NYC's ‘Taxi Kingpin’ in debt thanks to Uber : When Rent-Seeking Fails

The New York Post reports:

The city’s “Taxi Kingpin’’ is having trouble hacking it as he battles mounds of debt — thanks to Uber.

Gene Freidman, who owns more than 900 city cab medallions, has been hit so hard by the car-hailing app that he can’t meet his bills — and Citibank is now foreclosing on at least 90 of his medallions to recoup what he owes, court records and sources say.

“Gene Freidman’s business model requires him to lease out hundreds of cars every day, and because he can’t find drivers because of Uber, [it] means he’s not making money,” an industry source told The Post.

“All of these [medallion owners] borrow as much as they can against medallions, and they get cash-crunched when, all of a sudden, you get competition in the market.”

The value of the medallions plunged from $1.05 million in June 2013 to $800,000 this past January as Uber has lured drivers away.

The risk of being a rent-seeker. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.