Ken Griffin is taking a fresh shot at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani \u2014 while voicing willingness to speak with the far-left leader down the road.<\/p>\n
The Citadel founder on Thursday urged New York\u2019s business leaders to \u201cfight for their city\u201d as he renewed his criticism of the democratic socialist mayor whose \u201ctax the rich\u201d campaign turned Griffin into a political target earlier this year.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThey need to find their voice and fight for their city,\u201d Griffin said at an Upper East Side groundbreaking, according to Bloomberg News.<\/a><\/p>\n Citadel founder Ken Griffin says New York business leaders should \u201cfight for their city\u201d as his feud with Mayor Zohran Mamdani enters a new phase. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cMy advice is to speak up. What\u2019s the worst that\u2019s going to happen?\u201d<\/p>\n The billionaire hedge fund manager, whose firm employs thousands of workers in New York, said his firm will outlast Mamdani\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything should be viewed through the lens of, Citadel will be here far longer than he\u2019ll be mayor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While Griffin has been ghosting Mamdani\u2019s outreach<\/a>, he said Thursday they\u2019ll speak \u2014 eventually.<\/p>\n \u201cI plan to talk to him at some point in the months ahead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s see where he is on the state of policy at that time. Actions speak louder than words.\u201d<\/p>\n The comments came during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kenneth C. Griffin Pavilion, a new 27-story inpatient facility being built by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Griffin and fellow billionaire David Geffen committed $400 million to the project.<\/p>\n Despite his increasingly visible investments in Florida \u2014 recently expanding plans<\/a> for a sprawling Miami development \u2014 Griffin indicated Thursday that New York remains central to Citadel\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s \u201ctax the rich\u201d agenda sparked a high-profile clash with one of Wall Street\u2019s most powerful hedge fund managers. Erik Pendzich\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n At the same time, he warned that business leaders cannot afford to remain silent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be that New York empties of talent and that\u2019s a catastrophe,\u201d he said, outlining a nightmare scenario for the city under Mamdani.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the mayor wants to say a few words about you, your record speaks for itself: You create jobs, you create value and you pay taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Mamdani ignited the public feud by filming a viral Tax Day<\/a> video outside Griffin\u2019s $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South to promote a new pied-\u00e0-terre tax on wealthy owners of second homes.<\/p>\n Griffin\u2019s $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South became ground zero in the fight over New York\u2019s new pied-\u00e0-terre tax. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n Mamdani turned Griffin into the face of his campaign to tax wealthy owners of luxury second homes. Mayor Mamdani\/X<\/p>\n Standing outside the residence on Billionaires\u2019 Row, Mamdani called out Griffin by name while touting<\/a> his promise to \u201ctax the rich\u201d and celebrating the levy aimed at luxury properties owned by nonresidents.<\/p>\n The video<\/a> drew howls from the business community<\/a> and angered Griffin. He described the stunt as \u201ccreepy\u201d and accused the mayor of turning a policy disagreement into a personal attack.<\/p>\n