In the rarefied hedge fund world, Griffin is Chicago’s biggest star. The company he founded has some $14 billion in assets under management and cranks out market-beating returns: Citadel’s two largest funds returned about 25 percent in 2012 (versus 16 percent for the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index). And he doesn’t hesitate to use his riches to buy influence, whether in the world of politics (he’s a Republican) or art (he’s a trustee of both the Art Institute and the Museum of Contemporary Art).

Photograph: PAUL ELLEDGE