Here Are The Two Billionaires Supporting Zohran Mamdani








Two California billionaires, along with a few Hollywood types, have thrown their
support behind the likely next mayor of New York.
From left, clockwise:
Elizabeth Simons, Tom Preston-Werner, Jane Fonda, Cynthia Nixon.



Nov 01, 2025, 06:30am EDT


At least 26 billionaires have spent millions trying to stop Mamdani from becoming
New York’s next mayor on Tuesday. More surprising are the two billionaires who
stepped up to support the frontrunner.


ast week, Forbes combed through campaign finance records to find the billionaires
spending to stop Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who says
billionaires should not exist, from becoming mayor of America’s largest city. That
analysis identified 26 billionaires or billionaire families who had poured over $22 million
in total into the race trying to stop the New York assemblyman who’s leading in the polls.
(Since then, Mike Bloomberg has donated another $1.5 million to a group backing
Mamdani's rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo).

More surprising is the fact that, as of Oct. 27,
there are at least two billionaires pulling for Mamdani.

The first is Elizabeth Simons, the daughter of the late hedge fund billionaire
Jim Simons (d. 2024) who shares a $32.5 billion fortune with her stepmother
Marilyn and two siblings. She cut a check for $250,000 to New Yorkers For
Lower Costs, the main independent group backing Mamdani’s campaign, in August.

Elizabeth’s donation comes as part of a long family history of political giving.
Jim Simons, who started his career as a codebreaker and a math professor before
founding hedge fund Renaissance Technologies in 1982, was an investment
legend known for automated quantitative models and his exclusive Medallion Fund,
which averaged 30% returns annually after fees. He was worth an estimated
$31.4 billion when he died in April 2024—and was a major Democratic donor,
pumping over $100 million into federal races between 2015 and 2024.

An Atherton, California resident, Liz Simons earned degrees in journalism and
education from the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University,
respectively, before going into teaching. She worked in Spanish-bilingual and
English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. She is now active in the
nonprofit world, serving on the boards of progressive groups like the Marshall Project
and the Foundation for a Just Society (the latter founded by her sister, Audrey)
and volunteering at The Beat Within (a magazine by and for incarcerated youth).
She also heads the Heising-Simons Foundation, which has given away almost
$1.3 billion since 2007 to groups working on climate change, education,
human rights and science. Like her father, Liz has signed the Giving Pledge,
committing to donating a majority of her fortune to charity.

Sending Mamdani some financial reinforcement isn’t the first time Liz has waded
into politics. A review of federal election records show more than $25 million in
contributions to Democrats since 2015, including about $10 million in the 2024 cycle.
She’s already sent almost $900,000 to the DCCC and DSCC, the official
Democratic campaign arms for House and Senate races, this year.

GitHub cofounder Tom Preston-Werner, 45, is Mamdani’s other billionaire backer;
in April, he sent New Yorkers For Lower Costs a check for $20,000. Preston-Werner,
also a Bay Area resident, started the software development platform in 2008
and became a billionaire after Microsoft bought the company for $7.5 billion in 2018;
his net worth is about $1 billion today, Forbes estimates. He now runs a venture
capital firm called Preston-Werner Ventures.

Unlike Simons, Preston-Werner has a more sparse political giving history. An analysis
of Federal Election Commission records suggests that he and his wife, Theresa,
have given about $2 million in federal races since 2019. On his blog, Preston-Werner,
also a Giving Pledge signatory, highlights additional donations in 2020 to Covid-19 relief
($1 million) and racial justice efforts ($250,000). Their foundation has distributed
$28 million since 2019, a review of tax records shows.
Neither donor replied to requests for comment.

The two billionaires’ contributions, which together represent about 10% of all the money
New Yorkers For Lower Costs has taken in so far, pit them against a posse of Mamdani’s
billionaire foes that includes Democratic stalwarts (Michael Bloomberg, Reed Hastings)
and Trump allies (Joe Gebbia, Steve Wynn) alike.

While Simons and Preston-Werner may be the only billionaires backing Mamdani,
he has attracted other notable donors. That includes Haroon and Idris Mokhtarzada,
the D.C.-area brothers who cofounded the Maryland-based personal finance company
RocketMoney and today serve as CEO and CTO, respectively. Haroon sent $99,000
and Idris donated $90,000. Another famous donor is Hollywood star Jane Fonda—who
used to be married to billionaire Ted Turner and lives in Georgia and donated $1,000.
City resident and actress Cynthia Nixon, who challenged Andrew Cuomo for New York’s
governorship in 2018, chipped in $5,000.


In terms of donations to their actual campaigns, which are capped at $2,100, Mamdani
has received fewer private funds than Cuomo—$4 million to Cuomo’s $5.9 million.
But he’s made up for it thanks to city matching funds that favor candidates who receive
smaller donations from more people. Mamdani’s campaign for mayor has attracted
over 40,000 donors with an average donation of $98, the lowest of any campaign.
Cuomo’s has brought in about 10,000 donors with an average contribution of $593,
the second-highest.

CLICK HERE

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell
and Former NOPD Officer Jeffrey Vappie
Indicted for Fraud and Obstruction of Justice\
August 15, 2025

NEW ORLEANS –

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced
that LATOYA CANTRELL (“CANTRELL”), age 53, and
JEFFREY PAUL VAPPIE, II (“VAPPIE”), age 52, both residents of New Orleans,
were charged in a superseding indictment today on federal charges concerning 

wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

CANTRELL and VAPPIE were both charged in a conspiracy to commit
wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371,
as well as a conspiracy to obstruct justice, in violation of Title 18,
United States Code, Section 1512(k). VAPPIE is also charged with
twelve counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Section 1343, and CANTRELL is charged in six of those wire fraud
counts. VAPPIE is charged with making a false statement to the FBI,
in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. CANTRELL
is charged in one count of obstruction of justice, in violation of Title 18,
United States Code, Section 1512©(1), and two counts of making
a false declaration before a grand jury, in violation of Title 18,
United States Code, Section 1623.

