Jeff Bezos Backs Mamdani’s New Housing Tax: ‘Makes Sense’

Jeff Bezos endorsed New York City’s proposed pied-à-terre tax on second homes worth over $5 million during an exclusive interview with CNBC on Wednesday, while at the same time defending a fellow billionaire. “I think that the pied-à-terre tax is a fine thing for New York to do. It’s a policy debate.

Policy debates don’t have to be finger pointing,” he said, defending Ken Griffin in his escalating battle with Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the tax. The hedge fund founder has become the most outspoken opponent of the proposed pied-à-terre tax after Mamdani posted a social media video on Tax Day filmed from outside Griffin’s $238 million penthouse at 220 Central Park South. “When I ran for mayor, I committed to taxing the wealthy.

Today, we’re taxing the rich,” Mamdani said in the April 15 video. But Griffin was outraged by his house being chosen as background for the video, claiming doing so put him “in harm’s way. ” Left, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference in New York on May 19, 2026; Right, Jeff Bezos is seen at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party 2026 in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026.

Bezos described as “not so good” the idea to “go stand in front of Ken Griffin’s house and act like he’s some kind of villain,” which he said he is not. “He’s not hurting New York, in fact quite the opposite,” he said. “A pied-à-terre tax, you know…taxes on out-of-towners are very popular taxes, and that is why there are hotel taxes.