New York Citys latest experiment in punitive tax policy has taken an ugly, personal turn that could cost the city billions in investment, thousands of jobs, and whatever remains of its reputation as a global capital of free enterprise.
According to RedState, Mayor Zohran Mamdani chose Tax Day to release a bizarre, almost taunting video in which he pressed his face close to the camera and triumphantly declared that he was going to tax the hell out of wealthy New Yorkers. The clip, which quickly went viral, was not a sober policy announcement but a theatrical performance, complete with a glint in his eye and a devilish grin as he reveled in the prospect of imposing a new annual levy on properties that are not an owners primary residence.
The exact rate of the proposed tax has not yet been determined, but the intent was unmistakable: to single out the rich as villains and to treat their success as a civic problem to be punished rather than an asset to be cultivated. For many high-net-worth individuals, the obvious response will be equally unmistakabletake their capital, their businesses, and their tax dollars and get the hell out of the Big Apple for friendlier jurisdictions like Florida or Dubai.
The videos most striking moment came when Mamdani pointed to a specific Manhattan property as if it were a symbol of moral decay rather than a lawful expression of private success. That property, of course, belongs to a real persona U.S. citizen, a living, breathing, tax-paying personwho already shoulders an enormous tax burden in New York City and New York State, only to be publicly vilified by an elected official for political gain.
That person is Ken Griffin, the billionaire CEO of Citadel, a major international hedge fund, and the owner of the $238 million, 24,000?square?foot Manhattan residence that Mamdani used as a prop. It is easy for envious politicians and their followers to stoke resentment against such visible wealth, and many small-minded people fantasize about humiliating people who have accumulated more wealth than they have but it comes at a cost (just ask Russia, Cuba, or China).
In free societies, capital is mobile, and so are the people who create it. You see, those people can leave, and they can take their money, their jobs, and their tax payments with them, a reality that progressive leaders in high?tax blue states seem determined to ignore until the damage is irreversible.
Griffin, for his part, is now openly weighing whether to do exactly that with one of his most significant New York projects. He has indicated that he may pull his planned $6 billion development at 350 Park Avenue and redirect it to greener pastures, a move that would be a direct response to Mamdanis stunt and the broader hostility to wealth creation in the citys political class.
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin called New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdanis viral videowhich singled out Griffin and his Manhattan penthouse while announcing a new taxa personal attack and a profound lack of judgment. Speaking at the Norges Bank Investment Management 2026 Investment Conference in Oslo, Griffin did not mince words about the broader implications of this kind of rhetoric.
He questioned the demonizing of business leaders and warned about the dangerous climate it creates. What upset me was the personal attack, Griffin said. Like, you were at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday where they tried to assassinate the president. 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, he added. I understand that New York has bills to pay. Griffins point was not that the city cannot debate tax policy, but that turning a policy disagreement into a personalized campaign of public shaming is reckless in an era when political violence is no longer theoretical.
New York is hardly alone in testing how far it can push its most productive citizens before they walk away. As Gavin Newsoms California is finding out billionaires are fleeing in droves over a proposed five percent wealth tax New York may come to the ugly realization that flogging your meal ticket isnt the smartest way to go.
Griffin is not some idle oligarch sitting on a pile of cash; he is a major employer and philanthropist whose presence in New York has tangible benefits for ordinary residents. Ken Griffin: Employs over 2,500 people in New York City Donated $400 million to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Contributed $25 million to expand the Success Academy charter school network. But @NYCMayor Mamdani wanted to make a cool video, so I guess it was all worth it.
Those bullet points are not abstract talking points; they represent real jobs, life?saving medical research, and educational opportunities for childrenparticularly low?income and minority students who benefit from high?performing charter schools like Success Academy. Yet in the progressive imagination, such contributions are apparently outweighed by the political thrill of owning the rich on social media.
Mamdanis little stunt may cost the people of New York, the ones he vowed he would make lives better for. Griffin, who primarily resides in Florida, has already signaled that he might cancel his latest project in Midtown Manhattan and is scheduled to meet with Governor Kathy Hochul to discuss the future direction of New York.
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 pointedly. We have none of that in our DNA and we are just going to screw it up.
The project in question was projected to generate 6,000 construction jobs and more than 15,000 permanent positionsexactly the kind of economic engine a city should be courting, not chasing away. Yet Mamdani, and many like him, appear more interested in ideological theater than in the hard, unglamorous work of fostering a stable, pro?growth environment.
Most Americans, including conservatives, do not begrudge success or even extraordinary wealth. Do I wish I had a billion dollars? Sure, why not. Do I dream about a 24,000 square foot second residence? Actually, no, I have zero interest I dont want to get lost looking for the bathroom. Do I hate those who have made more money than I have? Also no, because that would be stupid (not to mention in direct contradiction of the Tenth Commandment).
The United States already operates under a progressive tax code that ensures the uber?wealthy pay their fair share. What is new is the increasingly aggressive effort on the left to dehumanize successful people, to treat them not as fellow citizens but as enemies to be publicly shamed and financially strip?mined until they leave.
Dehumanizing them, however, is not productive, as California, New York, and other blue states are finding out the hard way. Yet instead of learning from the exodus of taxpayers and businesses, these jurisdictions only want to double down on the self-destructive behavior, setting themselves up for fiscal crises they will later insist are someone elses fault.
When that day comes, the political class in these deep?blue states will almost certainly turn to Washington and demand that the rest of the country bail them out for the consequences of their own policies. Next stop: theyll come looking for more federal bailouts.
Trump, or whoever is serving when that inevitably happens, should say no. Hell no. If New York and California insist on driving away the very people who fund their public services, they should be forced to live with the results, rather than socializing the costs of their ideological crusades across the entire nation.
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