Mamdani praises Ken Griffin for the support of the police despite the millionaire dispute
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani highlighted Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s Manhattan penthouse in a viral video announcing the new pied-à-terre tax. (Credit: Norges Bank Investment Management)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is building his political agenda around billionaires. Now he is praising another for supporting the police.
Last week, Mamdani publicly thanked Citadel billionaire Ken Griffin for supporting police funding, a moment that flew under the radar but gave a glimpse into the complex dynamic between the hedge fund king and the socialist mayor.
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The Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, has criticized billionaires, including Ken Griffin, whom he recently thanked for supporting the police. (Photos by Spencer Platt/Getty/Getty Images)
“I would like to thank everyone who is here with us at the Hall of Heroes today, especially the Commissioner of Police [Jessica] Tisch and the leadership of the NYPD,” said Mamdani at One Police Plaza, speaking in front of the department and the families of the slain officers.
“I also want to thank Ken Griffin for funding the memorial wall that will be unveiled later this year,” he added.
The admission came days after a public spat between the two, sparked by Mamdani’s April 15 video promoting a proposed tax on second homes over $5 million. Filmed outside Griffin’s 24,000-square-foot Central Park South home—purchased for a record $238 million—the video identified Griffin by name.
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Citadel CEO Ken Griffin purchased the penthouse at 220 Central Park South in 2019 for an estimated $238 million. (Photos by Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg/Getty/Getty Images)
“This is the annual income for luxury houses worth more than $5 million, whose owners do not live full time in the city. Like this special house, hedge fund executive Ken Griffin bought for $238 million,” said Mamdani in the clip.
Griffin slammed the move, calling it a “personal attack” and a “lack of serious judgment” during remarks at the Norges Bank Investment Management 2026 Investment Conference in Oslo, where he questioned what he described as “demonization” of business leaders.
The conflict underscores the growing divide between the city’s progressive ambitions and the financial sector that has long powered its economy.
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On April 15th (Tax Day), NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a video outside Ken Griffin’s Manhattan apartment promoting a new “tax-the-rich” policy. (Spencer Platt/Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images/Getty Images)
After this episode, Griffin, who mainly lives in Florida, has signed that he will no longer consider the large development of Midtown Manhattan, increasing the controversy.
For Griffin, the donation fits a broader pattern of supporting law enforcement efforts in big cities; for Mamdani, consent may indicate a willingness to receive social security funding.
