Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is New York City’s mayor-elect, set to assume office on Jan. 1, and some billionaires have floated relocating their businesses out of the largest U.S. city.
Real estate investor and Starwood Property Trust CEO Barry Sternlicht told CNBC in a recent interview that his firm is considering relocating now that Mamdani will be the city’s next mayor, and that he expects other businesses to do so as well.
The commercial real estate tycoon and founder of Starwood—which reported Monday having $29.9 billion in total assets at the end of the third quarter—suggested that tenants will be emboldened not to pay their rent with Mamdani in charge.
“The far-left gets really nuts and says the tenants don’t have to pay. Well, you can’t kick them out if they don’t pay,” Sternlicht said.
“So, the neighbor finds out the neighbor isn’t paying, and they don’t pay, and the next guy doesn’t pay, and then you’re basically going to turn New York City into Mumbai,” he added, alluding to the city in India dealing with overcrowding, a housing shortage, and poor housing conditions.
Mamdani’s camp didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani said he wants to increase eviction protections for tenants in the city, though he hasn’t publicly advocated for housing policies that would allow nonpayment of rent.
Starwood Capital Group, a private investment firm that owns controlling a interest of Starwood Property Trust, is also headed by Sternlicht. It has helped finance large-scale luxury residential developments, such as The Greenwich by Rafael Viñoly and a new 46-story residential tower in Long Island City.
In November, Starwood Property Trust gave a $161 million loan to refinance the “Forty Six Fifty” apartment building, a 22-story residential building with 222 apartments, in Manhattan.
Last week, Sternlicht told CNBC that “socialism has never worked anywhere.”
“We have a big office here ourselves and, I mean, we’ll see how this works, but the team in New York is saying for the first time, ‘maybe we should leave,’” he added.
By contrast, billionaire businessmen like Jamie Dimon and Bill Ackman are offering to help Mamdani despite previously criticizing his policies and bankrolling his main competitor, Andrew Cuomo.
And some business leaders who previously threatened to leave the city under a Mamdani administration are backtracking.
Hedge fund manager Ricky Sandler threatened to move his firm, which manages about $7.8 billion, out of the city after Mamdani won the Democratic primary in June and became a very likely candidate to win the entire race.
But on Thursday, Sandler, who contributed $500,000 to a group backing Cuomo, said in a post on X he wasn’t planning on moving yet, even though he wrote that the city will be “potentially a lot worse” with Mamdani in office.
“Personally, I am most concerned about safety and livability,” he added. “Secondarily, I worry that Mamdani’s policies and inexperience could create a fiscal crisis which could further impair safety and livability.”
Grocery store chain owner John Catsimatidis, who threatened to move his business if Mamdani won the mayoral election, told Forbes on Friday that he may look to move the headquarters of Red Apple Group—which operates Gristedes and D’Agostino supermarkets in New York—to “friendly” states like Florida.
That’s as Mamdani has proposed government-subsidized, city-run grocery stores, which wouldn’t have to pay rent or taxes and would partner with farmers and small businesses. The groceries would be sold at wholesale prices to lower costs.
Still, no business owners have laid out definite plans to exit the city yet in the wake of Mamdani’s win. But, “I think a lot of business people are reducing their exposure to New York City,” Catsimatidis told Forbes.
