NYC billionaire Steve Roth just compared the phrase “tax the rich” to racial slurs, arguing the ultra-wealthy deserve medals instead of tax bills. During Vornado Realty Trust’s latest earnings call, Roth didn’t hold back, calling the slogan “just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs” and even lumping it in with the pro-Palestinian phrase “from the river to the sea.”
According to The Guardian, Roth was responding to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent announcement of a new pied-à-terre tax targeting second homes worth over $5 million – including a $238 million penthouse owned by Citadel CEO Ken Griffin. Roth called Mamdani filming the tax announcement outside Griffin’s home “irresponsible and dangerous,” framing it as a personal attack on the city’s wealthiest residents.
