A Jewish billionaire heiress donated $250,000 to a political action group campaigning for Zohran Mamdani to be elected as New York City mayor.
Elizabeth Simons, the daughter of the late Jamie Simons, made the largest single donation ever to New Yorkers for Lower Costs, according to The Telegraph.
Mamdani, a controversial figure accused of making inflammatory statements on Israel, had claimed recently that billionaires should not exist.
“I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country,” the mayoral candidate told NBC News in June.
Despite this, he added, “I look forward to working with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fair for all of them.”
Donations to Democrat causes
The New Yorkers for Lower Costs political action group has now raised $1.8 million from nearly 300 donors to support Mamdani’s mayoral bid.
Despite the large donation to the New York group, public records indicate that Simons currently lives in California, where she is chairwoman of the board of directors of the Heising-Simons Foundation.
The late Jamie Simons had reportedly been a loyal Democrat up to his death, and his daughter has since donated to a number of Democratic causes, according to Bloomberg.
Since 2017, she has contributed more than $19 million to federal candidates and committees.
In addition, she has reportedly given money to New York City and state candidates and committees in the past – including $5,000 to the New York State Committee of the Working Families Party, $1,000 to city council candidate Tiffany Caban, and $2,100 to Mamdani after the June Democratic primary.