Asness Critiques Mamdani’s Rent Freeze Proposal
Cliff Asness, a prominent hedge fund manager, has expressed serious concerns regarding New York mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani’s intention to implement rent freezes. He described the initiative as a potential “water bomb” that could devastate the city’s real estate landscape.
In an exclusive interview, the Wall Street billionaire, who, according to Forbes, has a net worth of $2.9 billion, criticized Mamdani’s leftist policy aimed at banning rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments. Asness sarcastically remarked, “Rent control is one of the few issues that almost every economist agrees will destroy cities, so let’s triple it. Genius,” emphasizing his skepticism on the final day of city election voting.
He further likened Mamdani’s rent freeze strategy to a “hydrogen bomb” that could fundamentally disrupt the housing market.
Asness also humorously suggested a new slogan for New York under Mamdani’s leadership, who has faced backlash for his comments about Hamas and for rejecting the term “globalizing the intifada.” “Come for communism, stay for the globalization of the intifada. Shrewd, New York City,” he quipped, adding that if Mamdani were to win, he might join the wave of New Yorkers relocating to states like Texas or Florida.
Asness, who is Jewish and has publicly condemned Mamdani’s views on Israel since the October 7 terrorist attack, previously halted donations to the University of Pennsylvania over an anti-Semitism-related event he criticized.
Having founded a “quantitative” hedge fund in Manhattan back in 1998 and relocating it to Greenwich, Connecticut in 2004, Asness currently oversees $165 billion in assets through AQR Capital Management.
Concerns similar to Asness’s have been voiced by Drew McKnight, co-CEO of Fortress Investment Group, who warned that Mamdani’s housing policies could severely impact New York’s real estate market. “It just makes new supplies impossible. Unfortunately, it could harm the people he’s trying to help,” McKnight said in an interview.
A recent poll indicated that Mamdani holds a narrow lead over independent Andrew Cuomo, with the far-left Democratic candidate securing 43.9% against Cuomo’s 39.4%. Republican Curtis Sliwa trailed significantly with 15.5% support.
Interestingly, while Mamdani could theoretically gain from enforcing rent freezes, he benefits personally from this structure, paying just $2,300 monthly for a rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria, even as a state legislator earning $143,000.
The rent stabilization program regulates how much landlords can increase rents on about one million apartments every year, managed by a committee appointed by the mayor. While the average household in rent-stabilized units earns around $60,000 annually, it’s common for individuals with higher incomes to also occupy these apartments at below-market rates.
There is growing alarm within New York’s financial sector about how Mamdani, 33, could influence the local economy if he were to replace Eric Adams as mayor. Many corporations are reportedly contemplating moving to Dallas to evade unfavorable tax policies associated with Democratic governance.
Additionally, it was noted that several major Wall Street figures, including JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon, skipped a scheduled meeting with Mamdani, further reflecting the unease around his potential policies.
