Tour-de-force investment couple John and Amy Griffin have certainly made a splash across many sectors including finance, fashion, and art. John is a billionaire and the founder of the hedge fund Blue Ridge, which he closed in 2017; Amy is the founder of the startup investment firm G9 Ventures. Together, the pair collect contemporary art. It’s not just their holdings, however, that contribute to their individual and paired successes.
“Amy is more than an investor. She becomes your friend and your champion,” Spanx CEO Sara Blakely told the Wall Street Journal. “For founders, that can be even more important than the money.”
Spanx is one of the numerous companies, among them Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, that Amy has supported via G9 Ventures. In recent years, Amy has made headlines for her efforts in supporting women owned companies not just through monetary means, but “for her use of soft power—making introductions, chasing down founders at conferences and offering mentorship,” according to the Journal.
Though John tends to be more private, this spirit is echoed beyond business involvements with Amy having held board positions on a number of foundations and, in 2021, being named a trustee of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Together, the Griffins donated funds to support a portion of the University of Virginia’s planned landscape design under its school of architecture that incorporates sustainable design. While UVA is both of their alma mater, they connected later in life while training for the New York City marathon.
Additionally, through their eponymous foundation, they continue to prioritize grantmaking in New York and invest in education and poverty relief.