Ken Griffin just threatened to pull a $6 billion construction project out of New York City.
And Ron DeSantis is calling the mayor who caused it "realtor of the year."
He means that as a compliment – for Florida.
The One Video That Could Cost New York 21,000 Jobs
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a one-minute video on Tax Day.
He stood outside Ken Griffin's $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South – the most expensive home ever sold in American history – and announced a new tax on luxury second homes worth more than $5 million.
"When I ran for mayor," Mamdani said in the video, "I said I was going to tax the rich. Today, we're taxing the rich."
Griffin runs Citadel, one of the largest hedge funds in the world.
His company employs 2,500 people in New York City and has paid $2.3 billion in city and state taxes over the past five years.
Ten days after that video, Citadel's chief operating officer sent an internal memo to employees that landed like a bomb.
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"We are about to commence the redevelopment of 350 Park Avenue, creating 6,000 highly paid construction jobs and supporting the creation of more than 15,000 permanent jobs in mid-town New York," Gerald Beeson wrote.
"The project – if we move forward – will entail more than $6 billion dollars of spending."
If we move forward.
Mamdani's response when asked if he regretted the video?
No apology.
"That home, when it was purchased, was the most expensive home in the United States of America," he said.
DeSantis Has Seen This Movie Before
Griffin already made this choice once.
He moved Citadel's headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022 after that city's leadership turned hostile to wealth creators.
Chicago's response to losing one of its most prominent employers?
Elect Brandon Johnson mayor.
New York's response to the same warning signs?
Elect Zohran Mamdani.
DeSantis was speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference this week when he summed up what he's watched happen in real time.
"I don't think it's good that one guy gets elected mayor and people feel like they have to flee the city," DeSantis said. "They responded to all those problems, not by correcting the problems, but electing somebody who was exacerbating the problems."
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He said he wouldn't give realtor of the year to anyone in Florida.
"I would pick mayors in New York, in Chicago and some of these governors – they're basically the best ambassadors for Florida that we could ever ask for."
New York Is Running Out of People to Tax
The numbers tell the story Mamdani doesn't want to tell.
In 2024 alone, more than 415,000 people left New York State.
IRS migration data shows New York lost nearly $10 billion in net adjusted gross income to other states in a single year – taxpayers taking their money with them.
The top destination?
Florida.
The New York to Florida corridor moves roughly 91,000 people a year – the second-largest interstate migration route in the country.
Florida gained $20.6 billion in net adjusted gross income from other states in that same period.
DeSantis pointed to what that policy environment built: a state economy that grew from $1 trillion to $1.8 trillion during his tenure, crime at a 50-year low, and universal school choice.
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New York responds to a $5 billion budget deficit by electing a mayor who makes viral videos outside billionaires' homes.
Florida cut taxes and got the government out of the way.
Griffin hasn't made his final decision yet on the 350 Park Avenue project.
But Kevin O'Leary already called Mamdani's Tax Day video "the best commercial for Miami Beach real estate I've ever seen."
Three words Griffin wrote – "if we move forward" – might be the most important thing said about New York's future all year.
DeSantis has a guest room ready.
Sources:
- Fox Business Staff, "Ken Griffin Slams Mamdani for Singling Him Out as a 'Profound Lack of Judgment,'" Fox Business, April 2026.
- Breitbart News Staff, "Hedge Fund CEO Ken Griffin Considering Backing Out of $6B NYC Project Over Mamdani Tax-the-Rich Video," Breitbart, April 2026.
- Staff, "High Costs and Family Drive New York Population Exodus," News10/Nexstar, January 2026.
- Staff, "Florida Continues to Attract New Residents; New York, California, and Illinois Lose the Most Population," National Taxpayers Union Foundation, 2025.
- Tax Foundation Staff, "State Migration Trends: Taxes and State Population," Tax Foundation, 2025.
