Mayor Zohran Mamdani doubled down on his insistence that billionaires like Jeff Bezos “pay their fair share” in taxes – but admitted that his office was ghosted by Ken Griffin following the socialist’s stunt last month.
During a brief appearance on CNN Tuesday night, Mamdani reiterated his scathing response to the Amazon CEO’s complaint that doubling his taxes “won’t help that teacher in Queens.”
“You know, I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ,” the lefty mayor told Kaitlan Collins.
“And I think that if I was worth as much money as he was, then I would probably say the same thing. The fact of the matter is that we are talking about a city where one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, and we’re hearing from one of the richest men that our world has ever seen about how he and others who make that kind of money shouldn’t have to pay their fair share.
Moments earlier, Mamdani was mum on his critiques of Griffin, the Citadel CEO who previously condemned Hizzoner’s viral “Tax the Rich” stunt recorded outside of his Manhattan penthouse.
“We’ve reached out [to Griffin] to make it clear that I’m willing to meet with any and all business leaders across the city,” Mamdani said.
“And I think that’s important because, as the mayor of this city, I’m looking to ensure that I meet with anyone who is a part of this city’s not just economy, but our future.”
When he was pressed for a more direct response, Mamdani reluctantly admitted his office hasn’t heard back from Griffin’s team “as of yet.”
Mamdani sparked backlash from business owners and city leaders alike after he posted the April 15 clip that used Griffin’s record-setting $238 million Midtown penthouse as a backdrop to celebrate a proposed tax on luxury second homes.
As if that wasn’t enough, the mayor called out Griffin by name. Days later, the Citadel CEO threatened to pull the plug on a $6 billion Park Avenue development.
And just last week, Bezos ripped Mamdani for painting Griffin as a “villain.”
“[Griffin] hasn’t hurt anybody. He’s not hurting New York. In fact, quite the opposite. And so that piece of it isn’t right. And there was no reason to do that,” Bezos said.
The Amazon honcho, who boasts an estimated net worth of $272.5 billion, added that he was “fine” with city officials slapping the luxury fee on properties across the Big Apple worth more than $5 million.
Griffin, meanwhile, is worth about $50.8 billion.
