Business Leaders React to Mamdani’s NYC Mayoral Race Win

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said that he won’t make “quick decisions” about the bank’s future in New York because of Mamdani’s win.

“He’s a young man. Will he get good at it?” Dimon said about Mamdani making and implementing good policies. “I see a lot of people in big jobs, including political jobs. They grow into it.”

He added, “I’ve seen a lot of people. They kind of swell into the job. They get worse. They, you know, it all becomes about them.”

“I’m hoping he’s the good one and that will be important for the future in New York,” he said.

In his first press conference since being elected on Tuesday night, Mamdani mentioned the JPMorgan CEO and said, “I look forward to meeting with Jamie Dimon and meeting with anyone who is concerned about the future of our city, and is invested in the vitality of that same city.”

Ricky Sandler, the founder and CEO of Eminence Capital, said he was not pleased with the election result. His hedge fund manages about $7.8 billion.

“I think NYC will be worse for yesterday’s outcome,” he wrote on X on Thursday. “Potentially a lot worse.”

Sandler contributed $500,000 to a group backing Cuomo, and started a political nonprofit, Put NYC First, that donated more than $8 million to anti-Mamdani groups.

After Mamdani’s win in the June Democratic primary, Sandler said he’d “likely” move his firm and his family out of New York if the 34-year-old won the election.

On Thursday, he said he was not planning to move his firm out of New York City yet.

“Personally, I am most concerned about safety and livability,” he added on X. “Secondarily, I worry that Mamdani’s policies and inexperience could create a fiscal crisis which could further impair safety and livability.”

Bill Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, spent a total of $1.75 million over the last year to keep Mamdani from becoming mayor, including $500,000 during the Democratic primary and $1.25 million in the general election.

On Tuesday night, Ackman wrote on X: “Congrats on the win. Now you have a big responsibility. If I can help NYC, just let me know what I can do.”

He expanded on that message in a follow-up post on Wednesday, writing that he cares “enormously” about the city and that Mamdani’s win was “decisive.”

“While I did not support Mamdani for mayor and have concerns about the unintended and negative consequences of his policies, I want to do everything I can to help NYC regardless of who are mayor is,” Ackman wrote.

Ackman has been a vocal opponent of Mamdani and publicly encouraged Sliwa to drop out of the race.

Mamdani singled out Ackman on the stump, naming him among the billionaires who oppose his candidacy. He has also mocked the hedge fund manager for his “1000-word tweets.”

Ackman is worth $8.44 billion, per Bloomberg.

Billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of hedge fund Citadel and market maker Citadel Securities, said he’s praying for the people of New York City.

“For the people of New York, I pray that the policies Mamdani uses to govern and lead New York are different than the talking points he used to win the mayoral race,” Griffin said Wednesday at the America Business Forum in Miami. “The people of New York deserve better.”

Griffin, one of the biggest donors to the GOP, was asked whether New York’s direction could prompt an exodus to cities like Miami. He moved Citadel’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, over concerns about rising crime.

“You can’t live in a city awash in violent crime and feel proud to call that place home,” he said, adding that Florida is a great place to live.

“I really hope that when Mamdani thinks about leadership, he thinks about the right role models,” Griffin added. “There’s a lot to copy from our great state of Florida and from this great city of Miami.”

In a statement on Tuesday night, James Whelan, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said: “We congratulate Mayor-elect Mamdani on his victory.”

He added: “REBNY is prepared to work with the next mayor to address the issue of housing affordability and other challenges facing our city.”

Among his proposals, Mamdani plans to address the city’s housing crisis by tripling its production of publicly subsidized, rent-stabilized homes, at 200,000 new units over the next 10 years.

The plan would benefit households that make less than $70,000 a year, and it would cost the city $100 billion over the next decade.

He also plans to freeze rent for the city’s one million rent-stabilized units.

Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate and the CEO of Noble Mobile, wrote in a post on X on Tuesday night: “Zohran Mamdani is the mayor-elect of New York City – and the hard part almost certainly lies ahead.”

In an edition of his newsletter published at the end of June, Yang said he predicted a “walkover” for Mamdani in the November election. He added that he met the mayor-elect before his campaign, and wrote: “I found him to be a good person who wants good things for people. He’s a sincere and talented messenger. He is positive and not the least bit hateful or corrupt.”

Alex Soros, son of billionaire George Soros and chair of the $25 billion Open Society Foundations, wished Mamdani congratulations on X.

“So proud to be a New Yorker! The American dream continues!” he wrote in a post.

John Catsimatidis, a New York City real estate and grocery store magnate, told Business Insider after Mamdani’s victory that he was skeptical of the mayor-elect’s plans for the police department and taxes.

Catsimatidis said that he expected the “bleed” of businesspeople from New York to states like Florida to continue under a Mamdani administration. “I don’t want to keep all my eggs in one basket in New York, so let me diversify to other states,” he said, describing the thinking of those who might consider leaving the city.

In June, Catsimatidis said that he would sell or close Gristedes, one of the New York supermarket chains that he owns, if Mamdani became mayor. At the time, Catsimatidis cited concerns about Mamdani’s plan to open city-run grocery stores if elected.

On Wednesday, the day after Mamdani’s victory, Business Insider asked Catsimatidis if he planned to sell Gristedes.

“Let’s see what Mr. Mamdani does,” Catsimatidis said. He said he wants to see if Mamdani makes good on his campaign promise of city-run stores.

“Remember the old expression, ‘You can’t fight City Hall,'” he added.