CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asks Mamdani about ‘outreach’ to billionaire Ken Griffin after mayor slammed him for expensive NYC penthouse

Mamdani appeared on CNN, where host Kaitlan Collins questioned him about his efforts to increase taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, particularly after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently argued that raising taxes on the rich would not help middle and lower-income residents.

“And I think that if I was worth as much money as he was, then I would probably say the same thing,” Mamdani said of Bezos. “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.”

Collins also asked Mamdani whether he had personally heard from Griffin following the controversy surrounding the mayor’s media campaign.

“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.”

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Mamdani then acknowledged that his office has not heard back from Griffin “as of yet.”

Last month, Mamdani posted a clip in which he stood outside Griffin’s $238 million Midtown penthouse to call for a tax on luxury second homes. This angered Griffin, who threatened to halt a $6 billion Park Avenue development. Bezos also chimed in, blasting Mamdani for portraying 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.

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