Ken Griffin, CEO of US hedge fund Citadel, sharply criticized the declining quality of American education, warning that the United States could lose its competition with China if the issue is not addressed.
Speaking at the Milken Global Conference 2026 held in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, on Wednesday, Griffin said the US education system "is no longer a Democratic or Republican issue, but a national emergency." He expressed concern that Washington's political establishment is pushing a politically polarized education system, warning that "if we fail to adopt the best practices in education, the United States will lose its competition with China."
Griffin specifically argued that the Mississippi success story should be expanded nationwide as the direction for American education. Mississippi, long ranked near the bottom in academic achievement within the United States, significantly improved classroom quality by adopting a literacy-first education law centered on phonics (the relationship between letters and sounds) in 2013. The state also introduced a system that prevents students with substandard performance from advancing to the next grade, elevating the region's education level to among the top in the nation. "When you adjust for demographics, Mississippi's education level is now number one in the country," Griffin said. "The political community must also focus on substantively solving education problems."
Griffin, who had donated more than $500 million to his alma mater Harvard University, decided in January 2024 to halt donations in protest of the school's handling of antisemitism. He further declared that he would not hire Harvard students who supported Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. At the time, when protests against the Israel-Hamas war broke out on university campuses, he sharply criticized them as "a product of the failure of the American education system."
Separately, Griffin leaned toward the possibility that the US Federal Reserve would keep its benchmark interest rate on hold throughout this year, citing high US price levels driven by the fallout from the Middle East war. Noting that core inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target and that price pressures are rising again due to energy shocks and a strengthening labor market, Griffin said, "Just 8 to 10 weeks ago, there were arguments that rates should be cut, but looking at it now, that has become somewhat outdated."
