Topline
Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday night was met with a muted response from billionaires and other business leaders in the city, many of whom had backed Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor.
Zohran Mamdani speaks after winning the mayoral election.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has been among Mamdani’s fiercest critics online, congratulated the Democratic candidate on his victory in an X post and wrote, “Now you have a big responsibility.”
The Pershing Square Capital founder, who had poured $1.75 million into the race in an attempt to stop Mamdani, then added, “If I can help NYC, just let me know what I can do.”
Hedge fund billionaire Daniel Loeb, who donated $775,000 to back Mamdani’s opponent, didn’t directly comment on the election result, but he appeared to mock Ackman’s post, tweeting: “Ladies, find a man who loves you the way Bill Ackman loves himself.”
Crypto billionaire Mike Novogratz told Bloomberg that the business community needed to reach out to the progressive leader, saying: “He’s tapping into a message that’s real: that we’ve got a tale of two cities in the Dickensian sense…and can you address the affordability issue in creative ways without driving business out.”
Many other prominent billionaires who backed Cuomo, like Mike Bloomberg and Airbnb co-founder Joseph Gebbia, haven’t yet publicly commented on the result of the election.
What Did Mamdani Say About Billionaires In His Victory Speech?
Mamdani said his election win was a “mandate for change.” He added: “For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands…Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands.” Mamdani also addressed the money poured into the race by his billionaire critics, saying: “Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to redefine reality and to convince our neighbors that this new age is something that should frighten them. As has so often occurred, the billionaire class has sought to convince those making $30 an hour that their enemies are those earning $20 an hour.”
Tangent
The New York Times reported that a council of business leaders from Florida will issue a statement on the election result on Wednesday and promote their state’s “pro-growth environment and a commitment to opportunity,” in a bid to court New York businesspeople. The Times’ report cites Stephen Ross, the billionaire real estate magnate and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who said: “I think a lot of business leaders are going to ask themselves where they can be successful considering the new laws and policies they may come up against.” Last year, Ross stepped down as the chairman of Related Companies, the New York-based real estate firm he founded, and has since earmarked a $10 billion investment for developments in Palm Beach.
Key Background
The Associated Press called the race in favor of Mamdani at 9:34 p.m., just half an hour after polls closed in the city. With 91% of the vote counted as of Wednesday morning, Mamdani has secured 50.4%, while Cuomo is second with 41.6%. Mamdani briefly mentioned Cuomo in his victory speech, saying: “I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life. But let tonight be the final time I utter his name, as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few.”
Further Reading
NYC Mayoral Race (Live Updates): Mamdani Wins, Calls It A ‘Mandate For Change’ (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/11/05/billionaires-react-to-mamdanis-win-you-have-a-big-responsibility/
