Billionaire Ken Griffin Blasts Mamdani’s ‘Personal Attack’—Says He’s Meeting With Gov. Hochul

BreakingBusinessBreaking NewsBillionaire Ken Griffin Blasts Mamdani’s ‘Personal Attack’—Says He’s Meeting With Gov. HochulByZachary Folk,Forbes Staff. I cover breaking news.Follow AuthorApr 28, 2026, 11:38am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineBillionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, said he was planning to meet with Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-NY, on Thursday, days after an executive from his company took issue with New York City’s proposed pied-à-terre tax on second homes—which Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced in a video featuring the billionaire’s record-breaking townhouse on Manhattan’s Billionaire’s Row.New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani previously announced a tax on luxury second homes in front of Griffin’s Manhattan townhouse.AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsSpeaking at a conference in Norway, Griffin said he planned to discuss the state’s “future direction,” according to comments reported by multiple outlets.At the conference in Oslo, Griffin reportedly asked if New York planned to get its “fiscal house in order and run itself from a position of strong government that's pro-business,” before following up with, “Why do ​Americans think we can do socialism?”Griffin also took issue with Mamdani invoking his name and filming his announcement video in front of his Manhattan townhouse, saying, “I think the willingness of a mayor of ​New York to make this a policy debate a personal attack, just demonstrated a ‌profound ⁠lack of judgment."This comes less than a week after Citadel chief operating officer Gerald Beeson suggested the company’s planned $6 billion expansion in New York City could be in jeopardy following the pied-a-terre tax announcement, according to an email viewed by Forbes.It is unclear when the meeting will actually take place, and neither Citadel nor Hochul’s office immediately returned a request for comment from Forbes.A spokesperson for Mamdani’s office also did...