A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Super PACs supporting Andrew Cuomo and opposing Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race have raised over $40 million, with millions coming from prominent billionaires and family dynasties, according to election filings.
New York billionaires Bill Ackman, Ronald Lauder, William Lauder, Barry Diller and Dan Loeb have all made large donations to a special committee called Fix the City that supports independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, according to election filings. Other non-New Yorkers giving to the group include casino mogul Steve Wynn and Alice Walton, the world’s richest woman.
The wave of big money highlights the growing fear of a Mamdani win by many of New York’s wealthy and national conservatives. A self-described Democratic socialist, Mamdani’s platform includes a rent freeze, free buses, free childcare for all and government-run grocery stores. To pay for the programs, he’s proposed an additional 2% tax on New Yorkers who make more than $1 million a year.
Even as Mamdani maintains a double-digit lead in most of the polls, a vast money machine built on several pro-Cuomo PACs has gained steam as Election Day nears. Fix the City is by far the largest of the so-called “independent expenditure committees,” political fundraising groups akin to super PACs that can accept unlimited funds and were created to get around the new York City’s campaign finance limits. They are not tax deductible to the donors and are not permitted to coordinate their efforts with a specific candidate’s campaign.
