Business Community Reacts to Mamdani Victory with Mix of Fear and Pragmatism

Corporate leaders navigate stages of grief as they prepare for progressive mayor’s administration

The Initial Shock

When Zohran Mamdani secured the Democratic nomination and then won the general election, New York’s business community experienced what Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, described as going through “the stages of grief.” According to NPR, the reaction combined “surprise and deep concern” as business leaders who spent more than $40 million trying to stop Mamdani’s candidacy confronted the reality of his victory.

“The reaction of the business community to the victory of a member of the Democratic Socialists is a combination of surprise and deep concern,” Wylde told Fortune via email. “Because very few have met him, their views are defined by his campaign rhetoric and the negative ads cast against him.”

Threats of Exodus

In the immediate aftermath of Mamdani’s primary victory, several prominent business figures made dramatic statements suggesting they might leave New York. John Catsimatidis, owner of grocery chain Gristedes, floated moving his corporate offices to New Jersey for the duration of Mamdani’s term. Financial analyst Jim Bianco accused New York of “electing to commit suicide by Mayor.”

These threats echoed similar reactions from 2013, when Bill de Blasio won the mayoralty on a tax-the-rich platform. Then, as now, business leaders predicted disaster. Yet according to Fortune analysis, the tycoons stayed, and de Blasio went on to implement universal pre-K–a program that proved to be an economic success and helped reduce income inequality.

The Historical Pattern

Research on tax-driven migration consistently shows that wealthy individuals and businesses rarely leave due to tax policy alone. When Oregon passed a wealth tax in 2010, Nike CEO Phil Knight called it “Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law.” Oregon’s economy continued growing. When New Jersey Governor Chris Christie warned a decade ago that “if you tax them, they will leave,” the wealthy largely stayed put.

Notable exceptions exist: Citadel founder Ken Griffin moved from Chicago to Florida in 2022, and billionaire investor Carl Icahn left New York for the Sunshine State in 2019. However, Icahn was 83 at the time, and Reuters reported the move was “more about lifestyle than taxes.”

The Competence Question

Beyond tax concerns, business leaders questioned whether a 34-year-old democratic socialist with no executive experience could manage a city government with 300,000 employees and a $116 billion budget. “The universal [initial] reaction was, ‘Is this young man someone you would hire to run a 300,000 person corporation?’ And of course the answer was, ‘No way,'” Wylde told NPR.

This critique reflects fundamental differences in how business leaders and progressive activists think about government. Corporate executives prioritize efficiency, bottom-line results, and hierarchical decision-making. Democratic socialists emphasize democratic accountability, worker participation, and serving public interest over profit. Whether these different approaches are compatible within city administration remains to be tested.

The Israel Factor

Some business opposition stemmed from Mamdani’s criticism of Israeli government policy during the Gaza conflict. New York City has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and according to Business Standard, the conflict became a major tension in the election, with many CEOs taking it personally.

About one-third of Jewish voters cast ballots for Mamdani, according to CNN exit polls, suggesting the community was divided rather than uniformly opposed. Mamdani spoke out against antisemitism and said after his victory that he looks forward to working with Jewish leaders across the city. Nevertheless, this issue created additional emotional stakes for business leaders already concerned about his economic policies.

Moving Toward Acceptance

As the reality of Mamdani’s victory set in, business leaders began pivoting from opposition to cautious engagement. Wylde described her response as “both practical and tinged with optimism,” noting she has been brokering meetings between Partnership for New York City members and Mamdani in recent months.

Billionaire Bill Ackman, who spent approximately $2 million trying to defeat Mamdani, publicly congratulated him after the election–a gesture suggesting willingness to work with the new administration despite policy disagreements. According to analysis from City & State New York, pragmatic business leaders recognize they must find ways to influence Mamdani’s agenda rather than simply opposing him.

Finding Common Ground

Antonio Weiss, a veteran financier and former U.S. Treasury adviser, offered what might become a template for business-Mamdani cooperation. “There should be no argument with a small tax increase that’s paired with a real effort to make government more efficient,” Weiss told the Financial Times, specifically endorsing investments in childcare programs that help retain young families.

