Griffin calls tariffs a ‘painfully regressive tax,’ hitting working class the hardest

Billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of the Citadel hedge fund, said working class Americans will bear the brunt of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

“Tariffs hit the pocketbook of hardworking Americans the hardest,” Griffin said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” Wednesday. “It’s like a sales tax for the American people. It’s going to hit those who are working the hardest to make ends meet. That’s my big issue with tariffs. It’s such a painfully regressive tax.”

Trump rolled out shockingly high levies on imports last month, triggering extreme swings on Wall Street. The president later went on to announce a 90-day pause on much of the increase, except for China, as the White House sought to strike deals with major trading partners. Trump has slapped tariffs of 145% on imported Chinese goods this year, prompting China to impose retaliatory levies of 125%.

Griffin, whose hedge fund managed more than $65 billion at the start of 2025, voted for Trump and was a megadonor to Republican politicians. But he has also criticized Trump’s trade policy, saying it risks spoiling the “brand” of the United States and its government bond market.

“The reason the American voters elected President Trump was because of the failed economic policies of Joe Biden and the inflationary shock that reduced the real incomes of every American household,” Griffin said. “The president really does have to focus on managing inflation, because I think it’s front and center, the primary score card that American voters are going to think about when it comes to this midterm election.”

The Wall Street titan said there is a “modest” risk of stagflation as higher tariffs create both inflationary pressures and slow down the economy. He said the trajectory of the economy largely depends on how Trump’s economic policy develops.

As laid out by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trump’s economic program takes a three-pronged approach: trade, tax cuts and deregulation.

“The question is, will all three of those come together to give us the growth that we need in our economy?,” Griffin asked. “That’s the real question we’re going to face over the next two years.”