Meta Uses Data Centers to Avoid Billions in Taxes & Ken Griffin Makes Biggest College Donation in History
October 1, 2026
AI Summary
5 min read“I believe that all great American cities are anchored by great universities.” That line from Citadel founder Ken Griffin is the thesis for the single largest donation to a U.S. college in history — $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University for a new Miami campus. Meanwhile, Meta is saving billions on its tax bill by treating its AI data centers as experimental failures waiting to happen, and Singapore’s government is using a Nobel Prize-winning algorithm to set up its citizens on dates in a desperate bid to boost its birth rate. Here’s what happened and why it matters.
Ken Griffin’s $3 Billion Bet on Miami’s Future
Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of the trading firm Citadel, is donating $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University to fund a new satellite campus in Miami’s Wynwood arts district. The gift is the largest ever made to a U.S. university, and $2 billion of it is earmarked for constructing the physical campus, which will serve about 3,500 students. Griffin, a Florida native, moved Citadel’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022 after the pandemic, and this donation is his most aggressive move yet to reshape the city’s educational and economic infrastructure.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:31) **Show Open & Fat Bear Week Winner** - Neil and Toby introduce the episode's topics and recap the results of Fat Bear Week.
- 2 (02:51) **Ken Griffin's Record $3 Billion Donation to Carnegie Mellon** - Citadel founder Ken Griffin donates $3 billion to Carnegie Mellon University for a new campus in Miami.
- 3 (05:37) **The Real Estate Winner & Griffin's Miami Imprint** - The land seller for the new campus makes a massive profit, and Ken Griffin's name is now everywhere in Miami.
- 4 (07:35) **A University of the Future** - The new Carnegie Mellon campus will focus on specific technical challenges rather than traditional degrees.
- 5 (08:11) **Meta's Tax Strategy: Data Centers as "Experiments"** - A New York Times report reveals Meta is saving billions by claiming its AI data centers qualify for research tax credits.
- 6 (10:12) **The Gray Area in Tax Credits** - Meta is pushing the boundaries of the research credit further than its peers by applying it to hardware.
- 7 (11:33) **Singapore Launches Government Dating App "First Date"** - Singapore creates a state-run dating platform for public sector workers to combat its record-low birth rate.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
#945: Ken Griffin donates $3B to Carnegie Mellon University, the largest single gift ever to a US university, as he continues to invest into Miami. Meta uses AI data centers to claim billions in tax savings. Singapore launches a dating app meant for government workers. Neal shares numbers on AI healthcare costs, Six Flags’ X2 roller coaster, and Vail Resorts. Finally, former head coach Mike Tomlin is really into Minecraft.
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