NYC moguls rip Bill Ackman for congratulating – Business News
New York City business moguls ripped hedge-fund tycoon Bill Ackman for congratulating Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on his Tuesday win — after he famously spent a fortune attempting to knock the left-wing lawmaker out of the high-stakes race.
Ackman, the billionaire boss of Pershing Square Capital, wrote late Tuesday to Mamdani on X: “congrats on the win. Now you have a big responsibility. If I can help NYC, just let me know what I can do.”
That was after Ackman had bankrolled main opposition to Mamdani — first backing lame duck Mayor Eric Adams’ failed reelection bid — then throwing his help behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who received hammered on Tuesday.
Ackman, who rose to prominence in 2012 with a disastrous $1 billion short of Herbalife, has now develop into an energetic political commentator on social media. REUTERS
New York City business energy broker Kathryn Wylde referred to as Ackman’s olive department “ridiculous,” saying he was merely “trying to justify a failed investment”.
“Having railed against Mamdani for months, literally, to now turn around and say he’s happy to help. I mean, really?” the outgoing CEO of Partnership for New York informed The Post on Wednesday.
Wylde famous that Ackman — who had warned that Mamdani would make New York a more harmful place and trigger high companies to flee the town if he received — had donated $1 million to Defend NYC, an anti-Mamdani tremendous PAC, in addition to $750,000 to Fix the City, a pro-Cuomo tremendous PAC.
“He is trying to make news out of raising the white flag, and it gets him all the attention.”
Cliff Asness — the billionaire boss of AQR Capital Management — likewise ripped Ackman’s Mamdani overture as “gimp-like.”
He additionally questioned Ackman’s “self-awareness” — citing Ackman’s previous criticism of Mamdani’s refusal to sentence Hamas within the wake of its Oct. 7 assaults on Israel.
AQR Capital Management Founder Cliff Asness, seen right here with spouse Laurel, blasted rival hedge funder Bill Ackman over what he referred to as his “gimp-like offer” to help Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Neilson Barnard
“Soviet-style socialism and a support of terrorism with some obvious hate of Israel/Jews (please keep the Jews who supported him to yourself, I am well aware) is past disagreement, past congratulations, and past a gimp-like offer to help,” Asness, a Queens native, thundered Wednesday on X.
In an unique interview with The Post on Tuesday, Asness blasted Mamdani’s plan to freeze rents as a “hydrogen bomb” that may blow up the town’s real estate market.
Follow the most recent on the Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani:
Meanwhile, Third Point CEO Dan Loeb — whose web price is an estimated $3.8 billion — provided a easy, sarcastic jab in response to Ackman’s post.
“Ladies, find a man who loves you the way Bill Ackman loves himself,” he wrote on X.
Mamdani referred to as for the tip to the Israeli ‘occupation’ in his assertion posted sooner or later after the October 7, 2023, assaults. Lev Radin/Shutterstock
The Post has approached a spokesman for Ackman for remark.
For his half, Mamdani mentioned Wednesday he “appreciated [Ackman’s] words.”
“I think what I find is that there is a needed commitment from leaders of the city to speak and work with anyone who is committed to lowering the cost of living in the city — and that’s something that I will fulfill,” the mayor-elect informed “Good Morning America.”
It’s not the primary U-turn for Ackman in terms of politics. In May 2023, Ackman referred to as on JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to run in final yr’s presidential election towards Donald Trump — earlier than switching sides and throwing his weight behind the GOP winner.
Dan Loeb, CEO and founder of Third Point, additionally blasted Ackman’s olive department on social media. The two males are long-standing Wall Street rivals. REUTERS
Ackman, whose estimated web price is $9.5 billion, can be a latest convert to the present administration’s stance on sturdy borders, cracking down on unlawful immigration and blasting woke causes comparable to DEI.
“Open borders will kill Western civilization. Careful vetting of immigrants, standards for being part of Western society, and deportation for violating those standards are going to become essential features of immigration policies globally,” he wrote on X three days after Trump’s second presidential election victory.
But his Pershing Square Foundation has previously donated tens of millions of {dollars} to charities that help undocumented migrants on this nation.
Ackman urged JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to run within the 2024 presidential elections – earlier than he morphed into a vocal supporter of President Trump. REUTERS
“I am not going to explain to [Elliott Investment Management founder] Paul Singer how to launch a takeover bid,” joked one New York political operative who labored instantly on the mayoral election race.
“But if there is one thing I know about billionaires, it is that they think they know everything about politics,” the insider added.
