Rich New Yorkers Who Fear Higher Taxes Just Can’t Quit the City

David Bahnsen doesn’t have to live in New York City. His $8 billion wealth management firm, the Bahnsen Group, is headquartered in Orange County, California. A conservative who’s on the board of National Review magazine, Bahnsen finds the city’s liberal policies “contemptible.” Most of all, he dislikes NYC’s tax rates, the highest in the nation, which he argues actually deprive the city of precious revenue by pushing away wealthy people like him.

Nevertheless, New York City exerts a magnetic hold on the 51-year-old. Many mornings you’ll find Bahnsen jogging around Central Park, a verdant treasure, he says, that’s “alone worth ...