Hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman plans to bankroll a New York City mayoral campaign, arguing that his affluent associates are poised to flood the election with money in an effort to defeat Democratic Socialist frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
Ackman said he was “gravely concerned” because he believed the left-wing candidate’s policies would be disastrous, triggering an exodus of the wealthy that would endanger New York’s public services by hollowing out its tax base.
Arguing that his own support of President Trump would automatically disqualify anyone Ackman might put forward, the activist investor said he was making a public appeal: Anyone capable of taking down Mamdani in the Nov. 4 election should step forward and volunteer.
“Importantly, there are hundreds of millions of dollars of capital available to back a competitor to Mamdani that can be put together overnight (believe me, I am in the text strings and the WhatsApp groups) so that a great alternative candidate won’t spend any time,” he wrote.
“So if the right candidate would raise his or her hand tomorrow, the funds will pour in.”
It’s unclear whether New Yorkers would honor such a candidate. The recent intervention by Elon Musk in Wisconsin’s state supreme court election indicated the voting public does not always respond well to billionaires using their money to sway races.
New York mayoral races are notoriously unpredictable due to the city’s chronically low turnout. In 2017, for example, Bill de Blasio won reelection with only 14% of registered voters coming out to support him.
A large influx of New Yorkers heading to the voting booth because they are as concerned as Ackman could easily affect the outcome. If Cuomo can hold on to enough fundraisers, political pundits also point out, it’s possible he could run as an independent like Adams, splitting the left vote and spoiling the race.
Ackman, however, argued all these factors would support the emergence of a centrist candidate looking to position themself on the national stage. It could even be another businessman like Bloomberg, he suggested, although Ackman in an earlier post appeared to indicate he would not seek to run himself.
“For the aspiring politician there is no better way to get name recognition, build relationships with long-term donors, and to showcase oneself,” the hedge fund manager wrote, pitching the campaign like a business deal. “The risk/reward of running for mayor over the next 132 days is extremely compelling as the cost in time and energy is small and the upside is enormous.”
I remember the last time it was run. It’s why we got president Bloomberg. Oh wait. Why would he actually reference Bloomberg himself whilst suggesting this? Did he just forget exactly how badly this worked?
These guys were the first against the wall, come the revolution.
Ackman is also a part owner of X, and that platform will also definitely be a big part of an effort to defeat Mamdani.
Edit: a family member just asked me what I think of Mamdani wanting to put a tax on all hiring, saying he proposed a 35% tax on the salary of all new hires. I googled this, and the only results are on X. The fix is in.
the left-wing candidate’s policies would be disastrous, triggering an exodus of the wealthy
Is that a promise? Look dude I’m already sold on him, you don’t need to keep selling him
That is what they always claim, don’t they? You can’t tax the rich, they’ll leave!!
Cool.
Where?
Where will they leave to? Europe? Good luck, taxes are way higher there (not enough , though) either way, you’ll be gone from what made you rich in the first place. You’re not going anywhere
Florida. We have no income tax, an increasing population of millionaires, mosquitos, alligators and homeless people.
Ohh! What’s not to like? 😵💫
There’s really no excuse for this
What a crook.
Literally buying elected officials.
A true enemy of the people
I have no clue what Mamdani ideas for NYC are, but if this pile of crap is against him, that signals to me that Mamdani has principles. Bill Ackerman will only support candidates that he can corrupt.
Free daycare, free public transit, and city-owned grocery stores. Sounds like a dream to me.
Billionaires trying to buy elections
And it’s all because he’s
a dirty democrata dirty muslim~a dirty socialist~ will let poor people be less poor and rich people be a little less richHonestly, I’m really liking how this race is shaping up. Adams is refusing to drop out because, well, he can’t; the second he loses power he stops being useful to the Trump administration, and then he’s vulnerable to prosecution. Cuomo is also staying in because he’s a narcissist, and Ackman is willing to throw money at anyone else who wants to run.
So that means the centrist shit-libs and conservative ghouls are splitting their vote between at least two, probably three candidates, while the progressive vote will go entirely to Mamdani. I’m still wary of DNC fuckery, but so far, so good.
Is the NYC Mayor General also ranked choice? Vote splitting is less impactful with ranked choice.
Still, it would be nice to see what a democratic socialist executive can do with NYC.
Remember when Bloomberg tried running for president for like 2 weeks?
Somehow I expect similar effect, burning cash without budging almost anyone.
Ackman said he was “gravely concerned” because he believed the left-wing candidate’s policies would be disastrous, triggering an exodus of the wealthy that would endanger New York’s public services by hollowing out its tax base.
Fucking seriously.
Those rich people aren’t going anywhere. Theres not another New York City. They’re not gonna pack up their factories and offices with datacenters and move them elsewhere.
So hes a Trump supporter but doesn’t like Sliwa so he’s just going to fund an independent? Lmao.
Its good that he’s not just funding Sliwa, looks like a rift is forming in the red party.
Question is whether he dislikes Silwa or just recognizes he can’t just spend Silwa into sufficient popularity.
However if he funds a “plausible Democrat”, he might split the left vote.
Bill Ackman is evil and actively harming the NY and US economy. He wants people to become poorer year after year, until they can’t spend on consumption anymore, and that will cripple the economy.
Standard Republican.
Anyone who the billionaire hedge fund manager is planning to bankroll is the guy you probably should be voting against.
