Topline
Billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, said he was planning to meet with Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-NY, on Thursday, days after an executive from his company took issue with New York City’s proposed pied-à-terre tax on second homes—which Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced in a video featuring the billionaire’s record-breaking townhouse on Manhattan’s Billionaire’s Row.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously announced a tax on luxury second homes in front of Griffin’s Manhattan townhouse.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Speaking at a conference in Norway, Griffin said he planned to discuss the state’s “future direction,” according to comments reported by multiple outlets.
At the conference in Oslo, Griffin reportedly asked if New York planned to get its “fiscal house in order and run itself from a position of strong government that’s pro-business,” before following up with, “Why do Americans think we can do socialism?”
Griffin also took issue with Mamdani invoking his name and filming his announcement video in front of his Manhattan townhouse, saying, “I think the willingness of a mayor of New York to make this a policy debate a personal attack, just demonstrated a profound lack of judgment.”
This comes less than a week after Citadel chief operating officer Gerald Beeson suggested the company’s planned $6 billion expansion in New York City could be in jeopardy following the pied-a-terre tax announcement, according to an email viewed by Forbes.
It is unclear when the meeting will actually take place, and neither Citadel nor Hochul’s office immediately returned a request for comment from Forbes.
A spokesperson for Mamdani’s office also did not immediately return a request for comment from Forbes.
Forbes Valuation
We value Ken Griffin’s net worth at $50.5 billion as of Tuesday morning, making him the 35th wealthiest person in the world.
Big Number
$238 million. That’s how much Griffin spent on his townhouse at 220 Central Park South in 2019, making it the most expensive home sale in the United States. On April 15, Mamdani filmed an announcement video in front of the house, promising the tax would target “those who store their wealth in New York City, but don’t actually live here.” Griffin lives primarily in Miami, where Citadel is headquartered.
Key Background
New York City’s pied-à-terre tax, which is backed by both Hochul and Mamdani, would raise an annual levy on second homes in the city worth more than $5 million. In a press release following the announcement, Hochul’s office said this tax would raise an estimated $500 million in annual revenue for the city, which is facing a serious budget shortfall. In January, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine said the city could see a $2.2 billion deficit in 2026, and was looking at a prospective $10.4 billion gap in 2027.
Contra
In the memo sent last week, Beeson called Mamdani invoking Griffin’s name “shameful,” and insisted Citadel employees have contributed over $2.3 billion in state and local taxes in New York. He also noted Griffin gave over $650 million to charities in New York state, and claimed Citadel’s planned expansion in New York City would create 6,000 construction jobs and 15,000 permanent jobs, for a total of $6 billion in spending.