Citadel CEO Ken Griffin speaks during the Semafor World Economy Summit 2025 at Conrad Washington on April 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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Citadel rebuked New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for singling out Chief Executive Officer Ken Griffin in a push for a new pied-à-terre tax, escalating a public dispute over how aggressively New York should target wealthy non-resident homeowners.
In a social media video filmed outside Griffin’s residence at 220 Central Park South and timed to tax day, Mamdani unveiled a proposed levy that would impose an annual surcharge on one- to three-family homes, condominiums and co-ops valued above $5 million when the owner’s primary residence is outside New York City.
Citadel denounced the mayor’s move with Chief Operating Officer Gerald Beeson saying in an internal memo obtained by CNBC that targeting Griffin showed “ignorance and disdain” toward contributors to the city’s economy.
“It is shameful that he used Ken’s name as the example of those who supposedly aren’t carrying their fair share of the burdens associated with New York City’s often costly and wasteful spending,” Beeson wrote. “In doing so, the mayor has once again manifested the ignorance and disdain of the elite political class towards those who have been consistently committed to building one of the greatest cities in the world.”
Beeson said Citadel’s principals and employees — including non-residents — have paid nearly $2.3 billion in New York city and state taxes over the past five years. He also pointed to the firm’s planned redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, a project expected to generate about 6,000 construction jobs and more than 15,000 permanent roles, with spending projected to exceed $6 billion.
Griffin moved Citadel headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022 and he has made Florida his primary residence.
The memo also highlighted that nearly 200 Citadel employees serve on boards of New York charitable institutions, while Griffin himself has directed roughly $650 million in philanthropic donations to the city.
“We understand that our hard work and success will, on occasion, make us targets for political rhetoric. But it should not diminish the pride we take in building firms that will continue to help New York City thrive for decades ahead,” Beeson wrote.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the memo earlier Thursday.