Topline
Billionaires and elected officials have criticized New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani online Monday after he told NBC News, “I don’t think that we should have billionaires,”—with Craft Ventures co-founder David Sacks telling X users to, “Get on board with MAGA or prepare to be on Mamdani’s dinner menu.”
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani takes the stage at his primary election party, … More
Key Facts
Mamdani, who is proposing a flat 2% tax increase on the 1% of New Yorkers earning over $1 million per year, told NBC on Sunday that the city’s property tax system is inequitable and that New York shouldn’t have billionaires because “it is so much money in a moment of such inequality.”
Sacks, who is President Donald Trump’s crypto czar, reposted a clip from the NBC interview on X and said that “communism has defeated liberalism,” warning Silicon Valley to align with the Trump administration.
On Monday, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman reposted another clip of Mamdani encouraging the United States to continue electing more socialists to solve issues, including “seizing the means of production,” and said Mamdani’s “socialism nomenclature is no joke or aspiration” and that he is winning “for now.”
Utah Senator Mike Lee reposted the same clip with an edited background displaying the flag of the Soviet Union, saying “at least he’s owning it.”
What Else Has Zohran Mamdani Said About Billionaires?
Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary last Tuesday, has spent his campaign fighting New York City’s affordability crisis and advocating for a rent stabilization freeze, free buses, city-owned grocery stores and free childcare. In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Mamdani defended his plan to tax wealthier New Yorkers and said he has “many critiques of capitalism.” Ackman reposted a post on X of New York Congressman Mike Lawyer criticizing Mamdani’s comments on CNN and saying, “New York City is headed for disaster.” Ackman said in another post that Mamdani’s goal to “offer services for the poor and needy” is “entirely dependent on NYC being a business-friendly environment.” Mamdani, who slammed Ackman for donating $500,000 to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s super PAC, said he would use government funding to better the quality of life for all New Yorkers, including billionaires.
What Does Donald Trump Think Of Mamdani?
The day after Mamdani won the Democratic primary, Trump said “the Democrats have crossed the line,” and called Mamdani “a 100% Communist Lunatic” on TruthSocial. Trump said Mamdani “looks TERRIBLE” and is “not very smart.”
Tangent
In his interview with CNN, Mamdani quoted Martin Luther King Jr. when defining what it means to be a Democratic socialist, saying “there must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God’s children in this country.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/yezensaadah/2025/06/30/billionaires-lash-out-after-zohran-mamdani-says-there-shouldnt-be-billionaires/