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It\u2019s safe to say Ken Griffin is not a big Zohran Mamdani<\/a> fan.<\/p>\n In an interview on Tuesday, the hedge-fund titan said that after the mayor negatively name-checked<\/a> him in a recent video, he is having second thoughts about building a new tower in New York City and has expanded his company\u2019s operations in Miami. Griffin is the CEO of Citadel LLC and worth a cool $50.2 billion, per Forbes<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the interview, which took place at the Milken Institute Global Conference, CNBC anchor and Mamdani skeptic Sara Eisen asked Griffin for his reaction to Mamdani\u2019s video<\/a> in which the mayor, touting New York\u2019s proposed pied-\u00e0-terre tax<\/a>, strode along Billionaires\u2019 Row in Manhattan and pointed at 220 Central Park South, where Griffin owns property. \u201cThis is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full time in the city,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cLike for this penthouse, which hedge-fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million.\u201d (Griffin\u2019s purchase was the most expensive in New York City real-estate history.)<\/p>\n Eisen began with a leading question. \u201cI wanted to do this interview outside your apartment, but I thought it would be creepy and weird,\u201d she said to laughter. \u201cSo how did you feel about the mayor\u2019s little video?\u201d<\/p>\n Ken Griffin at Milken:<\/p>\n \u201cHow did you feel about the Mayor\u2019s little video?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was creepy and weird.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/PdzoHf5v2C<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Wall Street Rollup (@WallStRollup) May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Ken Griffin at Milken:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat 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” https:\/\/t.co\/b3ts4TERDz<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RCVEdqyHZc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Wall Street Rollup (@WallStRollup) May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt was creepy and weird,\u201d Griffin responded to more laughter.<\/p>\n Griffin said he had watched the video three times and it had gone in his mind from merely creepy to \u201cfrightening,\u201d citing 2024\u2019s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a few blocks from the building. \u201cAnything that creates an agitation in the extremist on either side of the aisle is a frightening dynamic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A major donor to the Republican Party, Griffin has a history of bashing liberal leadership. In 2022, he moved Citadel headquarters from Chicago to Miami after 30 years over concerns about safety, crime, and corruption. He later called<\/a> Chicago a \u201cfailed city-state.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Tuesday interview, Griffin said Mamdani\u2019s video had inspired him to expand Citadel\u2019s presence in Miami even further, and he is debating whether to go forward with a planned tower in New York City at 350 Park Avenue, though he said he would \u201cprobably\u201d still do so.<\/p>\n Ken Griffin at Milken:<\/p>\n \u201cWhat 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” https:\/\/t.co\/b3ts4TERDz<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RCVEdqyHZc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Wall Street Rollup (@WallStRollup) May 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen we moved from Chicago, there was a debate between New York and Miami,\u201d Griffin said. \u201cIt\u2019s unquestionably true that we made the right choice. I\u2019ll leave it at that. 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 people having an opportunity to live the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s hesitation over the new building had been previewed in an email from Citadel COO Gerald Beeson to employees two weeks ago, in which he castigated Mamdani, pointed to Griffin\u2019s $650 million in donations to city charities, and asserted that Citadel\u2019s \u201cprincipals and team members (including nonresidents) have paid nearly $2.3 billion dollars in city and state taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is shameful that he used Ken\u2019s name as the example of those who supposedly aren\u2019t carrying their fair share of the burdens associated with New York City\u2019s often costly and wasteful spending,\u201d Beeson said. \u201cIn doing so, the mayor has once again manifested the ignorance and disdain of the elite political class towards those who have been consistently committed to building one of the greatest cities in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani has not commented further on Griffin in recent days, but other billionaires have vented their spleen at the mayor. In an earnings call on Tuesday Vornado CEO Steven Roth went off, per the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI must say that I consider the phrase \u2018tax the rich\u2019 \u2014 quote, tax the rich \u2014 when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs and even the phrase, \u2018from the river to the sea,\u2019\u201d Roth said. He also criticized Mamdani\u2019s singling out of Griffin, calling it an \u201cugly, unnecessary video stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign Up for the Intelligencer\u00a0Newsletter<\/p>\n Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n