Billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin encourages New York business leaders to take on the socialist mayor Zohran Mamdaniwarning that the city’s future could be at risk if employers and investors remain silent.
“They need to find their voice and fight for their city,” Griffin said Thursday at an event in Manhattan. according to Bloomberg.
“My advice is to speak up. What’s the worst that can happen? It will be that New York is drained of talent and that will be a catastrophe. If the mayor wants to say a few words about you, your record speaks for itself: you create jobs, you create value and you pay taxes.”
Mamdani’s Wall Street court draws criticism of anti-billionaire agenda
The Citadel founder is clashing with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani over taxes targeting the ultra-rich and rising crime, reigniting the same tensions that drove him to pull his company and his billions out of Chicago. (Spencer Platt/Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images / Getty Images)
Griffin’s remarks mark the latest chapter in an ongoing clash between Wall Street’s billionaire class and Mamdani, whose proposals to raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and luxury property owners have drawn sharp criticism from business leaders concerned about the city’s economic competitiveness.
The financial titan, whose net worth is estimated at $48.3 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, argued that New York business leaders should focus on the city’s long-term future rather than short-term political battles.
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“Everything has to be seen through the prism of the fact that The Citadel will be here much longer than he is mayor,” Griffin said.
The comments come as Griffin and Mamdani appear to cautiously open a dialogue after months of public wrangling over taxes, wealth and the economy. the city’s business climate.
The socialist mayor recently contacted Griffin after previously criticized the billionaire hedge fund manager on his Manhattan penthouse and personal wealth. Mamdani notably stood in front of Griffin’s luxury property to promote his proposal to increase taxes on second homes in New York, worth more than $5 million.
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Mamdani’s New York wealth tax plan sparks heated debate New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wealth tax on luxury properties is sparking a controversial debate, drawing sharp criticism from Citadel CEO Ken Griffin and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.
The move comes as some business leaders warn that New York risks alienating major employers and investors — a concern Griffin has already raised in another major U.S. city.
The tensions have fueled concerns among some business leaders that New York could follow a similar path to Chicagowhere Griffin spent years criticizing crime, taxes and public policy before moving Citadel’s headquarters to Miami in 2022. The move marked the departure of one of the financial industry’s most influential companies and underscored the economic impact that can occur when a major player leaves a major city.
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Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin has described New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “tax the rich” video targeting him as a “scary and weird” political ad. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Griffin repeatedly emphasized The business climate in Florida as a model and warned that policies targeting high earners and businesses could make New York less competitive.
Griffin said he plans to speak to Mamdani “at some point in the coming months.”
“Let’s see where he stands on the state of politics at that point,” he said. “Actions speak louder than words.”