How 26 billionaires spent $22 million to stop Mamdani from becoming New York mayor, and failed

How 26 billionaires spent $22 million to stop Mamdani from becoming New York mayor, and failed

Zohran Mamdani’s victory came despite a well-funded, last-minute blitz from America’s ultra-rich. Multiple reliable outlets report that roughly 26 billionaires together poured more than $22 million into super PACs and independent efforts designed to block the democratic socialist from becoming New York City’s mayor.

Coverage tallies show marquee donors including Michael Bloomberg, Bill Ackman, Joe Gebbia, members of the Lauder family, Steve Wynn, and Daniel Loeb bankrolling anti-Mamdani or pro-opponent groups such as Fix the City, Put NYC First, Defend NYC, and “Anyone But Mamdani.” Bloomberg alone gave millions post-primary, adding to an already large pre-June outlay.

The combined spend aimed at stopping Mamdani, often cited as “over $22 million”, reflects independent expenditures and late infusions into PACs backing his rivals. Fortune and Mint reported the aggregate, while Business Insider listed leading billionaire contributions by name and amount, illustrating how money clustered around anti-Mamdani messaging in the campaign’s closing weeks.

Notably, Forbes highlighted two billionaire outliers, Liz Simons and GitHub cofounder Preston-Werner, who supported Mamdani even as more than two dozen of their peers spent to defeat him. Their backing underscored fractures within the donor class about how to respond to Mamdani’s agenda.

Despite saturation advertising and a late surge of checks, the strategy ran into hardened views about inequality, housing, and public services. Time’s post-election analysis noted Mamdani defeated “an army of billionaires,” as his ground game and small-donor coalition held. OpenSecrets’ tracking earlier showed Mamdani competitive in both money and polling even before the final cash surge, foreshadowing that donor firepower alone might not flip the race.

The outcome tests the limits of billionaire influence in deep-blue city politics and sets up an immediate negotiation with the same business leaders who tried to stop him. Fortune reported some Wall Street figures are already signalling a willingness to engage the mayor-elect, suggesting a pragmatic reset after the failed $22 million push.