While foregrounding his policies, New York City’s presumptive Democrat mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani has repeatedly targeted those flaunting their billionaire status. Having made a clear enemy out of the likes of Donald Trump allies – hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and rapper 50 Cent, the Indian-American assemblyman again doubled down on his billionaire-hating tendencies this weekend.
Sitting down for NBC News’ “Meet the Press” segment on Sunday, the self-proclaimed Democratic socialist this time took a step ahead in making a head-turning admission on the matter. “I don’t think we should have billionaires,” he said. Backing his response with firm reasoning, he explained, “…because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country.”
Mamdani still wants to work with billionaires, here’s why
Despite his anti-billionaire stance, Zohran Mamdani expressed his hopes to collaborate with wealthy New Yorkers alongside everyone else “to make a city that is fair for all of them.”
Mamdani continues to reiterate the prime agenda of his mayoral campaign – affordability and economy – through various public appearances, including podcasts and other such opportunities.
Further detailing his motivations, he said, “It was the focus on the fact that we live in the most expensive city in the United States of America. It’s also the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, and yet 1 in 4 New Yorkers are living in poverty, and the rest are seemingly trapped in a state of anxiety.”
He maintained that the city “needs to be affordable for the people who built it every day.” Mamdani added that by keeping his eyes locked on the economic agenda, he hopes to prove that NYC “could be more than just a museum of what once was. It could be a living, breathing testament to possibility.”
Zohran Mamdani’s policies and how they could affect NY billionaires and other ‘big guys’
In addition to his policies establishing a hefty argument for freezing rent on rent-stabilised apartments and making way for more affordable housing, the Democratic mayoral hopeful seeks to propose a 2% tax on residents making more than $1 million annually if elected. Moreover, he plans to increase New York City’s minimum wage to $30 by 2023 and hike the corporate tax rate to 11.5%.
Given his plans against the big-money-making guys in the city, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has consistently contended that someone like Mamdani would destroy the city. On Thursday, he pushed back even harder against his potential mayoral win in November, saying that he was willing to use his money to fund a worthy contender’s campaign.
“I awoke this morning gravely concerned about New York City. I thought ‘What has NYC become that an avowed socialist who has supported defunding the police, whose solution to lowering food prices is city-owned supermarkets, who doesn’t understand that freezing rents will only reduce the supply of housing, who has no experience managing an organisation — let alone a city with a $100+ billion budget and a $2 trillion economy — and who believes chants for ‘Globalising the Intifada’ are acceptable, wins the Democratic Primary,'” he wrote on X.
He went on to put across his argument that Mamdani swept the Democratic mayoral primary with a shocking win because the competition “was very weak.” Maintaining why the wealthy were crucial for the city’s development, Ackman said the Indian-American representative’s “policies would be disastrous for NYC.”
The billionaire continued, “Socialism has no place in the economic capital of our country. The ability for NYC to offer services for the poor and needy, let alone the average New Yorker, is entirely dependent on NYC being a business-friendly environment and a place where wealthy residents are willing to spend 183 days and assume the associated tax burden. Unfortunately, both have already started making arrangements for the exits.”
Zohran Mamdani – 50 Cent feud explained
Similarly, 50 Cent, who, according to Us Weekly, is on “the brink” of billionaire status, also took a dig at Mamdani just days ago after the mayoral hopeful name-dropped him during an episode of “Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM.”
The rapper launched his social media onslaught against the 33-year-old assemblyman, saying that he was ready to give him over $250,000 dollars and pay for his “first class one-way ticket” to rid New York of him.
“We’re talking about corporations that are making millions of dollars, not in revenue, but in profit. And the second is taxing the top 1% of New Yorkers. We’re talking about people who make a million dollars a year or more, taxing them by just a flat 2%,” Mamdani said during his radio outing.
He then directly aimed his arguments at the NY rapper, saying, “I know if 50 Cent is listening, he’s not going to be happy about this. He tends to not like this tax policy, but I want to be very clear this is about $20,000 a year..”
And Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, reacted the exact-same way Mamdani had anticipated. “Where did he come from? Whose friend is this? I’m not feeling this plan,” the “Many Men” hit-maker wrote on Instagram, adding, “I’m telling Trump what he said too!”