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New York real estate titan likens the phrase ‘tax the rich’ to racial slurs Gaya Gupta
Steve Roth was responding to the announcement by New York’s mayor of tax on second homes worth more than $5mSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The phrase “tax the rich” can be “just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs”, according to the 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
6 May 2026 at 17:49

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

6 May 2026 at 17:49

Steve Roth was responding to the announcement by New York’s mayor of tax on second homes worth more than $5m

The phrase “tax the rich” can be “just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs”, according to the 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 the 15 April announcement by New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, 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.