New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, has decided to double down on his “Tax the Rich” plan, despite hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin having expressed interest in furthering investments he’s made in Miami, Florida. During a press conference held on May 6, 2026, a reporter asked the mayor “what sort of conversations” he has had with Griffin, the CEO and founder of Citadel, since a video in April featured Griffin’s penthouse.
The reporter also brought up Griffin’s response to the video, which was to refer to it as “creepy” and “weird.” The reporter said, “Ken Griffin, yesterday, was speaking about, calling your video again — he called it creepy and weird, and he said that, again, you targeting him has just been very unfair, and he said that he’s going to be doubling down his investments in Florida rather than New York City.”
“I just wanted to get your take, what sort of conversations have you had with him since that video? Have you spoken with him? What sort of concerns are you having when it comes to potential job losses? Are you looking at ways to build up?” the reporter asked. “I want all New Yorkers to succeed,” Mamdani replied.
“That includes business owners and entrepreneurs, who creating good paying jobs who make this city the economic engine, not just of our state, but frankly of our country. That also includes Ken Griffin, who is a major employer in our city. That does not negate the fact, however, that our tax system is fundamentally broken,” he explained, according to Breitbart News.
“It rewards extreme wealth, while working people are pushed to the brink,” Mamdani said. The mayor also said that if people want to the Big Apple to “be one that working people can actually afford to live in” then there must be “meaningful tax reform that includes the wealthiest New Yorkers paying their fair share.” Previous reports say Griffin was thinking of backing out of a $6 billion project in the city that would’ve created 6,000 “highly paid construction jobs.”
Citadel Chief Operating Officer Gerald Beeson did an interview with the Daily Mail, where he said it was “shameful” that Mamdani referenced Griffin’s name in the “creepy” video he posted. “It is shameful that he used Ken’s name as the example of those who supposedly aren’t carrying their fair share,” Beeson said to the outlet.
During the Milken Global Conference, Griffin said that Mamdani “made clear” to his New York partners that they “need to double-down” on Miami. “When we moved from Chicago, there was a debate between New York and Miami; it’s unquestionably true that we made the right choice,” Griffin said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
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“And now, what the Mayor of New York has made clear to my partners, and principally, my New York partners, is that we need to double-down on our bet in Miami because we want to be in a state that embraces business, that embraces education, that embraces personal freedom and liberty, and that embraces the opportunity for people to live in the American dream and a dream of earned success, not a dream of redistributive handouts that leave people dependent on government for their lives,” Griffin concluded.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video