For most interns trying to make it in New York, the opportunity to network with top executives doesn’t exactly come with the gig.
But for interns at investment management company Citadel, the perks — like a $5,000 weekly salary and rent fully paid — can rival most full-time jobs.
Citadel’s 290 summer interns began their 11-week-long stint with a kick-off at the lavish Palm Beach Four Seasons, where they’ll attend information sessions and compete in a “Shark Tank” style “leadership challenge” that will force them to come up with potential solutions to issues that could arise within the company, according to a report by Insider.
“We focus on the interns’ personal development and have world-class training and development sessions that help them think about things like how to act as a leader — even as an intern,” Citadel’s Head of Campus Recruiting, Matt Mitro, told the outlet.
The outlet noted that interns would “get the chance to wind down and participate in activities like Spikeball, karaoke, trivia, and cooking classes” while on retreat in Palm Beach.
The New York Post reported that Citadel interns are given free corporate housing where they are interning, including expensive cities such as New York, London, Hong Kong, or Miami.
According to Levels.FYI, a salary tracker, Citadel interns located in New York City for the summer are earning up to an average of $120 per hour ($20,800 a month, $5,200 per week) in addition to free housing, free food while working, and a $10,000 bonus should interns decide to sign on full time at the end of the summer.
For comparison, RentHop reported that the average rent for a studio apartment in New York City for June 2023 was $3,300 per month — nearly $2,000 less than Citadel interns are making per week — not like they care, since their rent is comped for the 11-week internship program.
Citadel, which is run by CEO Ken Griffin, is known for its over-the-top company culture with opulent retreats and parties.
Last December, Griffin shut down Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and paid for 10,000 of his employees to celebrate the holidays there for three days. The trip was completely comped for all and included a private Coldplay concert.
Citadel saw a massive $16 billion gain by the end of 2022, the largest ever by any hedge fund in the U.S.
Griffin’s net worth is an estimated $36.9 billion according to Bloomberg.
