For a candidate who claims to stand against the influence of wealth and power, Zohran Mamdani sure knows how to rake in both. His campaign hauled in a staggering $1,024,184 between July 12 and August 18—more than double Mayor Eric Adams’ (D) $425,181 and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) $541,301, and far ahead of Republican Curtis Sliwa’s $406,392. At last count, Mamdani had over $4.3 million in the bank—more than any other New York City mayoral contender.
But as with most political stories that sound too good to be true, there’s a catch: much of that money isn’t coming from the everyday New Yorker he claims to represent.
Over half of Mamdani’s recent donations came from outside New York City. While he parades as a populist, the money behind his campaign tells another story. One of his biggest financial boosters is Elizabeth Simons, a billionaire heiress from a hedge fund fortune, who dropped $250,000 into a super PAC supporting Mamdani’s run, so much for banishing the rich.
🚨UH OH!
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 25, 2025
Where is Moneyman Mamdani's cash coming from?
July 12 - Aug 18 Fundraising:
Mamdani: $1,024,184 (D)
Adams: $425,181 (I)
Cuomo: $541,301 (I)
Sliwa: $406,392 (R)
Could this Socialist be taking money from the EVIL RICH MILLIONAIRES he claims to hate? pic.twitter.com/ONUzBTpeVx
His donor list reads like a Manhattan cocktail party: restaurateur Keith McNally, wealthy attorneys, tech executives, and even a real estate CEO. These are the very people Mamdani routinely targets in his speeches about gentrification, landlord greed, and corporate power. Yet behind the scenes, their money flows freely into his political machine. Google employees alone funneled over $40,000 into his campaign. Grassroots? Not exactly.
He’s also leveraged the city’s generous public financing system to supercharge his small-dollar fundraising. Mamdani has qualified for millions in taxpayer matching funds, turning modest online donations into a political war chest. While other candidates struggle to meet the threshold for public support, Mamdani’s operation is fine-tuned for maximum financial efficiency. That’s not activism—it’s political engineering.
Even the real estate industry, he claims, isn’t off-limits. Developers, brokers, and landlords—though not in massive numbers—have contributed to Mamdani-aligned entities. One real estate CEO contributed $50,000 to a supportive PAC. Still, Mamdani hasn’t tempered his messaging. He continues to pose as a working-class warrior while collecting checks from the very institutions he rails against.