A 34-year-old Democrat has been elected mayor of New York City. What does Wall Street think about that?

Zohran Mamdani, 34, wins the New York City mayoral election: when he takes office on January 1, he will become the city's youngest head of state in a century. Mamdani has risen rapidly on promises to tackle the high cost of living in New York City through new taxes on corporations and high-income earners. New York's elite, including billionaire Bill Ackman, tried to stop Mamdani, but are now preparing for "the new reality of a critic of capitalism running the city," Bloomberg writes.

Zohran Mamdani gains 50.39% of the vote after processing 97.98% of the votes, according to unofficial results published on the website of the New York Election Commission. Former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is in second place with 41.59%.

Mamdani's electoral success is a "historic victory" that puts the Democratic Socialist at the helm of the world's financial capital, Bloomberg noted. The politician will take office on January 1, 2026: he will become the youngest mayor of New York City in the last century, as well as the first Muslim and the first person with South Asian roots in the post, the agency added. Mamdani won in one of the most competitive campaigns in more than a decade: reflecting, for example, the highest number of voters since at least 1969 - more than 2 million, Bloomberg wrote. Mamdani won in four of New York's five boro (boroughs), getting the best result in Brooklyn.

Mamdani's electoral success "completes a rapid and unlikely rise from a little-known state legislator to one of the most important figures in the Democratic Party," according to Reuters. His victory is also one of the Democrats' first major electoral successes since Republican Donald Trump returned to the White House, the agency said. In addition to Mamdani, Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikey Sherrill - elected governors of Virginia and New Jersey respectively - also won the election, it reports. The Nov. 4 election was a barometer of Americans' attitudes toward Trump's policies, as well as a testing ground for Democrats' electoral strategies ahead of House and Senate elections in 2026: polling data shows the Democratic Party remains largely unpopular, although Trump's approval rating has also declined, Reuters writes.

Mamdani promised during the election campaign to freeze rental rates for more than 1 million apartments in the city, as well as to fund free buses and daycare centers with new taxes for corporations and high-income earners, Bloomberg writes. His proposals have raised concerns among business representatives, real estate developers and wealthy donors, who are focused on supporting Andrew Cuomo's candidacy, the agency reports.

After Mamdani's victory, however, some of his critics softened their stance: for example, billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who spent more than $1 million to oppose Mamdani, congratulated him on his victory, writing on social media X: "Now you have a big responsibility. If I can help New York, just let me know what I can do". "He's spending more money against me than I'll ever be able to take from him in taxes," Mamdani said in October about Ackman's behavior.

New York City's elite used "money, insults, scare tactics and tweets" to prevent Mamdani from becoming the city's mayor, but now business representatives have to adapt to "the new reality of a critic of capitalism running the city," Bloomberg noted. For example, former Evercore CEO Ralph Schlosstein said he is exploring options for working with Mamdani - such as joining a business association that hopes to guide the mayor-elect, Bloomberg wrote.

"I'm definitely not a socialist after 45 years in finance, in the private sector. But I do care about the city, and I'm not going anywhere, no matter who is mayor. I will do everything I can to help him [Mamdani] succeed," Schlosstein said as quoted by Bloomberg.

It's time for New York's business elite to stop frowning and chart a way for it to stay relevant, said former top BlackRock executive Mark Kronfeld, quoted by Bloomberg. "Is it a dystopian, post-apocalyptic situation after Mamdani's victory? No," he noted.

"There are people in the market who think their job allows the sun to rise and set every day. A lot of people don't care about Wall Street and billionaires. 'To hell with them,' is how Mamdani voters reacted," said businessman Michael Nelson.

Citigroup hopes to "work with the mayor-elect to make the city a better place to live and work, the bank's CEO Jane Fraser said Tuesday, Nov. 4.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor