There have been circulating rumors suggesting that Zohran’s campaign received funds or donations from George Soros to help secure victory in the recent New York City mayoral race. One of the media outlets reporting this, including The New York Times, alleged that the Zohran campaign received a large donation of around $23.7 million.
This report is untrue. Receiving such a large donation from a billionaire is completely inconsistent with the spirit of Zohran’s campaign, which has always stood with ordinary people. Zohran has campaigned alongside the community and has consistently committed to supporting the marginalized and the working class.
After conducting my own investigation to verify whether the alleged George Soros donation was true, it turns out that the funds were not directed to Zohran’s campaign at all. What actually happened is that Soros, through his philanthropic and charity work, donates to social and community-based organizations—not to political campaign organizations as reported.
The issue of donations to Zohran’s campaign is merely a media distortion, including by The New York Times, stemming from contributions made by Soros’ social foundation, the Open Society Foundation, to several community organizations that have long been engaged in social and humanitarian work. These contributions were made in stages and over many years—long before Zohran even announced his run for Mayor of New York City.
Some of the social and community organizations that have historically received donations from Soros include: Working Families Party (WFP), which once received $23.7 million from Soros; Make the Road Action with $3,515,000; Community Voices Heard with $2,635,000; MoveOn with $2,300,000; Jewish Voice for Peace Action with $650,000; and several others.
It is simply a coincidence that some of these organizations—particularly the Working Families Party—decided to support Zohran in the recent mayoral election. But the funds provided by Soros to these organizations were not earmarked for Zohran Mamdani’s campaign. They were intended for broader community and social work. It is possible that, due to their endorsement of Zohran, a portion of the organizations’ own resources may have been used to support his campaign. But once again, Zohran’s campaign team never received direct donations or funding from George Soros, contrary to what has been reported.
This serves as a clarification.
Shamsi Ali Al-Nuyorki, Member of the Mamdani Transition Team