New York real estate titan likens the phrase ‘tax the rich’ to racial slurs

The phrase “tax the rich” can be “just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs”, according to New York City billionaire Steve Roth, who said that the top 1% should be “praised and thanked”. Speaking on his company’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, Roth, the CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, expressed his support for fellow billionaire and the CEO of Citadel, Ken Griffin, who was singled out in New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 15 April announcement of the state’s first “pied-à-terre” tax on second homes valued at more than $5m. In a video, Mamdani announced the policy in front of Griffin’s penthouse, which he said was purchased for $238m. “We are all shocked that our young mayor would pull this stunt in front of Ken’s home and single him out for ridicule,” Roth said. “This was both irresponsible and dangerous.” Roth said that Vornado followed the rules and paid its fair share in taxes, which amounts to $560m in real estate taxes this year, and he was “very proud of our lifetime of achievement”. “I must say that I consider the phrase ‘tax the rich’ – quote tax the rich – 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’,” he said, referring to the controversial pro-Palestinian slogan. “But the rich whom the politicians are targeting, starting with nothing, are the epitome of the American dream,” he continued. …