There is something about big New York realtors that sets them apart even in a miserly crowd. Steve Roth—who made his billions from the same pool that Donald Trump’s father leveraged—has taken umbrage to mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to tax second homes in the city worth more than $5 million. So sharp is the real estate billionaire’s displeasure that he has likened the phrase ‘tax the rich’ with racial slurs. It would not be lost on Roth that this January, nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries called on global leaders to raise taxes on them. Economist Jayati Ghosh has argued that taxing the ultra-rich is essential for global survival, reducing inequality and funding public services. It’s time the idea is given more ground to grow.