New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a proud democratic socialist who somehow landed the keys to the largest city in America — stood outside billionaire Ken Griffin’s $238 million penthouse on Tax Day to announce a brand-new “pied-à-terre” tax on luxury properties worth more than $5 million. He filmed the whole thing like a TikTok influencer doing a house tour. Griffin saw the video and did what socialists never expect rich people to do: he left.

Socialists never understand that rich people have legs.

Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel — worth roughly $50 billion according to Forbes — went to the Milken Global Conference on May 5 and said the quiet part out loud. “We will add far more jobs in Miami over the next decade as an immediate and direct consequence of the mayor’s poor decision here,” Griffin told the crowd. He wasn’t bluffing. Citadel has already filed permits with the city of Miami to expand its new headquarters by several hundred thousand square feet. “The only decision that we’ve made with no regrets the last few days is to expand the size of our office footprint in our new Miami headquarters,” Griffin added.

The man was considering a $6 billion development on Park Avenue that would have created 6,000 highly paid construction jobs for New Yorkers. Was. Past tense. Because Mamdani decided to make a campaign video outside his apartment.

Griffin told CNBC he was stunned when he first saw the mayor’s stunt. “I couldn’t believe what I was watching,” he said, calling the whole thing “just in poor taste. Really poor taste.” His COO, Gerald Beeson, was even more direct: “It is shameful that he used Ken’s name as the example of those who supposedly aren’t carrying their fair share.”

And what did Mamdani do when confronted with the consequences of his little performance? He doubled down. At a May 6 press conference, the mayor said, “Our tax system is fundamentally broken. It rewards extreme wealth, while working people are pushed to the brink.” Classic socialist line. The system that generates $168 million a year in state and local tax revenue from these exact rich people is “broken” — and his fix is to chase them out of the city entirely.

Here’s the part that should terrify every New Yorker still paying rent. Griffin isn’t the only one heading for the exits. Apollo Global Management — one of the biggest investment firms on the planet — is now planning a second headquarters in either Florida or Texas, potentially housing up to 1,000 employees. That’s roughly the same number of workers Apollo currently has in New York. The pro-business group Partnership for New York City estimates Mamdani’s anti-wealth crusade could cost the city 2,700 financial-sector jobs and approximately $168 million in annual state and local tax revenue.

Let that number sink in. The mayor’s plan to “tax the rich” is about to cost the city $168 million a year. He’s not redistributing wealth. He’s deporting it.

Griffin already did this once, by the way. He moved Citadel’s global headquarters from Chicago to Miami back in 2022 when Lori Lightfoot was mayor and J.B. Pritzker was governor. Chicago found out what happens when you treat your biggest taxpayers like ATMs with attitudes. Now Mamdani is speedrunning the same lesson.

“When we moved from Chicago, there was a debate between New York and Miami,” Griffin said. “It’s unquestionably true that we made the right choice.” He then added, “We need to double-down on our bet in Miami because we want to be in a state that embraces business, embraces education, embraces personal freedom and liberty.”

Meanwhile, Mamdani is staring down a $5.4 billion budget shortfall and his solution is to film himself harassing the people who actually pay the bills. The pied-à-terre tax targets luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners don’t live in the city full time — and Mamdani staged his announcement at 220 Central Park South, where Griffin’s record-breaking penthouse sits, because subtlety is not a socialist’s strong suit.

As reported by Breitbart and the NY Post, this isn’t a policy disagreement. This is a case study in what happens when you elect an ideologue who thinks wealth is a moral failing. Griffin has the money to move. His employees will follow. And New York City will be left with the bill — minus the billionaires who used to pay it.

Mamdani wanted to tax the rich. The rich said “okay, bye.” And they took the jobs with them.