Topline<\/p>\n
Billionaire Ken Griffin\u2019s hedge fund Citadel suggested it may review plans for a $6 billion expansion in New York City after Mayor Zohran Mamdani filmed a video announcing a new tax on second homes in the city in front of Griffin\u2019s townhouse last week. <\/p>\n
Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned Citadel CEO Ken Griffin by name while announcing a new tax on expensive second homes in New York City for non-residents.<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
An internal email sent from Citadel chief operating officer Gerald Beeson \u2014 and first reported by the Wall Street Journal<\/a> \u2014 responded to Mamdani\u2019s video, in which the mayor called for the city\u2019s first-ever pied-a-terre tax, an annual fee for people who own second homes in the city worth more than $5 million.<\/p>\n In the memo viewed by Forbes, Beeson said it was clear Mamdani thought out-of-state homeowners \u201cdo not contribute enough to the greater good,\u201d and said invoking Griffin\u2019s name was \u201cshameful.\u201d<\/p>\n Beeson said Miami-headquartered Citadel\u2019s planned expansion in Midtown would lead to 6,000 construction jobs and over 15,000 permanent jobs, but couched that with the caveat \u201cif we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Beeson also insisted Citadel employees have paid $2.3 billion in taxes in New York over the last five years, and Griffin himself has given $650 million to charities in the Empire State.<\/p>\n However, Beeson also acknowledged that Citadel had more than 2,500 \u201ccolleagues\u201d in New York, and even if they were political targets they would \u201ccontinue to help New York City thrive for decades ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n Mamdani posted the video on Tax Day, April 15. \u201cWhen I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Well, today we\u2019re taxing the rich,\u201d the mayor said in a slick video posted across social media<\/a>, which also drew the ire<\/a> of famous New York City luxury apartment developer and current President Donald Trump. Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who also supports the tax, claim it could generate up to $500 million annual revenue for the city. Mamdani said the tax was designed to target the \u201crichest of the rich. Those who store their wealth in New York City, but don\u2019t actually live here.\u201d Neither Mamdani nor Hochul\u2019s office responded to requests for comment from Forbes concerning the Citadel memo.<\/p>\n Forbes Valuation<\/p>\n We value Ken Griffin\u2019s net worth<\/a> at $50.7 billion as of Thursday afternoon, making him the 36th wealthiest person in the world. Griffin made his fortune through his hedge fund Citadel, where he serves as CEO, which he founded in 1990. Citadel is one of the largest hedge funds in the world, and Forbes named Griffin the world\u2019s wealthiest hedge fund manager<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n Big Number<\/p>\n $238 million. That\u2019s how much Griffin paid for his penthouse in 2019 at 220 Central Park South, a high rise on Manhattan\u2019s billionaire\u2019s row. Griffin\u2019s purchase is still the highest price ever paid for a home in the United States. Mamdani shot his announcement outside of Griffin\u2019s penthouse and called the billionaire, who lives in Miami, out by name.<\/p>\n