ALBANY, New York — The Empire State’s wealthiest residents are doing little to halt the left’s relentless march in New York.
That posture is playing out in a deeply uncertain political environment for New York’s billionaire class. The surprise election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the citadel of American capitalism rattled wealthy New Yorkers, and a recent battle in Albany over taxes underscored the growing influence of the state’s left flank.
Yet even as billionaire hedge fund titans like Ken Griffin publicly feud with Mamdani and deep-pocketed real estate interests protest a new tax on high-value second homes in the city, many of Gotham’s richest people are yet to open their wallets to shape the election cycle in this deep blue state.
Wealthy donors’ decision to remain on the sidelines has alarmed Republican operatives and political leaders in what’s shaping up to be a tough year for the GOP. They’ve been unable to persuade the super rich to aid the top of the Republican ticket, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is lagging in the polls behind moderate Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Republicans need a strong Blakeman candidacy. New York is home to several swing districts that stand to determine control of the closely divided House — making those races vital to President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.
“The thing about rich guys is they like to see a pathway,” said Republican strategist David Catalfamo, a former adviser to ex-Gov. George Pataki. “The only pathway is the governor. You have to show a pathway to success in order to make that bet. What’s the pathway?”
Wealthy New Yorkers were hardly shy about spending against Mamdani last year. Many of them had locked arms with his opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with millions of dollars flowing into a Cuomo-allied super PAC from the likes of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and outspoken hedge fund chieftain Bill Ackman.
Mamdani’s win opened the floodgates for the left — a development that stands to have profound consequences for Albany and Washington policymaking.
Democratic socialists are running to unseat mainstream incumbents, with the 34-year-old Mamdani attempting to play kingmaker after he endorsed Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s far-left challenger, Darializa Avila Chevalier.
DSA challengers are also trying to unseat incumbent state legislators — contests that may reshape an already Democratic-dominated state Capitol and apply even more pressure on Hochul to raise taxes if she wins reelection.
Business groups, including the influential Partnership for New York City, have tried to take a more measured approach by lobbying incumbents rather than unseating them — a posture that includes opposition to broad-based tax hikes. And some private-sector boosters are funding super PACs to protect moderate Democratic incumbents in Albany who have a say over the state’s tax policy.
None of these efforts, though, are directed at unseating the governor, who has forged a productive relationship with Mamdani while also opposing his more aggressive tax hikes. And the relative reluctance among the rich to write checks represents a departure from recent years when the ultra wealthy tried to shape New York’s politics with mixed results.
Financial sector leaders like Dan Loeb backed super PACs supporting pro-charter school candidates in the Legislature in prior election cycles. Billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen donated heavily to the state Democratic Committee while seeking a lucrative casino license, which he secured last year. Cosmetics heir Ron Lauder spent millions on an outside group to boost then-Rep. Lee Zeldin’s Republican bid against Hochul in her 2022 run for a full term.
That kind of spending is yet to materialize with less than a month to go until the state’s pivotal primaries.
Rather than try to halt the rising tide of democratic socialism, the most prominent of New York’s wealthy elite are renewing vows to move their investments and considerable fortunes to more economically friendly states like Florida or Texas.
The dynamic has left the state’s political class concerned that an even more troubling development is emerging for institutional candidates: The mega rich are simply checking out.
“Some of the entities that really care about this have moved to Florida or Atlanta,” said Conservative Party Chair Jerry Kassar. “They care, but they don’t care enough to take a lead. It boils down to this: You really love the city and gave up versus I love the city and I’m going to fight. What if they gave up?”
Blakeman, who trails Hochul in polling and fundraising, will need New York’s wealthy to side with him if he wants to be successful. His campaign scored a victory last week when a court ruled he could access public matching funds after Democrats tried to deny him the money, but even with that expected cash influx, he still trails significantly behind Hochul, who had $20 million in cash on hand at the start of the year. The governor is not participating in the public financing system.
The expected Republican nominee must improve both his poll position and fundraising to attract the attention of a deep-pocketed super PAC.
“Blakeman being able to properly get back into that program will be a magnet to attract other money to his campaign,” Kassar predicted. “I do think that Blakeman becomes much more appealing to individuals who want to play in New York state.”
Yet deep-pocketed help is not on the horizon, while the governor has shored up her own standing with New York’s economic upper crust.
Hochul has tried to signal to New York’s richest that she understands their concerns. She lobbied Mamdani to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a member of one of the country’s wealthiest families. She also met with Griffin after Mamdani bragged in a video outside his $238 million New York City penthouse that it would be taxed under a plan the governor championed.
Hochul has not disclosed what was said in her meeting with Griffin, which was scheduled prior to the dustup with Mamdani. And the mayor has not been able to get a sit-down with the hedge funder after the video when Griffin threatened to yank his company’s Big Apple investments.
Those contrasting relationships have suited Hochul well as she navigates this populist political era. Mamdani’s February endorsement of her reelection bid helped short circuit a left-flank primary challenge by Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado. The Buffalo-native governor has presented herself to the city’s monied elite as a backstop to the mayor’s more sweeping tax measures.
“Absent the governor I think you have a left-leaning legislature that would have pushed more significant tax increases who are not grasping how we’re losing the competitive race,” said Steve Fulop, the president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a business-boosting organization.
The DSA, meanwhile, stands to become the biggest winners of the upcoming June Democratic primaries. Candidates backed by the group are supporting primary challengers across New York, and their success would complicate state budget negotiations next year.
There are, however, some exceptions.
One group, Next NYC PAC, has received support from real estate interests like the Real Estate Board of New York’s political arm. The super PAC New York Forward, a group supported by the Albany-based lobbying firm Brown & Weinraub, is backing moderate Democrats in city races including those running against DSA-backed candidates.
“Our clients know they won’t win on every policy issue,” said Evan Rantzaklis, the PAC’s senior adviser. “But they are looking for leaders who will sit down, have real conversations, and find practical solutions — not just try to score political points. This effort is about supporting that kind of legislator.”
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