Ken Griffin says Zohran Mamdani video shocked him: 'It took a moment to digest what I was watching'
Fortune • • business
Key Points:
- Citadel CEO Ken Griffin expressed shock and concern after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a Tax Day video outside Griffin’s $238 million penthouse to promote a new pied-à-terre tax targeting wealthy non-resident property owners.
- Griffin criticized the video for putting him in potential danger, referencing the recent assassination of a CEO in Midtown Manhattan and condemning the mayor for using him as a political prop.
- In response to the tax proposal and political climate, Citadel is expanding its Miami headquarters significantly and plans to add many jobs there, signaling a shift of business investment away from New York.
- Griffin warned that New York risks losing its economic vitality by targeting its wealthiest taxpayers, drawing parallels to Detroit’s decline after losing its economic base.
- The controversy aligns with a broader billionaire-backed campaign promoting Florida as a business-friendly alternative to New York and California, with Mamdani’s video inadvertently boosting recruitment efforts for the campaign.