This suggests room for negotiation on specific policies. Business leaders concerned about workforce retention might support universal childcare, even if they oppose broader tax increases. Programs that demonstrably improve quality of life could gain business backing if presented as investments in New York’s competitiveness rather than simply wealth redistribution.

The Efficiency Question

Mamdani promised in his election night speech to deliver “the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that this city has seen since the days of Fiorello La Guardia.” Speaking to WNYC the next day, he pledged to spend his first 100 days “taking concrete and substantive actions to deliver on the cost of living crisis that is pushing so many New Yorkers out of the city.”

Business leaders will be watching closely to see whether Mamdani can demonstrate effective management. If his administration proves competent at service delivery while implementing progressive policies, it could change perceptions within the business community. If early initiatives stumble due to poor execution, it will reinforce skepticism about whether democratic socialists can govern effectively.

The Rent Control Concern

New York’s real estate sector fears Mamdani’s promise to freeze rents and strengthen tenant protections. Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Housing Association representing landlords, argued to Fortune that further restrictions would affect property owners’ ability to pay for repairs, potentially causing owners to “walk away” from 40% of the city’s properties.

The landlord lobby poured millions into rival Andrew Cuomo’s primary campaign specifically due to this concern. Real estate interests represent one sector unlikely to find common ground with Mamdani, given the fundamental conflict between landlord profit maximization and tenant affordability. This opposition will likely persist throughout his mayoralty.

Wall Street’s Structural Power

While individual business leaders express varying degrees of acceptance, Wall Street as an institution maintains structural leverage over city policy. As The City reported, because people on Wall Street make so much money–average pay was $506,000 last year, or five times the average wage for the rest of the private sector–the finance sector generates 22% of all state taxes and 9% of city taxes.

This revenue dependence gives Wall Street indirect veto power over policies it opposes. If Mamdani’s agenda causes even a modest slowdown in financial sector profits or bonuses, tax revenue could decline significantly, creating budget pressure that forces policy adjustments. Moreover, New York depends on bond markets to finance capital projects, and investors could demand higher interest rates if they view Mamdani’s policies as fiscally irresponsible.

The Partnership Approach

Wylde’s Partnership for New York City represents an attempt to channel business influence constructively rather than through pure opposition. By facilitating meetings between business leaders and Mamdani, she hopes to build relationships that allow business input on policy implementation even when they oppose policy goals.

This approach recognizes political reality: Mamdani won decisively and will be mayor for at least four years. Business leaders can either engage constructively, attempting to moderate his agenda and influence implementation, or they can maintain oppositional posture and risk being shut out of decision-making entirely.

The Corporate Greed Narrative

Mamdani’s rhetoric about “corporate greed” and identification as a democratic socialist remain triggering for many business leaders. On election night, he declared: “I will put an end to the culture of corruption that has allowed billionaires like Trump to evade taxation and exploit tax breaks.”

This language frames business opposition not as legitimate concern about economic policy but as self-interested resistance to fairness. It makes compromise more difficult by casting business leaders as adversaries rather than stakeholders. Whether Mamdani moderates this rhetoric in office or maintains it as part of his governing approach will significantly impact business-government relations.

Parsing the Tax Plan

Mamdani proposes raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5% and introducing a 2% flat tax on incomes above $1 million. His campaign estimates these measures could generate $9 billion, though as BBC notes, details remain unclear and implementation would require Albany approval.

Governor Hochul initially opposed any tax increases but recently indicated openness to “conversations” about them–a shift some attribute to political pressure from Mamdani’s victory. If Hochul ultimately approves even modest tax increases, business leaders will need to decide whether to accept them as inevitable or mount continued opposition through legislative pressure and public campaigns.

Looking Ahead

The business community’s relationship with Mamdani will evolve based on several factors: whether he demonstrates management competence in early months; whether his policies actually harm economic growth or prove compatible with prosperity; whether he’s willing to compromise on implementation while maintaining core principles; and whether popular support for his agenda strengthens or weakens over time.

For now, business leaders are moving beyond initial shock toward cautious engagement, recognizing they must work within the political reality Mamdani’s election created. As one executive told Fortune anonymously: “We don’t have to like it, but we have to deal with it. The question is whether we can influence how he deals with us.”