Alexander Soros, chair of the Open Society Foundations, wrote on X this week that he was “honored” to attend Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s “Building an Economy for the Many” event at Gracie Mansion, an event that gathered several left-wing world leaders during United Nations General Assembly week.
The son of billionaire George Soros posted his praise on X, tagging Mamdani alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and European Council President António Costa, a former socialist prime minister of Portugal.
The Open Society chair called the gathering an inspiration and heaped praise on New York and its Democratic Socialist mayor.
“It’s been so inspiring to see the greatest city in the world showcase its values, strengths, and ideals,” Soros wrote. “So proud of NYC!”
The Wednesday breakfast at the taxpayer-funded mayoral residence was supported by the Global Progress Foundation, which is chaired by Sánchez, according to a NewsCord report citing Spanish outlet La Vanguardia. Patrick Gaspard, a former president of the Open Society Foundations, moderated.
Sánchez used the event to promote his government’s economic record and to cast the assembled leaders as a threat to their opponents.
“That is why the powerful fear us,” the Spanish premier said, according to the Washington Post. “Because day after day, we show that a different path is possible, and it works.”
Mamdani devoted part of his remarks to Spain’s policies, praising Sánchez as a champion of working people and pointing to a 61 percent rise in the country’s minimum wage over eight years. The mayor told attendees the leaders in the room had a responsibility to carry “equality and justice to further horizons.”
Costa, who once served as mayor of Lisbon, told Mamdani the job carried unmatched reach, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
“You have the best job that a politician can do,” Costa said.
La Vanguardia reported that Sánchez and Mamdani share the position that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “genocide,” and that both reject Trump administration pressure on European nations to raise military spending.
The breakfast came days after President Donald Trump met Mamdani at the same residence. Mamdani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour this week that his politics would “absolutely translate on a national level.”
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