Ken Griffin said New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push for higher taxes on second homes has reinforced Citadel’s commitment to Miami — and even led the firm to scale up its planned headquarters there, according toBloomberg.
Speaking Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Griffin said Citadel decided to enlarge its Miami office project after Mamdani publicly referenced his $238 million Central Park South penthouse while promoting a new pied-à-terre tax proposal.
“We went to Miami and revised our building plan to make it a bigger office building,” Griffin said.“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.”
Bloombergwritesthat Griffin said he watched Mamdani’s video three times and described it as “creepy and weird.”
He added that the situation brought back memories of his departure from Chicago, where he previously criticized local leadership before moving Citadel and Citadel Securities to Florida.
“Looking at what Mamdani did to me and more broadly is doing to the city of New York is triggering the trauma I went through in Chicago,”Griffin said.
A spokesperson for Mamdani defended the mayor’s stance, saying he supports entrepreneurs but believes New York’s tax structure needs reform so wealthy residents contribute more.
Citadel still has nearly 2,500 employees in New York City and is involved in a separate $6 billion office tower project at 350 Park Avenue. But Griffin suggested Miami has clearly won out.
“What do we do at 350 is still a point of discussion internally, but what is no longer a point of discussion is when we moved from Chicago, there was a debate between New York and Miami,” Griffin said.“It’s unquestionably true that we made the right choice.”
He also took aim at states he views as unfriendly to businesses.
Source: ZeroHedge News
