Billionaire Ken Griffin Says Mamdani Tax Video Made Him Fear for Safety

Ken Griffin watched it twice before it sank in. The Citadel founder told CNBC he couldn't process what he was seeing when Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a Tax Day video filmed outside Griffin's $238 million Central Park South penthouse. "It took a moment to digest what I was watching," Griffin said at the Milken Global Conference. The clip used Griffin's home as backdrop to promote Governor Hochul's pied-à-terre tax on wealthy second-home owners.

Mamdani's stunt hit different because Griffin had just been name-checked during the mayor's campaign. The billionaire said he'd already felt targeted, but this crossed a line. "What really upset me was that it put me in harm's way," Griffin told CNBC. He'd invoke the 2024 assassination of UnitedHealthcare's CEO that happened blocks from his building.

Steve Roth didn't hold back. The Vornado Realty Trust chairman spent six minutes of his earnings call tearing into Mamdani, calling the video "irresponsible and dangerous" and comparing "tax the rich" rhetoric to hate speech. Roth's fury matters because Vornado and Griffin were planning a $6 billion tower project together. The partnership now hangs by a thread.

Roth called Griffin "our partner and friend" and said the entire real estate industry was "shocked that our young mayor would pull this stunt." The timing stings: New York's business elite had just started regaining confidence after years of political turbulence. Now they're watching a single viral video potentially torpedo Manhattan's biggest development deal.

While New York politicians post videos, Miami keeps winning. Griffin told multiple outlets the incident confirmed his decision to "double down" on Florida operations. He's been expanding Citadel's Miami footprint since 2022, and sources say the video gave him the final push to pause New York expansion indefinitely.

The numbers tell the story. Citadel's Miami office now houses hundreds of employees. The company continues hiring aggressively while New York deals with the fallout. Griffin's message to New York: "Mamdani has made it very clear, New York does not welcome success."

Behind closed doors, the numbers keep shifting. Originally pitched as a $4.5 billion development, the Griffin-Vornado project has ballooned to $6 billion as plans expanded. But the mayor's video changed everything. Citadel's COO now references the deal as "under review" rather than "moving forward."

Real estate insiders say losing Griffin would devastate more than just one building. His departure would signal to other billionaires that New York has become hostile to wealth. The ripple effects could chill investment across commercial real estate just as the market shows signs of recovery.

The standoff has weeks, not months, to resolve. Griffin's team wants a public apology or policy shift from City Hall. Mamdani's office has stayed silent since the video dropped. Meanwhile, Vornado's stock dipped 3% after Roth's comments, reflecting investor anxiety about the deal's future.

Sources close to Griffin say he's genuinely rattled, not just angry, but concerned about personal safety. Until that changes, New York's biggest development project remains frozen. The city's business community watches nervously as one viral video threatens to reshape Manhattan's skyline.