Wealthy celebrities and investors — including many who could be targeted by Mayor Mamdani’s proposed tax hikes on millionaires — pumped tens of thousands of dollars into his transition coffers last month, new filings reviewed by the Daily News show.
The December donors include members of the super-wealthy Pritzker and Soros dynasties as well as Hollywood stars like Mark Ruffalo, Lupita Nyong’O, Bill Camp and Morgan Spector.
In total, the mayor raked in $1.2 million from over 6,000 donors for his transition fund last month — with half of that haul coming from just 200 individuals who gave Mamdani the maximum donation of $3,700, the new filings released late Thursday show.
That came on top of the $2.6 million he pulled in over the course of November, making his transition committee one of the most well-funded in modern New York City memory.
Many of the maxed-out donations that poured into Mamdani’s transition coffers last month came from a string of star-studded fundraisers, including an evening gala in Lower Manhattan that featured celebrities like Julianne Moore, Ramy Youssef and filmmaker Mira Nair, Mamdani’s mother.
The funds are being used to pay staff who have been involved in hiring for Mamdani’s new administration and hosting his Jan. 1 inauguration festivities. Even with the high-dollar contributions, Mamdani had an average contribution size of $204, speaking to his wide net of lower-dollar, grassroots donors.
The transition can keep incurring expenses through the end of January as the new mayor continues to build out his administration.
Among those who pumped the max $3,700 amount into Mamdani’s transition coffers were Nyong’O, Ruffalo, Robert Soros, the investor son of billionaire progressive activist George Soros, Lynn Novick, a film producer who works with Ken Burns, and Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music and a longtime record executive. Adam Pritzker, a scion of the ultra-wealthy Pritzker family, also donated $3,700 in early December.
Mike Luba, promoter at Forest Hills Stadium and a member of the mayor’s inauguration committee, pitched in that maximum as well, as did the Partnership for New York City, whose leader, Kathy Wylde, has been a key ally for the mayor in the business community.
Many of the prominent transition contributors are high-earners who reside in New York City. That means they’d likely see their tax bills increase if Mamdani makes good on his proposal — which requires state action — to jack up income taxes by 2% on residents who earn more than $1 million per year.
Wylde, who has introduced Mamdani to many business leaders in the city since his election, said there’s widespread distaste for his tax-the-rich agenda in local business communities. Still, she said that doesn’t mean members of those communities close their pocketbooks for him.
“The campaign is over, Mamdani is the mayor and whether you agree with his politics or not, donors may want a relationship with the new mayor,” she told The News on Friday.
Mamdani’s transition paid IDEKO Productions, an events agency, nearly $1 million for organizing his New Year’s Day inauguration ceremony on the steps of City Hall as well as an accompanying “block party” that took place on surrounding blocks.
To host his midnight swearing-in at the old City Hall station, Mamdani’s team paid $10,000 to the MTA, according to filings.
Cat Almonte Da Costa, who was tapped last month to be a top official in Mamdani’s City Hall but resigned a day after her appointment amid outrage about her tweets about Jews, got paid $14,100 over two payments in December for what’s listed as “staff” salary. It’s unclear what role she played on the transition, and Mamdani spokespeople didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
After the Almonte Da Costa scandal, Mamdani shelled out $25,000 to opposition research firm Tappan Research and $2,500 on the services of Elizabeth Pena for “vetting consulting.”
