New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a rally on May 1, 2026 in New York. (kena betancur – AFP / Getty Images)
By Michael Austin May 7, 2026 at 3:00am
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin responded to a viral Tax Day video from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani in which he was filmed outside of the billionaire’s penthouse promising to charge new taxes on the property of wealthy individuals.
The democratic socialist, whose city is facing a budget crisis, released a video on April 15 vowing to impose a new pied-à-terre tax on the non-primary residences of wealthy New Yorkers.
Mamdani is seen in the video on the street outside Griffin’s penthouse, which was purchased in 2019 for $238 million — marking the most expensive home sale in American history, according to a report from Fox Business.
“This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million, whose owners do not live full-time in the city,” Mamdani said in the video.
“Like for this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million,” he continued, calling out Griffin by name.
Griffin responded with remarks at an investment conference in Oslo, Norway, saying that he was disturbed by the “personal attack” and the possible security ramifications.
Happy Tax Day, New York. We’re taxing the rich. pic.twitter.com/Wky2LFXC9W
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 15, 2026
“Like, you were at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday where they tried to assassinate the president,” he told attendees. “Not too far from where I live in New York is where they assassinated the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.”
“So I think the willingness of the mayor of New York to make this policy debate a personal attack just demonstrated a profound lack of judgment,” Griffin added.
“I understand that New York has bills to pay.”
Griffin currently lives in Florida, where he moved Citadel’s headquarters in 2022 after persistently high crime in its former home city of Chicago.
The billionaire floated the idea of canceling his next project in Manhattan amid the city and state’s direction toward higher taxes.
“Here’s the real question: is New York going to put their fiscal house in order and run itself from a position of a strong government that is pro-business, or are they looking to play… why do the Americans think we can do socialism?” he asked.
“We have none of that in our DNA and we are just going to screw it up.”
Various social media users also responded to Mamdani’s policy proposal with skepticism earlier in April.
“When people in NYC start losing their jobs and watch the prices of everything go up because the people being taxed to death left… I want them to remember that they celebrated this guys video. You voted for this,” conservative commentator and former Virginia State Del. Nick Freitas reacted.
“Imagine the audacity to think you are unequivocally entitled to what others have earned,” another user said.
“You’re driving out your tax base, you Marxist clown,” a third commentator remarked.
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Michael wrote for several entertainment news outlets before joining The Western Journal in 2020. He now serves as Managing Editor, which involves managing the editorial team and operations, guiding the publication’s editorial direction, and writing, editing, curating and assigning stories as needed.
Birthplace
Ames, Iowa
Nationality
American
Education
Iowa State University
Topics of Expertise
Cultural Politics, Pop Culture, Christian-Conservatism
