Prominent investors have signaled their intent to halt their business in New York following the $355 million verdict in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud case.
Real estate mogul Grant Cardone announced on Tuesday that his firm Cardone Capital would no longer underwrite New York real estate, one day after Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary vowed to no longer invest in the state as a result of the verdict.
“Immediately discontinue ALL underwriting on New York City real estate,” Cardone ordered his firm in a post on X. “The risk outweigh the opportunities at this time. Recent political decisions will continue to deteriorate price and benefit states that don’t have these challenges. Focus on Texas & Florida.”
The Sell or Be Sold author explained his decision on Wednesday in an interview with Fox & Friends.
“When that [Trump] ruling happened, it was like, ‘Pencils down,’” Cardone said. “‘Don’t touch it. Don’t go there.’”
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled on Friday that Trump must pay over $355 million for conspiring to alter his net worth to receive tax and insurance benefits. Engoron’s verdict additionally bars Trump and his sons, Eric and Donald Jr., from doing business in New York for three years.
“We invest for 14,000 investors at Cardone Capital that depend on cash flow,” Cardone said. “And if I can’t predict the cash flow because of some ruling, or because of the migrants, or because I can’t evict people, New York City just keeps doing every single thing they can to sell real estate in Florida, not sell real estate in New York.”
O’Leary called New York “a loser state” and told Fox Business on Monday that he “would never invest in New York now, and I’m not the only person saying that.”
“This award, I mean, just leaving the whole Trump thing out of it and seeing what occurred here … and I’m no different than any other investor, I’m shocked at this,” O’Leary said. “I can’t even understand or fathom the decision at all. There’s no rationale for it.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) attempted to quell the fears flagged by Empire State investors in a Sunday radio interview, telling business owners there is nothing to worry about after the Trump verdict.
“Law-abiding and rule-following New Yorkers who are businesspeople have nothing to worry about because they’re very different than Donald Trump and his behavior,” Hochul said, adding that Trump’s fraud case resulted from “really an extraordinary, unusual circumstance.”
O’Leary responded to Hochul’s comments, saying every investor is worried.
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“Where is the victim?” O’Leary said. “Who lost the money? This is some arbitrary decision a judge made. This policy … what does this say about the bar? About the legal bar in New York? Aren’t they going to question this judge? What is this?
“I’m sorry her words fall on deaf ears to everybody,” he continued. “There’s nothing she can say to justify this decision. And this has nothing to do with Trump, nothing to do with Trump. Forget about Trump. This is not a Trump situation. This is a New York problem.”