A glamorous Trump supporter and Manhattan socialite says she is being snubbed by her friends for advocating for greater taxes for the super rich.
Julie Macklowe, a skin-care and alcohol entrepreneur who married property developer Harry Macklowe’s son, broke with her party to side with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on his progressive tax policy.
The controversial pied-à-terre levy raises taxes on second homes in New York valued at $5 million or more and was a major win for Mamdani’s calls to ‘tax the rich.’
Despite owning a property portfolio including a $20 million Central Park penthouse and a $65 million Aspen home, Macklowe took to the Wall Street Journal in May to voice her support for the policy, writing: ‘I am done watching people otherwise identical to me enjoy this city free.’
However she has revealed that since then she has been ostracized from her elite circles.
She told The Sunday Times that after writing the op-ed, friends whom she has known for about 20 years completely ignored her while she dined at the ritzy Topping Rose House Hotel in the Hamptons.
‘They saw me and, like, kept walking,’ Macklowe, 48, recalled.
She also dished on her former friends’ tax-avoidance tactics, claiming many list their New York address as a nonprimary residence, while paying taxes in less expensive states like 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.
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.’
