Ken Griffin’s Citadel Suggests $6 Billion NYC Project May Be At Risk Over Mamdani Tax

BreakingBusinessBreaking NewsKen Griffin’s Citadel Suggests $6 Billion NYC Project May Be At Risk Over Mamdani TaxByZachary Folk,Forbes Staff. I cover breaking news.Follow AuthorApr 23, 2026, 05:39pm EDTToplineBillionaire Ken Griffin’s hedge fund Citadel suggested it may review plans for a $6 billion expansion in New York City after Mayor Zohran Mamdani filmed a video announcing a new tax on second homes in the city in front of Griffin’s townhouse last week. Mayor Zohran Mamdani mentioned Citadel CEO Ken Griffin by name while announcing a new tax on expensive second homes in New York City for non-residents.AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsAn internal email sent from Citadel chief operating officer Gerald Beeson — and first reported by the Wall Street Journal — responded to Mamdani’s video, in which the mayor called for the city’s first-ever pied-a-terre tax, an annual fee for people who own second homes in the city worth more than $5 million.In the memo viewed by Forbes, Beeson said it was clear Mamdani thought out-of-state homeowners “do not contribute enough to the greater good,” and said invoking Griffin’s name was “shameful.”Beeson said Miami-headquartered Citadel’s planned expansion in Midtown would lead to 6,000 construction jobs and over 15,000 permanent jobs, but couched that with the caveat “if we move forward.”Beeson also insisted Citadel employees have paid $2.3 billion in taxes in New York over the last five years, and Griffin himself has given $650 million to charities in the Empire State.However, Beeson also acknowledged that Citadel had more than 2,500 “colleagues” in New York, and even if they were political targets they would “continue to help New York City thrive for decades ahead.” if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.sr...