NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- In Dublin last month, Jamie Dimon offered his typically blunt take on the man likely to be the next mayor of New York City: Zohran Mamdani is “more of a Marxist than a socialist.”
Soon after, the pair got on the phone in what ended up being a friendly conversation, according to people briefed on the call. The chat was one of several that Mamdani has had in recent weeks with city business leaders, part of a charm offensive to win over a class of people largely wary of the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist.
Michael Sullivan, the chief of staff at billionaire Steve Cohen’s Point72 hedge fund, Wall Street mega-lawyer Brad Karp, and Jed Walentas, the Brooklyn developer behind the revamp of the Domino Sugar Refinery, have all spoken with Mamdani, according to people familiar with the encounters. So has 32 Advisors CEO Robert Wolf.
Kathy Wylde, in her role as chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City, is among those helping to facilitate meetings with the business class. She gave Mamdani’s campaign contact information for about a dozen executives and has been arranging connections with other candidates as well.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, City Comptroller Brad Lander and former Open Society Foundations President Patrick Gaspard — all Mamdani supporters — have set up gatherings.
Mamdani, whose proposals include a rent freeze, government-owned grocery stores and free childcare and bus rides, has vowed to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy to help pay for billions in social spending if he were to become mayor. He has a wide lead in polls over his opponents in the November election, including former Governor Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams — both running on an independent ballot line — and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
All that has rattled the city’s elite and left them weighing how best to influence him. But the Queens lawmaker, who became the Democratic nominee for mayor after handily beating Cuomo in June’s primary election, wants to allay their concerns, gain their trust and persuade them that his policies will be beneficial to the city, according to a person familiar with his thinking.
“The core of my politics is not just sincerity, but also a desire for partnership,” Mamdani said last month, ahead of meetings with business leaders. “I go into that room knowing that there will be disagreements, and also knowing that the foundation of it is a belief in the possibility of this city.”
Business leaders are seeking clarity on Mamdani’s campaign promises and potential picks for his administration, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some have projects in the works that depend on good relationships with the local government.
More broadly, executives want to underscore that their wealth-creating industries are part of the city’s financial success, and that they ultimately have New York’s best interests at heart. They also want to get a feel for the potential mayor in a more private, personal setting.
“Money goes to power,” said Mitchell Moss, professor of urban policy and planning at New York University. “The business community has to learn how to adapt to this guy — that’s why this is important.”
Dimon’s conversation with Mamdani occurred after the JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO offered scathing criticism of the Democratic Party at a foreign-ministry event in Dublin last month. Dimon has described himself in the past as “barely a Democrat.” A spokesman for him declined to comment.
Representatives for Walentas and Sullivan declined to comment, while Karp didn’t respond to requests for comment.
One senior Wall Street executive, who asked not to be identified meeting with Mamdani, said the candidate has shown a willingness to meet with business leaders and seemed to genuinely listen during the conversation as they parsed their disagreements, mainly over strategies to make the city more affordable. Mamdani didn’t ask for an endorsement or money for his campaign, the executive said.
Finding Common Ground
Many of the business leaders are concerned with public safety, and want to know whether Mamdani — who has faced questions over past calls to defund the police — is open to keeping New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Mamdani has said he will consider it but hasn’t committed to doing so.
Transportation and infrastructure have also come up. At least one executive sought a meeting because his son wanted a job in a potential future Mamdani administration, according to one of the people familiar with the meetings.
“If he can connect with some of these executives and find some common ground, that’s a good thing for the city,” said Charles Phillips, a tech investor.
At a sit-down Phillips organized for several Black executives last month, Mamdani walked back his previous comment that billionaires shouldn’t exist, and said he doesn’t really believe in defunding the police, Phillips said. The executives pressed him on the potential consequences that come with freezing rents, like owners facing foreclosure because they can’t keep up with growing expenses.
“We wanted to hear what he had to say and see how much was fixed in stone, and how much was somewhat evolving and negotiable,” Phillips said. “He was responsive and listened. In some areas he budged a little bit.”
Wolf, a former UBS executive and Obama administration adviser, met with Mamdani over Zoom while at his vacation home this week. He offered to help Mamdani execute on some of his ideas tied to affordability should he become mayor.
“I don’t have the sense that he has to be convinced of the significance of Wall Street in New York City,” Wolf said. “He absolutely understands the importance of finance and real estate; he understands the partnership need between the public and private sector.”
He said they plan to follow up with more calls, and may meet in person after Labor Day.
Larger-group meetings are also taking place. Centerview Partners’ Blair Effron and Vornado Realty Trust’s Steve Roth were among about 150 members who attended one organized by Wylde’s group.
The next day Mamdani sat down with roughly 200 tech leaders, including John Borthwick, the CEO of venture capital firm Betaworks, and John Buttrick of Union Square Ventures. That’s where Point72’s Sullivan grabbed some face time as the meeting dispersed.
Real estate developer Bill Rudin was at a meeting for about 50 members of the Association for a Better New York earlier this week.
Borthwick said he’s interested in gathering a smaller group of tech executives to talk to Mamdani about preparing for the impact of artificial intelligence on New York City jobs.
Many on Wall Street remain vehemently opposed to the idea of a socialist running the city. Bill Ackman, who backed Cuomo before the primary, has thrown his support to Adams and frequently slams Mamdani on social media. Fellow hedge fund billionaire Dan Loeb decried the city’s “hot commie summer” after the primary.
Whitney Tilson, the former hedge fund manager who lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, said he wouldn’t meet with him until after November’s general election.
“If he is elected, I will stop attacking him and I hope he’s successful,” Tilson said. “I hope my fears are misplaced.”
(Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, had endorsed Cuomo in the primary and contributed to a super PAC backing him.)