New York City business leaders launched a million-dollar campaign Friday to prevent a wave of billionaires and corporations from relocating out of the city, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “tax the rich” agenda drives high-profile firms to openly weigh exits.
Andrew Murstein, founder of Medallion Financial Corp., announced “Operation Boomerang,” pledging $1 million of his own money to lure business leaders back to New York. Murstein said he expects to raise between $20 million and $30 million for the effort.
“I’m a big believer in New York City and tradition,” Murstein told the New York Post. “I’m trying to convince them not to abandon ship. Whatever it takes.”
The campaign comes after Citadel LLC CEO Ken Griffin called Mamdani’s tactics “creepy” following the mayor’s use of Griffin’s $238 million Midtown penthouse as a backdrop in a social media video promoting a proposed $500 million-per-year tax on luxury second homes. Citadel’s COO subsequently told employees the firm may not proceed with a $6 billion renovation of a Midtown Manhattan office tower.
Griffin addressed the tensions directly Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in New York City.
“What the mayor of New York has made clear to my partners is that we need to double down on our bet in Miami, because we want to be in a state that embraces business, that embraces education, that embraces personal freedom and liberty, and that embraces people having an opportunity to live the American Dream,” Griffin said.
Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan has also signaled plans to expand operations outside New York, adding to alarm within City Hall, according to the Post.
Former Mayor Eric Adams stepped into the debate, urging Griffin and other business leaders in a post on X to “stand your ground.”
The defections would compound years of economic erosion. New York State lost $660 billion in economic growth over the past decade, leading all 50 states, according to data from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. A net 114,000 more city residents moved to other U.S. cities than arrived, per the Citizens Budget Commission.
