New York billionaires who spent millions to stop Zohran Mamdani, and failed

Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, made history on Tuesday by winning the New York City mayoral election — becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest in more than a century.

Mamdani’s campaign focused on addressing rising living costs by proposing rent freezes, free public buses, and universal childcare. He pledged to fund these initiatives through modest tax increases on millionaires and corporations.

The proposals sparked opposition from several of the country’s wealthiest individuals, who poured millions into efforts to stop his victory during both the Democratic primary against Andrew Cuomo and the general election.

Among the largest contributors, Michael Bloomberg donated 13 million dollars to pro-Cuomo super PAC Fix the City. Ronald Lauder contributed 1 million dollars, while his wife Jo Carole Lauder gave 500,000 dollars and his nephew William Lauder added another 1 million dollars.

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Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, spent 2 million dollars in total—split evenly between Fix the City and Defend NYC. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman donated 1.75 million dollars across the same two PACs.

Media mogul Barry Diller contributed 500,000 dollars, while philanthropist Laurie Tisch gave 150,000 dollars, with other members of the Tisch family providing over 1 million dollars combined.

Real estate magnate Steve Wynn donated 500,000 dollars, and Walmart heiress Alice Walton contributed 200,000 dollars to Cuomo’s campaign efforts.

Despite the massive spending by billionaire donors, Mamdani defeated Cuomo, the Republican candidate, and other contenders, securing a historic victory as mayor of the nation’s largest city.