephen Ross to donate more than 1,200 tickets to Miami residents for games held in Miami, one of the tournament’s official host cities.
Griffin shared his personal enthusiasm for the event with Reuters. “It’s been a special experience to have the World Cup in America,” he said, adding that “my children and I enjoyed the match in Miami on Father’s Day” — referring to the game in which Uruguay and Cape Verde tied 2-2.
