“When Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City last year, many on Wall Street kept quiet, waiting to see how the Democratic socialist would govern.
Now, after his proteges and allies swept primary elections this past week, some of the city's business elites are springing into action -- at least, that is what they plan on doing.
New York City became Mamdani's town on Tuesday night, after his preferred slate of far-left candidates for congressional House seats beat incumbents backed by the business community and political institutions. The Democratic Socialists of America picked up even more victories for local races, signaling that an anticapitalist and anti-Israel message was winning over voters in much of the city.
"It's actually a very, very scary outcome, and I think it serves as an awakening for people," said Steven Fulop, chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, a business group that advocates for companies such as Pfizer and JPMorgan Chase.
In an election where money was a central issue, the wealthy business elites are now confronted with a city whose voters doubled down on Democrats' hard-left flank.
In calls among donors and political strategists, the postmortem analysis was stark: Money alone can't save candidates with a weak ground game and a muddled message.
One longtime strategist has floated a kind of political-giving organization that functions the Robin Hood Foundation -- the poverty-focused nonprofit whose board is stacked with finance luminaries -- and gathers money to support moderate causes and candidates. Others described a desire to fund the otherwise unglamorous work of get-out-the-vote campaigns and candidate development. The name of at least one CEO was raised as a future challenger.
The shift in power was palpable Thursday afternoon. The mayor gave a speech at a fundraiser in Midtown Manhattan for the Police Athletic League, which is chaired by John Catsimatidis, the billionaire businessman who owns radio station 77 WABC.
After Mamdani's talk, Catsimatidis, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP mayoral nomination in 2013, took to the lectern to address the crowd. "The mayor is an important component of New York City right now," Catsimatidis said, "and he's become a very popular person."
For over a decade until 2013, there was practically a mind meld between New York City government and the finance industry under billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who even rearranged government offices to more closely resemble trading floors.
Now, those on Wall Street and in the business community worry they are seeing the twilight of their influence.
It doesn't help them that the mayor has been everywhere during a buoyant June. Mamdani attended a World Cup match in New Jersey and followed the New York Knicks as the team won its first NBA title in 53 years, boosting his popularity among younger voters.
But those voters have struggled to make ends meet. Support for Israel, which remains strong in the finance industry, has proved either toxic or irrelevant to voters outside rarefied circles.
Optimists say this past week's elections weren't a total loss. Micah Lasher, an establishment Democrat who most recently worked for Gov. Kathy Hochul, beat more liberal candidates, including a Kennedy scion, to win his party's nomination to represent a swath of Manhattan.
Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries both occupy party leadership positions and still enjoy broad support from wealthy moderate Democrats.
Fulop said establishment Democrats should pivot to an optimistic message that emphasizes more jobs and better opportunities.
Some institutions have tried. This year, Citigroup pledged $60 billion in financing for more affordable housing over five years.
"While a socialist agenda expanding its reach in the capital of capital may be a bit ironic, it's another example of how front and center the issue of affordability is," said Edward Skyler, a former deputy mayor under Bloomberg, who is now an executive at Citigroup.” [1]
1. U.S. News: N.Y. Elites Retool on Politics --- Wall Street and big business say they're rewriting strategy after Mamdani wins. Dugan, Kevin T. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 27 June 2026: A6.
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