New York Democrats announced Thursday that they reached a tentative agreement to tax multimillion-dollar second homes.
The tax on these properties, which are known as pieds-à-terre, is meant to address affordability issues in New York City, which have been exacerbated by the weakening economy under President Donald Trump.
The plan is to raise $500 million in additional revenue from these properties—which are currently undertaxed—to be applied to the city’s budget deficit.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously announced plans to implement the tax in a video released on Tax Day.
Standing in front of billionaire Ken Griffin’s $238 million penthouse, Mamdani decried the “fundamentally unfair” system where property owners like Griffin receive tax benefits even though they do not live there full time.
The video was enormously popular, with the mayor’s office announcing the next day that it was their most watched video of all time.
But billionaires weren’t happy about it.
Attribution: APKen Griffin, CEO of Citadel
Griffin blasted it as “creepy and weird,” suggesting that he may move more of his company’s operations out of the city in retaliation for criticizing his outsized wealth.
And Steven Roth, chair of Vornado Realty Trust, took things even further on a call with investors, saying that phrases like “tax the rich” are “just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs.”
Meanwhile, the Washington Post, which is owned by pro-Trump billionaire Jeff Bezos—one of the wealthiest people on the planet—amplified Griffin’s critique in a column from its editorial board.
“Political leaders are role models for young people. In New York, the most prominent politician is sending a message to them: Resent success rather than trying to emulate it,” it said.
Of course, Fox News agreed.
During his show Wednesday night, Sean Hannity complained about former President Barack Obama’s support for Mamdani. He said that the notion of pushing for affordable housing in New York City was akin to the beliefs of “every communist in history.”
Similarly, Fox Business conspiracy theorist Maria Bartiromo, argued on her show Thursday morning that it was wrong for Mamdani to hold up Griffin as an example.
Panelist Lee Carter agreed, saying that complaints about income inequality are rooted in envy, and that Mamdani’s stance on taxation is “un-American.”
It’s strange that there are any wealthy people left in New York City, based on the right’s claims that Mamdani’s 2025 election win would lead to a mass exodus from the city, with Fox News even declaring it the “end of the world.”
But if it’s the end of anything, its billionaires escaping their obligation to the city and to the country that made them so rich in the first place.
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