Julie Macklowe, a high-profile Manhattan social figure with deep ties to conservative circles, says her wealthy friends have turned cold after she publicly backed higher taxes on the ultra-rich.
Macklowe, an entrepreneur in the skin-care and spirits industries who is married to the son of real estate titan Harry Macklowe, surprised many in her orbit by breaking with her party and supporting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s progressive tax agenda.
At the center of the dispute is the contentious pied-à-terre tax, a levy aimed at second homes in New York City worth $5 million or more. The measure became a signature victory for Mamdani’s broader push to “tax the rich.”
Though Macklowe herself owns an enviable real estate collection that reportedly includes a $20 million Central Park penthouse and a $65 million Aspen residence, she made the case for the tax in a May essay for the Wall Street Journal, writing: ‘I am done watching people otherwise identical to me enjoy this city free.’
Since publishing that opinion piece, however, Macklowe says the social fallout has been swift and unmistakable.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, she described running into longtime acquaintances at the upscale Topping Rose House Hotel in the Hamptons, only for people she had known for roughly two decades to act as if she were invisible.
‘They saw me and, like, kept walking,’ Macklowe, 48, said of the awkward encounter.
She also took aim at what she described as common tax-avoidance strategies among her former social circle, alleging that many wealthy New Yorkers classify their city homes as nonprimary residences while officially paying taxes in lower-cost states such as Florida.
Super wealthy socialite Julie Macklowe has fallen out of favor with her elite pals for urging them to pay more tax
Macklowe is married to Billy Macklowe, son of real-estate developer Harry B Macklowe. The two share a residence overlooking the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Macklowe wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in May, advocating for New York’s controversial pied-à-terre tax
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Should ultra-wealthy part-time residents contribute more to the cities whose lifestyles they enjoy?
‘They’re here 170 days [in the year]. They’re throwing galas or co-chairing events and they pay zero taxes,’ Macklowe said.
‘I could have an extra $100 million mansion in Palm Beach too if I paid no New York taxes. And then when they come here, they say they’re from New York and they live in New York and they don’t even pay taxes here.’
Macklowe revealed that she first began losing friends shortly after her Wall Street Journal op-ed went live.
She told the New York Times in June she received a number of ‘very unfriendly texts’ from ‘very close friends’ in Florida.
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However, Macklowe added that some of the New York elite secretly supported her, with one woman at her golf club in the Hamptons whispering, ‘I agree with you about everything,’ after the op-ed was published.
Macklowe told the New York Times and the Sunday Times that she wrote the op-ed after ranting about the pied-à-terre tax during a dinner party hosted by former politician and businessman Andrew Stein.
She joked that she struck up a conversation about the tax after filmmaker Woody Allen appeared to drift off in the seat next to her.
James Taranto, an editor at The Wall Street Journal, was seated near her and suggested she write about her views for the publication.
Even though Macklowe is a Republican and voted for Trump, she has stood firm that wealthy New Yorkers should not avoid paying taxes because they have other residences in different states. She is pictured above with her husband for her 40th birthday
Macklowe confessed that since the op-ed, she has received ‘furious’ texts from friends in Florida and has been ignored in the Hamptons
After writing until the wee hours of the night, Macklowe sent in her draft the following morning.
A day later, her views were in the paper and droves of furious messages from acquaintances in Florida began pouring in.
‘People start sending me long tirades. I actually told them to post it online. I said, “If you have such a strong view, here’s the link and go post your comments,”‘ Macklowe told The Sunday Times.
‘I said, “We’re friends. I don’t need to engage in a heated debate with you in a text message.”‘
Macklowe has stood alone among her wealthy friends as an advocate for the tax policy.
Billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin threatened to back out of construction on a Midtown project after Mayor Mamdani posted a video advocating for the tax outside his home.
He later said at a conference that he planned to invest more in Florida, calling it an ‘immediate and direct consequence of the mayor’s poor decision.’
Billionaire Jeff Bezos had a lukewarm reaction when asked about the tax in May, calling it a ‘fine thing to do.’
Billionaire Ken Griffin slammed Mamdani after his home, pictured above, was featured in the mayor’s video advocating for the tax
Despite the backlash from her community, Macklowe has doubled down on her stance.
She told Fox Business that even though she did not vote for Mamdani and is a Republican, she stood by the pied-à-terre tax plan.
Macklowe said in recent interviews that she voted for Trump three times and runs in the same social circles as the president’s children.
However, Macklowe maintained that the tax policy was not partisan, telling the New York Times: ‘This isn’t a Republican or a Democrat thing.
‘It is that people are getting a free ride off those who choose to live here and be New Yorkers, and the others pop in and pretend they are New Yorkers but don’t actually pay any significant taxes.’
