Apollo Global Management has reportedly picked Austin, Texas, as the city that will host its second US headquarters, as Wall Street firms look to escape Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s tax-and-spend, left-wing policies.
After narrowing down the choices to Texas and Florida, the Marc Rowan-led powerhouse chose Austin over apparent concerns about the lack of private schools in the Sunshine State, the Financial Times reported Friday.
Apollo manages money for pension funds, insurers and wealthy investors — and controls more than $800 billion in assets. The firm runs its empire from a Midtown tower at 9 W. 57th St., with views over Central Park.
Now it wants a major base far from Manhattan.
The firm says the move is about talent, according to the FT. Apollo wants to recruit workers who don’t want to live in New York — or pay New York prices.
Choosing a new HQ outside the Big Apple marks a significant blow to city coffers.
Apollo paid a whopping $1.276 billion in income taxes in 2025, up from $1.062 billion the year before. While filings don’t break down how much of that went to New York City, it stands to lose a hefty revenue stream as the firm looks to expand elsewhere.
Citadel — whose CEO Ken Griffin was targeted by Mamdani in a bizarre tax-the-rich video — also doubled down on expanding outside New York.
The Apollo and Citadel moves are part of “a troubling pattern taking shape” in the city, Steve Fulop, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, previously told The Post.
“The solution is that the administration needs to have a real pro business agenda that has support of the broader business corporate community,” he added. “We haven’t seen this yet and there is a sense of urgency to getting this going. It is a competitive landscape and without a strategy companies will look to more friendly places.”
The Post has approached an Apollo spokesperson for comment.
Southern states have been proving attractive to big business. Low taxes and lighter regulation have already drawn Vanguard and Fidelity to Texas. Goldman Sachs is building a $500 million office tower in Dallas. Wells Fargo just opened a massive 850,000-square-foot campus outside the city.
Texas keeps rolling out the welcome mat. The state passed laws to lure companies to reincorporate there and opened special courts just for business disputes.
The Texas Stock Exchange plans to start trading this summer — and the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have both opened Texas outposts to compete.
Elon Musk, who moved his companies to the state, has urged other bosses to follow.
Austin offers Apollo the boon of no state income tax.
The capital city hosts deep-pocketed investors, including the fund that manages the University of Texas system’s $80 billion-plus endowment and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas — exactly the kind of clients Apollo courts.
The city boomed through the pandemic as a tech hub, with Meta, Google and Oracle all expanding there.
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