Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said the United States cannot fix its fiscal trajectory from Washington alone, warning that allied economies, particularly in Europe, must grow faster to ease the strain of mounting federal borrowing.
Speaking at the Citadel Securities Future of Global Markets event in New York, Griffin said, “Our fiscal house is clearly not in order.” His remarks came days after the Treasury confirmed a $2 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2026, more than half of which went to interest payments on the nation’s $40 trillion debt load.
Asked where he would start, the hedge fund founder pointed to productivity. “We really need to play the productivity card as hard as we can,” he said, adding that the priority list begins with a blunt instruction: “Grow the damn economy.”
Griffin argued that U.S. allies bear part of the responsibility. “You actually want the Europeans to grow their economy,” he said. He called the tariff fight with Europe “a fiasco” and said Washington should convert its defense commitments into leverage over allied labor policy, invoking France’s statutory cap on working hours as an example.
“In France, there are strict limitations on how many hours you can work a week, strict limitations. It’s ridiculous,” Griffin said. “Like the French want the Americans to provide the defense for Europe, and they don’t want to go to work. This just doesn’t work for the American people.”
French law caps the workweek at 48 hours and at an average of 44 hours over 12 consecutive weeks, and requires a break of at least 20 minutes after every six hours worked. The country is also known for the cultural, though not legal, tradition of taking much of July or August off under its five weeks of annual leave, a practice known as les grandes vacances, while service and essential workers often remain on the job.
The debate over defense burden-sharing has intensified across the G7, a theme President Trump has pressed since returning to the White House. The U.S. devotes roughly 3.1% to 3.4% of GDP to defense, and the Pentagon received more than $1 trillion in funding earlier this year. France’s military budget is set to rise to €63.4 billion (approximately $71.2 billion) for 2027, typically around 2% of its output.
Griffin’s prescription extended beyond fiscal and labor policy. He called for data centers to be built domestically and for heavier investment in nuclear fusion, robotics and other technologies capable of lifting productivity over the next two decades, describing that as the administration’s proper economic focus. He also cited education and immigration, saying, “Every single brilliant person around the world. I want them to live in America.”
His framing of growth as the central answer puts him at odds with deficit hawks who favor spending restraint. Economists remain split between those who would support growth-oriented policies to better balance borrowing against revenue and those who argue spending cuts are needed to shrink deficits as a share of GDP.
Griffin closed by casting the problem as a shared Western challenge. “The entire Western world is in the same boat together,” he said. “We’re not going to get out of these waters by torturing each other. We’re going to get out of these waters by making the pie bigger for all of us.”
MetricFigureU.S. national debt$40 trillionFiscal 2026 deficit$2 trillionShare of deficit from interest paymentsMore than halfU.S. defense spending3.1%-3.4% of GDPFrance 2027 military budget€63.4 billion (approx. $71.2 billion)
Note: Fiscal 2026 deficit confirmed by the U.S. Treasury. France’s military budget figure reflects the planned 2027 level.
The comments carry weight for markets because Griffin heads one of the world’s largest hedge fund firms, and his call for allied growth touches on the same fiscal math that underpins Treasury demand. A heavier interest burden leaves less room for spending on growth drivers such as research and infrastructure, while slower expansion among trading partners would weigh on U.S. exports and corporate earnings. For investors, the remarks signal that the debate over deficits is shifting from budget arithmetic toward productivity and international burden-sharing, themes likely to shape policy expectations into next year.