Museum of Science and Industry changes its name to honor billionaire donor

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry announced that it will officially change its name to honor Ken Griffin, the billionaire businessman who donated $125 million to the museum in 2019.

On Sunday, the Hyde Park museum will rename itself as the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. It’s already changed its website to be the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.

In a press release, a museum spokesperson wrote that the 2019 donation was the largest in museum history.

Griffin, the founder of hedge fund company Citadel, famously moved the company from Chicago to Miami in 2022. Bloomberg estimates Griffin’s wealth to be $38 billion.

“For nearly a century, the Museum of Science and Industry has ignited the curiosity and imagination of more than 190 million visitors,” Griffin said in a press release. “I am proud to support MSI in its mission to inspire the inventive genius in everyone.”

The museum will mark the name change with free admission on Sunday. Whether the name change actually sticks among Chicagoans — many of whom still refer to the city’s tallest building as the Sears Tower and the White Sox stadium as Comiskey Park — remains to be seen.

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