Billionaire investor Bill Ackman has pledged to financially back a write-in candidate to challenge Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race, offering hundreds of millions of dollars to support a viable contender. Ackman has since urged former Governor Andrew Cuomo to drop out of the race and endorsed incumbent Mayor Eric Adams as the best candidate to defeat Mamdani. Meanwhile, Adams revealed that Cuomo asked him to drop out of the mayoral race, a request Adams declined. Campaign finance records show that 72% of Mamdani's funding comes from out-of-state donors, including billionaires and Hollywood elites, contradicting his grassroots support claims. In response to Mamdani's primary victory, some of New York's wealthiest financiers are organizing a network of outside groups, including the independent expenditure group "New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25," aiming to raise $20 million to oppose Mamdani. Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams has raised over $1.5 million for his reelection campaign since the Democratic primary, nearly double the amount raised by Mamdani, with significant contributions from real estate employees and donors.