New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Friday he has attempted to meet with billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin after the hedge fund executive blasted the mayor’s viral “Tax the Rich” video targeting him.
Mamdani said a member of his team reached out to Griffin but had not received a response.
“We reached out to set up a meeting,” Mamdani said Friday. “We’re still waiting to hear.”
“That continues to be an open invitation, and it’s part of invitations that I’ve made to a number of business leaders across the city,” he continued. “I’m there to listen and there to have a conversation that goes beyond places of agreement, but perhaps places of disagreement to hear honest reflection and critique, without putting any precondition on the nature of that conversation.”
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The outreach comes after Mamdani posted a video on April 15 highlighting Griffin’s property while promoting a new pied-à-terre tax proposal.
In the video, the mayor — who has pledged to raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers — stood outside Griffin’s 24,000-square-foot penthouse, which Griffin purchased in 2019 for $238 million, the most expensive residential sale in U.S. history.
Griffin later criticized the video, calling it a “creepy and weird” political advertisement.
A spokesperson for Griffin did not say whether he plans to meet with the mayor.
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“Ken cares deeply about New York City and welcomes thoughtful, serious conversations about the policies that can grow the city’s economy and create more opportunity for all New Yorkers,” the spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business. “Reckless political theater serves no purpose and undermines the future of one of the world’s most important cities.”
In the April video promoting higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and a pied-à-terre tax on second homes, Mamdani singled out Griffin’s penthouse as an example of what he called a “fundamentally unfair system.”
“This is an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners do not live full-time in the city—like this penthouse, which hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin bought for $238 million,” Mamdani said in the video.
Speaking at the Milken Conference in Los Angeles earlier this month, Griffin said Mamdani’s “frightening” video reaffirmed his decision to “double down” on business in Miami.
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“Mamdani has made it very clear—New York does not welcome success,” Griffin said during the panel.
Citadel is currently building a new headquarters in Miami, and Griffin reiterated plans to expand the company’s presence in Florida, citing the state’s pro-business policies.
The mayor’s office previously told Fox News Digital that Mamdani “wants all New Yorkers to succeed,” including Griffin, whom it described as a major employer in the city.
“That does not negate the fact, however, that our tax system is fundamentally broken,” the statement continued. “It rewards extreme wealth while working people are pushed to the brink.”
“The status quo is unsustainable and unjust,” it added. “If we want this city to become a place that working people can afford, we need meaningful tax reform that includes the wealthiest New Yorkers contributing their fair share.”
FOX Business’ Nikolas Lanum and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
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