Zo money, Zo problems.<\/p>\n
Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s hostile stance toward New York City businesses<\/a> could jeopardize $12 billion in GDP \u2014 triggering a \u201cdeath spiral\u201d in the city\u2019s finances as the young socialist blows off billionaire Ken Griffin moving jobs south, insiders warn.<\/p>\n Dire data exclusively provided to The Post by the Partnership for New York City shows the coalition\u2019s 300 corporate and financial firms that have created nearly a million jobs, as well as contribute $13.5 billion in taxes and generate $370 billion to the city\u2019s GDP every year.<\/p>\n Mayor Zohran Mamdani could preside over a \u201cdeath spiral,\u201d one insider warned. William Farrington for NY Post<\/p>\n The windfall for the Big Apple, however, could be endangered if growth declines even a modest amount, according to the data \u2014 a growing prospect if a feared exodus of billionaires fleeing the socialist mayor gains steam.<\/p>\n \u201cThe numbers don\u2019t lie,\u201d said Steve Fulop, the business group\u2019s president and CEO.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York\u2019s private sector has invested billions and created hundreds of thousands of jobs. You can only treat job creators like the enemy for so long before they stop creating jobs here. The far left can run on socialism all day, but cities run on tax revenue \u2014 and tax revenue requires businesses that actually want to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n Long-simmering fears that the \u201ctax the rich<\/a>\u201c-advocating Mamdani would scare off \u2014 or tick off \u2014 businesses and the well-to-do boiled over this week when Griffin said he\u2019s adding jobs in Miami for his Citadel hedge fund instead of New York City.<\/p>\n The Sunshine State switcheroo was a \u201cdirect consequence<\/a>\u201d of Mamdani using Griffin\u2019s glamorous $238 million penthouse as a prop in a social media video drumming up support for a proposed tax on luxury second homes in the city, the billionaire seethed.<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s reprisal was joined by fellow financial titan Marc Rowan taking further steps to open a new hub<\/a> for his Apollo Global Management in either Florida and Texas, two growing hotspots for ex-pat New York businesses.<\/p>\n Hedge fund titan Ken Griffin said this week that he\u2019s shifting jobs to Miami because of Mamdani. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n The spat stoked fears that billionaires will flee the Big Apple.<\/p>\n Both Citadel and Apollo are pillars within New York City\u2019s financial services industry \u2014 a sector that accounts for nearly one in 10 private jobs in the city, according to the Partnership\u2019s data.<\/p>\n The financial services sector outpaced every other industry in job growth during 2025, expanding by 3%, the data shows.<\/p>\n Assuming the same amount of growth, financial companies within the Partnership alone would bring in a projected 10,000 jobs, $8.4 billion in tax contributions and $247 billion in GDP every year through 2039, the data shows.<\/p>\n But even a small downtick of 10% would lead to roughly 3,000 fewer jobs, a $168 million dip in taxes and a $4.8 billion GDP hit, the analysis from the Partnership of NYC shows.<\/p>\n A dramatic exodus \u2014 like Citadel\u2019s infamous recent exit of Chicago that cost the Windy City more than $3.5 billion \u2014 of 30% would translate to:<\/p>\n 6,335 fewer jobs<\/p>\n Nearly $397 million lost tax contributions<\/p>\n A $11.7 billion hit to GDP<\/p>\n The potential hits come as New York City is at a precarious time for its ever-ballooning budget, which has far outpaced inflation over recent years.<\/p>\n Mamdani has proposed a mammoth $127 billion budget for the next year, and has pushed for a tax on millionaires<\/a> to help close a $5.4 billion shortfall.<\/p>\n The city has a massive spending problem, leaving it particularly susceptible to economic slowdowns because revenue doesn\u2019t keep pace, said a former budget official in Michael Bloomberg\u2019s mayoral administration.<\/p>\n Companies within the Partnership for NYC business group generate a total $370 billion for the city\u2019s GDP every year, data shows. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u00a0are just raising taxes to fill a gap and doing nothing to close the gap, you are just going to raise\u00a0taxes,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n The tax hikes in turn will prompt Griffin\u2019s billionaire buds and other businesses to follow suit and cut their losses, according to the official.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a real death spiral,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n \u201cBusiness leaders are just going to reallocate their workforce to Florida. That\u2019s not a loss of a billionaire and their tax\u00a0bill \u2014 it\u2019s\u00a0the workers and tens of millions of\u00a0dollars.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Companies increasingly have a choice, rather than be tied to one particular city, said Jared Walczak, senior fellow at the Tax Foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be that if you were finance, you had to be New York City, and that is not the case anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they feel unwelcome or they are going to be an ongoing topic, that can easily push them elsewhere. They do not want to fight new proposals every year and be the solution to every revenue problem that can drive them elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Big biz fears of an antagonistic left-wing mayor, however, have been proven wrong in the past. <\/p>\n Groundhog-killing galoot Bill de Blasio\u2019s \u201ctale of two cities\u201d highlighting the gulf between the haves and the have-nots during the 2013 mayoral campaign swept him into office \u2014 and filled bigwigs with dread.<\/p>\n But the bigs were pleasantly surprised that de Blasio, as mayor, took business-friendly steps to foster economic development. <\/p>\n Mamdani is different because bashing the rich helped sweep him into office on an unabashedly lefty message, said Evan Roth Smith, a strategist with Slingshot Strategies.<\/p>\n The mayor has actually largely held his tongue on bashing the rich during the budget process, with the notable exception of picking a fight with Griffin, Smith said.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s video targeting Griffin\u2019s $238 million penthouse sparked a feud. Mayor Mamdani\/X<\/p>\n \u201cHe should have picked someone who has a penthouse that doesn\u2019t employ thousands of people,\u201d the strategist said.<\/p>\n