Zo money, Zo problems.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s hostile stance toward New York City businesses could jeopardize $12 billion in GDP — triggering a “death spiral” in the city’s finances as the young socialist blows off billionaire Ken Griffin moving jobs south, insiders warn.
Dire data exclusively provided to The Post by the Partnership for New York City shows the coalition’s 300 corporate and financial firms that have created nearly a million jobs, as well as contribute $13.5 billion in taxes and generate $370 billion to the city’s GDP every year.
The windfall for the Big Apple, however, could be endangered if growth declines even a modest amount, according to the data — a growing prospect if a feared exodus of billionaires fleeing the socialist mayor gains steam.
“The numbers don’t lie,” said Steve Fulop, the business group’s president and CEO.
“New York’s private sector has invested billions and created hundreds of thousands of jobs. You can only treat job creators like the enemy for so long before they stop creating jobs here. The far left can run on socialism all day, but cities run on tax revenue — and tax revenue requires businesses that actually want to be here.”
Long-simmering fears that the “tax the rich”-advocating Mamdani would scare off — or tick off — businesses and the well-to-do boiled over this week when Griffin said he’s adding jobs in Miami for his Citadel hedge fund instead of New York City.
The Sunshine State switcheroo was a “direct consequence” of Mamdani using Griffin’s glamorous $238 million penthouse as a prop in a social media video drumming up support for a proposed tax on luxury second homes in the city, the billionaire seethed.
Griffin’s reprisal was joined by fellow financial titan Marc Rowan taking further steps to open a new hub for his Apollo Global Management in either Florida and Texas, two growing hotspots for ex-pat New York businesses.
Both Citadel and Apollo are pillars within New York City’s financial services industry — a sector that accounts for nearly one in 10 private jobs in the city, according to the Partnership’s data.
The financial services sector outpaced every other industry in job growth during 2025, expanding by 3%, the data shows.
Assuming the same amount of growth, financial companies within the Partnership alone would bring in a projected 10,000 jobs, $8.4 billion in tax contributions and $247 billion in GDP every year through 2039, the data shows.
But even a small downtick of 10% would lead to roughly 3,000 fewer jobs, a $168 million dip in taxes and a $4.8 billion GDP hit, the analysis from the Partnership of NYC shows.
A dramatic exodus — like Citadel’s infamous recent exit of Chicago that cost the Windy City more than $3.5 billion — of 30% would translate to:
- 6,335 fewer jobs
- Nearly $397 million lost tax contributions
- A $11.7 billion hit to GDP
The potential hits come as New York City is at a precarious time for its ever-ballooning budget, which has far outpaced inflation over recent years.
Mamdani has proposed a mammoth $127 billion budget for the next year, and has pushed for a tax on millionaires to help close a $5.4 billion shortfall.
The city has a massive spending problem, leaving it particularly susceptible to economic slowdowns because revenue doesn’t keep pace, said a former budget official in Michael Bloomberg’s mayoral administration.
“If you are just raising taxes to fill a gap and doing nothing to close the gap, you are just going to raise taxes,” the official said.
The tax hikes in turn will prompt Griffin’s billionaire buds and other businesses to follow suit and cut their losses, according to the official.
“It’s a real death spiral,” the official said.
“Business leaders are just going to reallocate their workforce to Florida. That’s not a loss of a billionaire and their tax bill — it’s the workers and tens of millions of dollars.”
Companies increasingly have a choice, rather than be tied to one particular city, said Jared Walczak, senior fellow at the Tax Foundation.
“It used to be that if you were finance, you had to be New York City, and that is not the case anymore,” he said.
“If they feel unwelcome or they are going to be an ongoing topic, that can easily push them elsewhere. They do not want to fight new proposals every year and be the solution to every revenue problem that can drive them elsewhere.”
Big biz fears of an antagonistic left-wing mayor, however, have been proven wrong in the past.
Groundhog-killing galoot Bill de Blasio’s “tale of two cities” highlighting the gulf between the haves and the have-nots during the 2013 mayoral campaign swept him into office — and filled bigwigs with dread.
But the bigs were pleasantly surprised that de Blasio, as mayor, took business-friendly steps to foster economic development.
Mamdani is different because bashing the rich helped sweep him into office on an unabashedly lefty message, said Evan Roth Smith, a strategist with Slingshot Strategies.
The mayor has actually largely held his tongue on bashing the rich during the budget process, with the notable exception of picking a fight with Griffin, Smith said.
“He should have picked someone who has a penthouse that doesn’t employ thousands of people,” the strategist said.
“I think the target was ill-advised. I think when it’s Zohran versus a rich guy who employs tens of thousands of people during a budget fight it’s a problem, but I think it goes to a draw.”
The democratic socialist likely will return to his more vocal rich-bashing after the budget process, Smith said.
“Stuff like this is a winner for him and he’ll go back to it,” he said.
“I think unfortunately the voters exist and they hate rich people.”
Mayor’s office representatives didn’t return a request for comment.
Responding to the Partnership’s analysis, a spokeswoman for Mamdani’s uneasy ally Gov. Kathy Hochul said the gov “is proud to support” large and small businesses.
“From local businesses to global corporations, every employer plays a crucial role in making New York City the best place for business, and Governor Hochul is proud to support them all,” the spokeswoman, Jen Goodman, said in a statement.
“The Governor has held the line on income and corporate taxes while delivering unprecedented job growth, including doubling the national rate of private sector job creation in New York City, and remains committed to ensuring New York’s businesses continue to succeed.”