Another big Wall Street player is gearing up to leave New York City, which isn’t great news for the city’s tax revenue. This shift comes amid Mayor Zoran Mandani’s ongoing efforts targeting affluent residents and businesses, according to reports.
Apollo Global Management, the major private equity firm based in Manhattan, is reportedly looking to set up a new office in either Florida or Texas, referring to it as a “second headquarters.” They might announce their decision within a few weeks.
This new location could accommodate around 1,000 employees, matching their current workforce in New York, and the company has more than 6,000 people employed globally.
Apollo is currently checking out potential sites in Miami and Palm Beach, where they already have a small operation. Officials have mentioned that they’re also considering space in Austin, Texas.
For 2025, Apollo is expected to fork out $1.276 billion in income taxes, an increase from $1.062 billion the previous year. The specific amount directed to New York isn’t clear, but losing Apollo could deal a significant blow to the city’s finances as they extend their reach elsewhere.
Led by billionaire CEO Mark Rowan, Apollo isn’t the only firm feeling the heat. They’re keeping an eye on the Mayor’s criticisms, particularly aimed at business figures like Ken Griffin, who heads Citadel and is planning a significant $6 billion office project on Park Avenue.
Recently, Mandani posted a video where he stood outside Griffin’s Manhattan penthouse, promoting a new tax aimed at vacation homes owned by wealthy individuals who reside outside the city.
Griffin, speaking at a Milken Institute event, labeled the proposed tax measures as “creepy” and “terrifying,” especially considering the increasingly charged political environment, which includes the assassination of the CEO of United Healthcare in 2024. He hinted that those sentiments might cause Citadel to rethink their expansion plans in Midtown, possibly redirecting resources to their Miami headquarters.
Apollo issued a warning to its employees back in March, noting the intention to set up a second headquarters in either Texas or South Florida alongside New York City. They pointed out that New York doesn’t hold a monopoly on talent, and future growth is likely to happen at the new location.
Steve Fulop, leading the Partnership for New York City, voiced concerns about these announcements from Apollo and Citadel, suggesting a troubling trend for the city. He argued that the administration needs to adopt a more pro-business stance with wider support from the business community. He mentioned that the situation is unprecedented and carries a sense of urgency; without a solid strategy, companies might drift to more welcoming environments.
With advantageous climates, Texas and Florida also offer pro-growth policies, such as no personal state income tax and low corporate taxes. Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas have been successful in attracting businesses from New York, especially as the political environment in Florida has shifted more to the left, leading to higher taxes and rising crime rates.
Mandani has pushed Governor Kathy Hochul to consider increasing state and city corporate taxes to combat a looming $5 billion deficit within a $127 billion budget. While Hochul has agreed to implement a pied-a-terre tax on second homes exceeding $5 million owned by non-residents, there may be more tax hikes on the table.
During the Milken Global Conference, Governor DeSantis praised Mandani as the “real estate agent of the year” for structuring policies that redirect wealth to states like Florida and Texas.
Notably, JPMorgan and Citadel are among companies eyeing this shift. Citadel already moved its headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, and despite a shiny new office in Midtown, Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan reportedly employs more staff in Texas than in New York. Goldman Sachs is also significantly ramping up its operations outside of the city.
