Texas Gov. Abbott Pitches State to New York Billionaires Fleeing Mamdani Tax Plans

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is urging billionaires to leave New York City, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing policies against wealthy executives. Abbott positions Texas as a haven with greater economic opportunity.

Abbott's office promotes the state as an escape from liberal measures that Republicans say are pushing businesses out of New York. The stakes are high for the city: even a small exodus of companies and high earners could cut tax revenues and weaken its status as a global financial center. Texas stands to gain jobs, investment and economic strength.

"Governor Abbott is proud to welcome businesses and job creators from across the country to Texas, where we have no state income tax, reasonable regulations, and a pro-growth environment that encourages free enterprise to flourish," press secretary Andrew Mahaleris told Fox News Digital.

Mahaleris said punitive policies targeting successful job-creating entrepreneurs only speed up companies' move to Texas.

Abbott has built his economic strategy around drawing businesses from high-tax states, and it has worked. Last week, Dell Technologies' board unanimously voted to shift the company's legal home from Delaware to Texas. Abbott posted on X, "Welcome home, @Dell," adding, "This is what happens when job creators and innovators are welcomed, not punished." He said more businesses are sure to follow.

Such growth boosts living standards, expands the tax base and funds infrastructure, education and other needs without tax hikes. Federal data shows Texas' economic output per person rose more than 10% from 2021 to 2024, outpacing states like California.

The issue gained attention from a clash between Mamdani and billionaire Ken Griffin, head of Citadel hedge fund. On April 15, Mamdani posted a video outside Griffin's $238 million, 24,000-square-foot Manhattan penthouse on Central Park South. He highlighted it as the kind of luxury second home that would face extra annual taxes under his plan for properties over $5 million.

Griffin called the video "creepy and weird" at the Milken Institute Global Conference on May 6, saying he watched it several times. He said Citadel is rethinking its $6 billion Manhattan office tower while expanding in Florida, which he called "unquestionably" the right move.

Mamdani supports higher taxes on high-value properties, stronger tenant protections and steps to reduce wealth inequality.

Griffin knows this terrain. He moved Citadel's headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022 over policies against the wealthy and rising crime. Chicago lost office space, jobs, employees and a major donor who had invested hundreds of millions in local institutions and politics.

New York City, with nearly 9 million residents and as the world's financial capital, could face similar losses in jobs, tax revenue and economic stability if firms and top earners depart.