Millionaire Banker Quits Job After Video Showed Him Punching Woman At New York Pride Event

A millionaire investment banker who was under scrutiny after punching a Black woman during a pride event in New York has resigned from his job. Melissa Chiles, a spokesperson for Moelis & Company, confirmed the information in an email to The Independent. ''Jonathan Kaye has resigned and is no longer with the firm,'' she said. As of Monday, his profile is no longer available on the Moelis website. 

Earlier this month, a video showed Mr Kaye, head of the global business services franchise at Manhattan-based Moelis & Co, hitting a woman's face, causing her to collapse on the ground in front of a crowd at a Brooklyn Pride event in Park Slope. 

In the video, the man claimed that the woman, who has not been identified, ''threw s*** all over me.''  The 38-year-old woman told police that the assault left her with a broken nose, lacerations and a black eye.'' It is being said that Mr Kaye, who is Jewish, and the unidentified woman got into a verbal altercation over the Israel-Hamas war.

Millionaire investment banker Jonathan Kaye filmed punching an anti-Israel woman he claims hurled "antisemitic" slurs at him. pic.twitter.com/ZWmPBrVwiK

— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) June 12, 2024

A spokesperson for Mr Kaye said he had been ''in fear for his physical safety when he was surrounded by an angry mob of agitators who encircled him, physically assaulted him, and threw unknown liquids on him.''

''He could not identify any of these individuals and was left bloodied from the attack,'' the spokesperson said, adding that ''given the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents, any Jewish person in this situation would naturally feel threatened and feel the need to defend themselves and return safely to their family.''

After the video went viral, he was put on leave by his firm, the New York Post reported. 

The New York City Police Department last week confirmed it had opened an investigation into Mr Kaye after receiving an official complaint of assault.

Mr Kaye previously held a position as managing director of the Global Mergers & Acquisitions Group at CitiBank. He reportedly lives in a $4m home in the borough's Park Slope neighbourhood, holds a bachelor's degree from Tufts University, and graduated cum laude from Duke University School of Law.