New York Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani’s stunning political upset in the New York City mayoral primary early this week elicited a lot of questions on social media.
Some examples: Is the 33-year-old a Communist for wanting universal childcare and making city buses fare-free? (President Trump says “100%”!) How was he able to out-organize the donor and establishment classes that backed the more centrist (though scandal-ridden) Andrew Cuomo? And why so handsome? (We kid you not.)
For some, though, the most pressing and vexing thing about Mamdani the candidate was his bank account: Why, they wondered, would someone who comes from money care so much about what happens to people with less? That seems suspicious.
Mamdani is the son of Mira Nair, an Academy Award-nominated director, and Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University. Some presumed riches from that pedigree. For those critics, it seemed somewhat ironic that a man from such wealth would make addressing rising inequality in the city a centerpiece of his campaign.
“A new credibility problem for Democrat communist socialist Zohran Mamdani,” wrote Fox Business’ Elizabeth MacDonald on Wednesday on X, upon hearing the news. “Despite campaigning with a working-class identity, Zohran comes from a very rich, affluent and well-connected family. His parents’ net worth is estimated anywhere from $2M-$10M — which could lead to critics saying this is why it’s easy for him to campaign on ‘free everything’ when everything is paid for you.”
