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.

“We are all shocked that our young mayor would pull this stunt in front of Ken’s home and single him out for ridicule,” Roth said. “This was both irresponsible and dangerous.”

Edit: Mamdani’s video that sparked this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLKZnVB4F9k

  • finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    Just got a weird Clayton Bigsby feel from your comment, only instead of him saying ‘white power’ quietly at the end of his shouting, I thought of someone ranting about the harm rich people do continually ending their bellowing with a short, fast, calm, “Eat the rich” as a contrast at the end of any sentence. For example:

    “BILLIONAIRES COULD BUILD A DOZEN STRAY ANIMAL SHELTERS FOR THE COST OF ONE OF THEIR YACHTS, BUT THEY’RE TOO SELFISH! THE ONLY ANIMAL THEY CARE ABOUT … IS THEMSELVES! Eat the rich”.

    “NINE DOLLARS FOR A CUP OF COFFEE?! NINE DOLLARS COULD PAY FOR A STUDENT’S BREAKFAST AND LUNCH! Eat the rich”.

    “OW! I STUBBED MY GODDAMN TOE! Eat the rich”.