Billionaire investor Ken Griffin on Tuesday escalated his public clash with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling a mayoral video used to promote a proposed tax “creepy and weird” and accusing the mayor of placing him in danger by filming outside his Central Park penthouse. Griffin also warned that Citadel could reconsider a planned multi‑billion‑dollar investment in the city after the video used his home as an example of who would shoulder the new levy.
Speaking on CNBC, Griffin said the mayor “seems to have forgotten that the CEO of another American company was assassinated just blocks from where I live in New York,” adding that “to put any citizen in harm’s way is just inappropriate for one of our political leaders.” The Citadel chief’s comments follow an internal email sent to employees last month that signaled the firm might not go forward with a substantial New York project amid the dispute.
Mamdani’s video, published last month, outlined a proposed pied‑à‑terre tax that would levy an annual surcharge on one‑ to three‑family homes, condominiums and co‑ops in the city valued above $5 million when the owners maintain a separate primary residence outside New York. In the clip the mayor stood outside Griffin’s 220 Central Park South penthouse — purchased by the billionaire in 2019 for about $238 million, a record U.S. home sale — to illustrate whose properties the surcharge would target.
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City officials have framed the measure as a way to raise revenue for childcare, transportation and public safety; prior coverage of the plan estimated it could bring in roughly $500 million a year if enacted. But the striking nature of the footage — and its use of an identifiable private residence — has prompted sharp pushback from at least some of the city’s wealthiest residents and business leaders, who say aggressive messaging risks alienating donors and employers.
The confrontation echoes earlier appeals from figures in the financial community urging caution in public rhetoric. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman recently urged Mamdani to temper anti‑billionaire messaging to avoid driving high earners from the city’s tax base. Technology and corporate leaders elsewhere have also signaled unease with high‑profile tax campaigns, arguing that hostile language can have economic consequences.
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Mamdani has defended the policy as a targeted fiscal tool to fund services in a city still grappling with budget pressures. As the mayor presses his proposal through public debate and potential legislative steps, Griffin’s high‑profile rebuke and the hint that Citadel might scale back local investment add a volatile business angle to what has already become a politically charged policy fight. The dispute sets up a test of whether public pressure from business titans will influence the shape or messaging of the plan as it moves forward.
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