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.”
What a crook.
Literally buying elected officials.
A true enemy of the people
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
Honestly, 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.
Remember when Bloomberg tried running for president for like 2 weeks?
Somehow I expect similar effect, burning cash without budging almost anyone.
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.
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.
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.
So let me get this straight. Current tax law favors billionaires. He’s concerned that progressive policies will target taxing billionaires forcing a mass exodus of billionaires thereby undercutting the tax base. In other words they’re already not paying taxes but taxing them more will make them leave. Make it make sense.
It’s sad because it does have to be a global movement. If my country decides to heavily increase taxes on the wealthy - as should be done - this is exactly what happens because they can just easily move to Switzerland or Monaco, or some other tax haven, and laugh us right in the face. It’s the genius of capitalism
Evidence shows that while rich people threaten to leave for tax or financial reasons, they rarely do.
Because generally speaking they aren’t that hit. Sweden, for example, removed its wealth and inheritance tax reeal fast once it was introduced in the 90s.
Norway introduced such measures with their current government and suddenly you have a ton of wealthy Norwegians finding their way to Switzerland. So yes, you do see it happening, and the more you’ll increase it the more likely they are to move and take their resources with them. I’m not arguing that we shouldn’t gax the rich, of course, but that it needs to be globally coordinated (which it will never be)
US taxes don’t really work like that. Any money earned in the US is subject to taxes, regardless of where the person lives. The only taxes they would avoid are state taxes.
As a potential independent candidate Cuomo didn’t poll that bad if you don’t consider that:
- the 39% he got are the same as Mamdani, so it would be 50/50 at best
- as a known quantity, this 39% are probably his ceiling
- it still didn’t factor Schumer effectively endorsing Mamdani on social media
Political players are in still in flux, but, for the right wing of the Democratic Party, moving against Mamdani is getting riskier and riskier by the day. Not only would they lose the “unity” argument to mobilize the left close to the midterms, but the risk of suffering an humiliating defeat is too great.
So they are ok with spending hundreds of millions of dollars, just not in any way that actually improves the city for the people that live in it?
It’s not about the money, it’s just misanthropy.
“It’s not to make sure that I have a lot; it’s to make sure that I have a lot more than everyone else. Forever.”
Exactly. The ‘public services’ he wants to save is bribery to avoid paying his fair share. This guy is offering a ‘powerful people’ club membership so he can avoid giving back to a society that enabled his mindblowing fortune. Our system has gotten so used to it he’s totally good with saying it all out loud as if he’s some sort of victim.
Society’s cancer.
you’re doing something right when luigi, zohran got billionaires panties in a wad.
It’s wild that they billionaires are openly just saying “whoops, we can’t be letting the people elect someone good for them, here let’s fix that”.
Guy kinda sounds like a douchebag
