President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his approach to the city’s wealthiest residents. The president weighed in on a growing feud between the mayor and one of Wall Street’s most powerful figures, cautioning that the consequences could prove irreversible for the city.
Donald Trump warns NYC Mayor to not ‘tax’ rich people
President Trump urged New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to “cherish” billionaires like Ken Griffin, according to the New York Post. Trump made the comments on WABC radio after the Citadel CEO threatened to abandon a Park Avenue skyscraper project. Griffin warned he would shift more jobs to Miami as a “direct consequence” of Mamdani’s rhetoric targeting wealthy New Yorkers.
Trump stressed the long-term risks of losing major business figures from the city. “When you lose people like that, it’s sort of not recoverable,” Trump told host Sid Rosenberg. He added that leaders must actively court top executives and “convince them not to leave.”
The dispute began after Mamdani filmed a social media video outside Griffin’s $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South. The mayor used the video to promote a proposed “pied-à-terre” tax on luxury second homes worth over $5 million. Griffin called the stunt “creepy” and “weird” and later described the video as “frightening.”
Griffin told CNBC at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on May 5 that Citadel would expand in Florida instead. “We will add far more jobs in Miami over the next decade as an immediate and direct consequence of the mayor’s poor decision here,” Griffin said. He also warned the mayor’s rhetoric risked inflaming political extremism and cited the 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The Citadel founder suggested Mamdani’s attacks could jeopardize a planned $4.5 billion Park Avenue tower developed alongside Vornado Realty Trust and Rudin Management. Vornado chairman Steve Roth also criticised the mayor for the video stunt. Meanwhile, Apollo Global Management reportedly began weighing a major expansion in Florida or Texas amid growing concerns over the city’s business conditions.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
