NYC mayoral frontrunner Mamdani: ‘I don’t think we should have billionaires’

New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has expressed his anti-capitalism views after a stunning victory in the primary.

“I don’t think we should have billionaires,” Mamdani told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday.

The 33-year-old self-declared Muslim “Democratic Socialist” with Indian roots promises to hike taxes on the rich.

He ran his campaign focused on slapping higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for making living in New York more affordable for the rest of the city’s residents, offering them free buses, universal childcare, a $30 minimum hourly wage, and a rent freeze.

In Mamdani’s opinion, the tax burden should be shifted “to more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.”

“I don’t think that we should have billionaires 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,” he said. 

“And I look forward to working with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fair for all of them,” he added.

The remarks have made wealthy people in New York City start feeling concerned about Mamdani’s rise to office in the days after it became clear that he would be the presumptive nominee.

However, Mamdani’s go-everywhere, talk-to-everyone strategy, tapping into the hunger for a leftward lurch and fresh voice, removed all obstacles, helping him succeed against his senior rivals.

New York’s Democratic voters rejected the scandal-plagued political icon of the party’s past, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Experts said Mamdani’s victory over Cuomo marks a watershed moment for progressives and signals a shift in the city’s political centre of gravity.

“I will fight for a city that works for you, that is affordable for you, that is safe for you,” Mamdani said in his victory speech after winning the primary.

US President Donald Trump has described Mamdani as an advocate of Leftist ideology, calling him a “pure communist.”

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump threatened to cut off federal funding for New York City if Mamdani wins.

Mamdani, who was born and brought up in an Indian Muslim home in Kampala, Uganda, says he is not a communist, but he must get used to Trump’s name-calling if he wants to remain in politics.

He moved to New York with his family in 1998 and attended the Bronx High School of Science. He later earned a degree in African Studies from Bowdoin College, where he co-founded the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.

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Mamdani has served as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district, based in Queens, since 2021.

His parents are both Harvard alumni. His father, Professor Mahmood Mamdani, is a lecturer at Columbia University, and his mother, Mira Nair, is a celebrated film director. He is married to Brooklyn-based Syrian artist Rama Duwaji, 27.

He has said publicly that he condemns the Israeli regime for committing genocide and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested.

Mamdani has also said that there is no room for antisemitism in New York City, adding that if he were elected, he would increase funding to combat hate crimes.

On the other hand, pro-Tel Aviv Cuomo has described himself as a “hyper supporter of Israel and proud of it.”

Experts believe that in many ways, the issues facing New York Democrats are the same ones the party faces in future elections nationwide.

The New York primary may be dissected nationally for what it says about the Democratic Party, and how it should take on Republican Trump in future elections.

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