The only thing worse than white people wanting to be oppressed as badly as they do is rich white people wanting to be oppressed. And the only thing worse than rich white people wanting to be oppressed is rich white people wanting to be so oppressed that they would go as far as to compare their fictional oppression to the very real oppression faced by Black people both historically and currently.
Meet Ken Griffin and Steven Roth, two of New York City’s richest men, both of whom appear to think Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to tax the rich is both traumatic and — *checks notes* — racist against wealthy people.
Specifically, Roth, the CEO of real estate giant Vornado, and Griffin, CEO of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund, made appearances during a Tuesday conference to discuss Mamdani’s plan to tax wealthy residents’ second homes, and how he announced said plan in front of Griffin’s $238 million penthouse.
Griffin spent his time whining about how “creepy and weird” it was for the mayor to stage his “tax the rich” campaign in front of his home, and how Mamdani’s policies in NYC are “triggering the trauma” he says he experienced in Chicago, where Citadel was previously headquartered. But before we get into Griffin’s mass invite to his pity party, let’s get into what were arguably the most absurd remarks of the night, when Roth tried to make “tax the rich” sound as hateful as “hang that n—-r,” or whatever he had in his rich, white and eternally fragile head when he had the floor.
“I consider the phrase ‘tax the rich’ when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs and even the phrase, ‘from the river to the sea,’” Roth said, referring to a pro-Palestinian phrase that the Anti-Defamation League labeled as an antisemitic threat.
So, in Roth’s mind, “tax the rich” is akin to racial slurs and antisemitic threats of violence, especially when politicians say it in a really impolite tone. Just imagine how rich, out of touch and obnoxiously Caucasian a person would have to be to even conjure up such a thought, let alone utter it out loud for poorer people, or Black people of any tax bracket, to hear.
In fact, there are really only two types of people who would buy what Roth is selling: bootlickers who have allowed wealthy people to convince them that other poor people are why they’re also poor, and, of course, the wealthy people selling them that lie.
Business leaders have rallied to Griffin’s defense and said Mamdani’s video endangered his safety.
“We are all shocked that our young mayor would pull this stunt in front of Ken’s home and single him out for ridicule,” Steven Roth said. “The ugly, unnecessary video stunt is personal for Ken and sort of personal for me.” Vornado is one of the largest real estate companies in New York City and is currently developing a new office tower with Griffin’s hedge fund Citadel.
The rich who Mamdani and other political leaders target “are the epitome of the American dream” and the largest employers and philanthropists, Roth said. “They are at the top of the great American economic pyramid for a reason. They should be praised and thanked.”
Mamdani’s office responded, saying the mayor wanted all New Yorkers to succeed, including business owners and Griffin, “who is a major employer in our City and a powerful figure in our economy.” But that does not negate the fact that the tax system is “fundamentally broken” and needs to be reformed to make New York City more affordable.
Most New York City business leaders fiercely opposed Mamdani, a democratic socialist, during his campaign last year. Since he entered office this year, some have warmed to him and consider him to be pragmatic. But the video, which came out three weeks ago, has outraged many of the business class. They say that hostility toward the rich will drive out businesses and wealthy taxpayers from New York City.
But please, tell us more about how the poor, disenfranchised 1% is suffering an era of anti-baller Jim Crow, and how Mamdani’s policies will destroy a country that only the uber-rich can save.
More from CNN:
Griffin, at a separate event, said Tuesday that the video was “creepy and weird” and New York “doesn’t welcome success” under Mamdani. Citadel plans to expand in Miami over New York City in response to the video, he said.
He compared New York to Chicago, where Citadel was previously headquartered. Griffin moved Citadel out of Chicago in 2022, citing crime and anti-business sentiment.
“Looking at what Mamdani did to me and more broadly is doing to the city of New York is triggering the trauma I went through in Chicago,” Griffin said.
A pied-à-terre tax could generate approximately $500 million annually from an estimated 11,200 second homes, according to the city comptroller.
So, the wealthiest people in the nation are whining about what wouldn’t even amount to a barely noticeable dent in their wallets, while most of the country is feeling the economic burn of a certain White House occupant’s policies, and people are struggling to put gas in their cars and food in their refrigerators and cabinets. Billionaires are complaining about what would amount to approximately $500 million annually, which they would be taxed out of collectively, and to some of them, that’s the equivalent of marginalized people suffering racism and threats of genocide.
Nah, please tax the rich. Millions of us wish they were as oppressed as they’re pretending to be.
