Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone apologized on Tuesday for making comments comparing lawmakers who criticize income inequality to Nazi Germany, POLITICO reported.
"My remarks were intended to discourage pitting one group against another group in a society. If my choice of words was inappropriate - and they well may have been that - I extend my profound apologies to anyone and everyone who I may have offended," Langone said in a statement.
Langone, a donor to GOP campaigns as well as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, made the controversial remarks when asked by POLITICO how wealthy Americans view political arguments made by Democrats on income inequality.
"I hope it's not working," Langone said. "Because if you go back to 1933, with different words, this is what Hitler was saying in Germany. You don't survive as a society if you encourage and thrive on envy or jealousy."
Backlash erupted against the billionaire co-founder on both the left and right, including Cuomo's Republican challenger Rob Astorino who called the comments "outrageous."
"We can disagree in society. We're supposed to disagree in society. That's why you have different political parties. But all this extremist conversation anytime somebody disagrees with you has gone way too far," Astorino said.
Matt Wing, a spokesman for Cuomo, told the New York Daily News that Langone "apologized for using inappropriate words."
Though Cuomo has not personally responded to Lagone's words, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the governor for not giving it attention.
"I think the comment was obviously over the top to say the least, so I think it's perfectly appropriate if someone doesn't want to speak to that," de Blasio said.
