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Jeff Bezos Backs NYC Pied-à-Terre Tax, Criticizes Mayor's Tactics
Bezos Endorses Pied-à-Terre Tax While Criticizing Mayor Mamdani's Approach
Jeff Bezos, the world's fourth-richest man, voiced support for New York City's proposed pied-à-terre tax in a recent CNBC interview, calling it "a fine thing for New York to do." The surcharge, pushed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, targets individuals owning secondary homes in the city valued over $5 million. Bezos, primarily residing in Miami, owns multiple properties in New York City that would likely be affected by the new tax, yet he still gave his approval.
However, Bezos sharply criticized Mayor Mamdani and his democratic socialist philosophies. He specifically blasted the mayor for a social media video featuring him outside billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin's Manhattan penthouse to promote the tax. Bezos stated, "To go stand in front of Ken Griffin's house and act like he's some kind of villain — Ken Griffin isn't a villain. He 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."
Business Backlash and Bezos's Broader Critiques
The mayor's video stunt ignited a sustained uproar from business leaders who deemed it to be in poor taste and argued that such a tax could prompt wealthy individuals to sell their properties, thus depleting the local tax pool. Ken Griffin himself threatened to cancel a $6 billion office development project in the city in response to the video. Mayor Mamdani has since made efforts to meet with local business giants, including the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, though Griffin has, to date, declined a meeting.
Beyond the pied-à-terre tax, Bezos extended his critiques to Mamdani's broader advocacy for raising income taxes on the wealthy to fund public services. Bezos countered this notion, pointing to New York City's public school system, which spends approximately $44,000 per student annually—a significantly higher sum than other major U.S. cities—with little corresponding improvement in educational outcomes. He suggested that instead of increasing taxes on the rich, the focus should be on eliminating taxes for low-income earners, questioning the fairness of a nurse earning $75,000 a year paying over $12,000 in taxes.
*Source: Politico (2026-05-20)*
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