May 23, 2026
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Ken Griffin says inflation is still hitting Americans where they feel it most: everyday prices.
In a recent conversation with CNBC’s Sara Eisen at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference, the billionaire founder and CEO of Citadel pointed to a simple McDonald’s order to explain why many Americans remain frustrated with the economy.
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“Have you been to McDonald’s recently?” Griffin asked.
When Eisen said she hadn’t, Griffin described the sticker shock he felt after buying a McDonald’s Coke that morning.
“$2.50 for a Coke!” Griffin said. “And before the Biden administration, it was 99 cents.”
For Griffin, the point wasn’t just about soda. It was about the way small, familiar purchases can remind Americans that their money no longer stretches as far as it once did.
He then turned to another household staple: eggs.
“What do you pay for eggs in New York City today?” Griffin asked.
“Eight bucks,” Eisen replied.
“For a dozen eggs?” Griffin said.
“Mhm,” Eisen said, nodding. “The brown ones. It’s what we get at home.”
The exchange drew laughs — especially after Griffin admitted that, “in a typical week,” he does not buy his own eggs — but his broader message was serious.
“The United States has endured prolonged and persistent inflation now for six years,” he said. “And in some sense, the rise of gasoline prices at the gas station, it’s like a triggering event. It just brings back to all of us the fact that the purchasing power of the dollar has declined so precipitously for six years now.”
For Griffin, those everyday price shocks are more than annoyances.
“I think everybody in our country, when we see a price shock in any of our day-to-day commodities, gasoline for example, it’s just deeply triggering,” Griffin said. “And I think that there’s just a general apprehension of how much more purchasing power are we going to lose because of the economic policies that we’re pursuing in Washington.”
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The latest inflation data helps explain why that concern still resonates. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in April after a 0.9% jump in March, while prices were up 3.8% from a year earlier before seasonal adjustments, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Food prices rose 3.2% over the year, while energy prices surged 17.9%. Gasoline prices alone were up 28.4% from a year earlier.
Even if headline inflation has cooled from its worst post-pandemic levels, many households are still dealing with the cumulative effects of years of higher prices — and fresh energy shocks from the Iran war are adding another layer of pressure.
That longer-term pain is clear in the data. Since the beginning of 2020, the CPI food index has risen 33%, while the energy index has climbed 48%.
Griffin’s point? Inflation isn’t just a line in a government report. It shows up when a Coke costs $2.50, a dozen eggs costs $8 and a tank of gas feels painful again.
Protect your purchasing power
Griffin urged the Trump administration and lawmakers to “stay focused” on strengthening the power of the dollar and making sure Americans’ paychecks go further.
But history tells a very different story about the dollar’s purchasing power: over time, it has steadily eroded — no matter who sits in the White House. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, $100 in 2026 had the same purchasing power as just $11.74 did in 1970.
That’s why many Americans are looking beyond cash and traditional savings when thinking about how to protect their purchasing power.
One time-tested option is gold. Its appeal is simple: unlike fiat currencies, the yellow metal can’t be printed at will by central banks.
Gold is also considered the ultimate safe haven. It’s not tied to any one country, currency or economy, and in times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, investors often flock to it — driving prices higher.
Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, told CNBC last year that “People don’t have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio,” adding, “When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier.”
Despite a recent pullback, gold prices have surged by more than 35% over the last 12 months.
One way to invest in gold that can also provide significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Goldco.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, thereby combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it a compelling potential option for those wanting to ensure their retirement funds are diversified during rough economic times.
Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver.
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If you’re curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today.
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Turn inflation into income
Inflation can squeeze households — but for owners of certain real assets, rising prices can also translate into rising income.
Real estate, for instance, has long been viewed as a powerful inflation hedge.
When inflation rises, property values often increase as well, reflecting the higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income tends to go up, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts for inflation.
Over the past ten years, the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index has jumped by 87%, reflecting strong demand and limited housing supply.
Of course, high home prices can make buying a home more challenging, especially with mortgage rates still elevated. And being a landlord isn’t exactly hands-off work — managing tenants, maintenance and repairs can quickly eat into your time (and returns).
The good news? You don’t need to buy a property outright — or deal with leaky faucets — to invest in real estate today. Crowdfunding platforms like mogul offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.
As a real estate investment platform offering fractional ownership in blue-chip rental properties, mogul gives investors monthly rental income, real-time appreciation and tax benefits — without the need for a hefty down payment or 3 A.M. tenant calls.
Founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate investors, the team hand-picks the top 1% of single-family rental homes nationwide for you. In other words, you gain access to institutional-quality offerings for a fraction of the usual cost.
Each property undergoes a rigorous vetting process, requiring a minimum 12% return even in downside scenarios. Across the board, the platform features an average annual IRR of 18.8%. Offerings often sell out in under three hours, with investments typically ranging between $15,000 and $40,000 per property.
Sign up for an account and browse available properties here to start investing today.
But residential real estate is just one opportunity. For investors with capital on hand, and who want to truly explore every available real estate vertical, there are other ways to invest.
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Another option is Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to institutional-quality multifamily and industrial real estate.
Lightstone DIRECT’s direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.
With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.
Own a piece of scarcity
Prominent investors like Dalio often stress the importance of diversification — and for good reason. Many traditional assets tend to move in tandem, especially during periods of market stress.
That message feels especially relevant today. Nearly 40% of the S&P 500’s weight is concentrated in its ten largest stocks and the index’s CAPE ratio hasn’t been this high since the dot-com boom.
This is where, for many investors, alternative assets come into play. These can include everything from real estate and precious metals to private equity and fine art.
It’s easy to see why great works of art tend to appreciate over time. Supply is limited and many famous pieces have already been snatched up by museums and collectors. Art also has a low correlation with stocks and bonds, which helps with diversification.
In 2022, a collection of art owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sold for $1.5 billion at Christie’s New York, making it the most valuable collection in auction history.
Of course, buying art on your own comes with major barriers: high prices, storage, insurance, authentication and the challenge of knowing which works may hold long-term value.
Now, Masterworks is offering a single investment that combines blue-chip art with other scarce assets, such as gold and bitcoin, that have historically moved independently of equities and of one another.
The result is a more balanced, all-weather approach to alternative investing. In fact, this model would have outperformed the S&P 500 by 3.1x from 2017 to 2025.*
By leveraging access to museum-quality artwork alongside other uncorrelated assets, the strategy aims to enhance diversification while still pursuing meaningful appreciation.
Discover how diversifying with this strategy can strengthen your portfolio for the years ahead.
*Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. The 3.1x figure reflects a model backtest, not actual fund performance.
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Jing is an investment reporter for Moneywise. He is an avid advocate of investing for passive income. Despite the ups and downs he’s been through with the markets, Jing believes that you can generate a steadily increasing income stream by investing in high quality companies.
