"You don't have to sell it to me. I'm already in."
That was the comedic response from one progressive historian Thursday following reported threats from a number of New York City billionaires, warning they will leave if Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist now surging in the polls, wins the Democratic mayoral primary next week.
Grocery store magnate John Catsimatidis and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman were among the wealthy New Yorkers who warnedThe Free Press Wednesday that many of the city's billionaires are likely to move to Florida or other states where they will be "welcomed as opposed to viewed as the enemy," if Mamdani, a state Assembly member currently polling second to disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, becomes the Democratic candidate and probable winner of the November general election.
Mamdani's proposed policies—including a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartment dwellers, a network of city-owned grocery stores that would keep prices low, an expansion of his fare-free public bus pilot program, and no-cost childcare—would result in a "massive loss of confidence" for New York's richest residents, Ackman claimed.
"If Mamdani becomes the mayor of New York," Ackman told The Free Press, "you're going to see the flight of businesses from New York... It only takes a handful of successful people to leave to decimate the city's tax base."
But as social scientist Justin Feldman observed, the billionaires' threats of an exodus served only a "description of the status quo" that Mamdani has pledged to replace by raising the city's corporate tax rate and requiring the city's wealthiest 1% of residents to pay a flat 2% tax in order to fund programs for working families.
The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants noted in an article last year that the wealthiest New Yorkers "go to great lengths not to get taxed as residents in the city"—often by ensuring they spend fewer than 184 days per year there, the threshold for being considered a permanent resident.
The organization detailed location tracking apps that help users track how many days they've spent in New York in a taxable year to ensure they can avoid paying income taxes.
Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of New York's Gristedes grocery chain, referenced the 184-day rule as he told The Free Press he plans to go to "the promised land"—Florida—if Mamdani wins and moves to open low-cost, government-run grocery stores.
"I would spend far less than 183 days a year here, that's for sure... How can you compete against somebody giving it away for free?" he said, incorrectly suggesting that Mamdani plans to give New Yorkers free groceries.
The threats from Catsimatidis, Ackman, and other wealthy New Yorkers served as "a very good argument against billionaires and wealth inequality, not Zohran Mamdani," said legal scholar Alan Greene.
Ackman became the third-largest donor to Cuomo's campaign this week, contributing a total of $500,000 to the former governor's super PAC.
Other billionaires who spoke to The Free Press also said they'd donated to Cuomo "out of concern that Mamdani would turn one of the 'greatest economic engines in the world into a place that is business unfriendly,'" as one sports team owner told the outlet.
"Conservative billionaires are in fight or flight mode to elect Cuomo, to keep NYC a city only they can afford," said Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of Campaign for New York Health. "It's up to everyone to make sure it's money poorly spent."