According to the allegations contained in the superseding indictment,
while CANTRELL was Mayor of New Orleans and VAPPIE was a
New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) officer and member of her
executive protection team, CANTRELL and VAPPIE developed a
personal, intimate relationship as early as October of 2021. From
that time until VAPPIE's retirement in June 2024, they embarked
on a scheme to defraud the City of New Orleans and NOPD by
exploiting VAPPIE's job and CANTRELL authority as Mayor to have
the City and NOPD pay VAPPIE's salary and expenses during times
VAPPIE claimed to be on duty but when he was actually engaged
in personal activities, often with CANTRELL. The allegations contained
in the superseding indictment describe the many steps that CANTRELL
and VAPPIE took to hide their scheme and perpetuate their continued
fraud, including using a secure messaging platform, WhatsApp, to
exchange over 15,000 messages, pictures, and audio clips in an
eight-month period; intimidating subordinates; harassing a citizen;
lying to colleagues and associates; deleting evidence; making
false statements to FBI agents; giving the grand jury an affidavit
signed under oath and penalty of perjury that contained numerous
false statements; and, ultimately, committing perjury before a
federal grand jury, all for the purpose of distracting and impeding
inquiries and investigations, including a federal grand jury investigation.

The superseding indictment alleges that CANTRELL and VAPPIE
perpetuated their scheme both in New Orleans and during out-of-state
trips. In both instances, VAPPIE's activities while claiming to be on
duty were conspicuously different than any other member of the
Executive Protection Unit. While in New Orleans, they treated a
city-owned apartment in the Pontalba as their personal, shared
residence and coordinated to spend time together there, engaging
in personal activities, while VAPPIE claimed to be on duty for EPU
and was paid to be doing his job. CANTRELL occasionally canceled
scheduled work events to facilitate personal and intimate interactions
with VAPPIE in the Pontalba apartment.

The superseding indictment also alleges that CANTRELL and VAPPIE
arranged for VAPPIE to accompany CANTRELL on at least 14 domestic
and international trips to maximize their time together and engage in
personal activities. In their private text messages, CANTRELL characterized
trips with VAPPIE as “times when we are truly alone” and what
“spoils me the most.” These trips included trips to San Francisco, which
VAPPIE and CANTRELL decided to extend an extra day so they could
visit a series of Napa Valley wineries. While VAPPIE was wine tasting,
on April 9, 2022, he claimed to work, and was paid for working, a 15-hour day.

In August 2022, CANTRELL said she would “make it happen” to have
VAPPIE accompany her on a 3-day trip to Washington, D.C., a trip that
they both agreed that they “needed.” Shortly after they retuned,
VAPPIE described the trip to CANTRELL as “another leg on our journey”
as he declared his love for her and their physical relationship. In total,
the City of New Orleans paid over $70,000 for VAPPIE's travel on these trips.

When asked about her reason for bringing members of the
Executive Protection Unit with her on out-of-state trips, a practice
CANTRELL began about five months after VAPPIE joined EPU,
she justified it as a “pivot” due to COVID and a matter of “safety.”
At the same time, however, she continued to take out-of-state trips
without protection. In fact, on the same day she gave one such statement,
she canceled a work trip to Miami, and traveled alone—by plane,
then bus, and then ferry—to the island of Martha’s Vineyard in
Massachusetts to spend time with VAPPIE while he attended a
conference paid for by the City of New Orleans related to his position
on the HANO Board of Commissioners—a position to which CANTRELL
appointed him a few months earlier. On other occasions, when VAPPIE
was unavailable to accompany CANTRELL on a trip, CANTRELL decided
not to take another member of Executive Protection.

The superseding indictment alleges that both VAPPIE and CANTRELL
were aware their conduct broke criminal laws. For instance,
in April 2022, an associate told CANTRELL explicitly in multiple text
messages that spending public funds and using public resources for
her personal relationship was a “felony.” When CANTRELL and VAPPIE
learned that the news media was investigating their time together in
the Pontalba, they agreed to “be straight and together.” Days after the
first news stories broke, in November 2022, VAPPIE conducted numerous
online searches for New Orleans-area attorneys who specialize in the
practice of criminal law, and he researched WhatsApp’s security features.
But the defendants’ wire fraud scheme nevertheless continued until VAPPIE's
retirement in June 2024.

As alleged in the superseding indictment, in July 2023, the grand jury
issued subpoenas to both VAPPIE and CANTRELL compelling the
production of records. The FBI also interviewed VAPPIE. During the
interview, VAPPIE lied about the nature and circumstances of his
relationship. In response to the subpoena, CANTRELL produced a
selection of responsive records, but none of the over 15,000 WhatsApp
messages she exchanged with VAPPIE. CANTRELL also created an
affidavit, sworn under oath, that she had activated a feature that
automatically deleted messages in 2021. CANTRELL submitted a
screen shot of her iPhone, showing that WhatsApp messages were
set to delete in 24 hours. In fact, CANTRELL did not turn on that
feature until December 26, 2022, roughly one month after the
news media began speculating on her conduct, VAPPIE conducted
online searches concerning WhatsApp and its security level,
and by which time several people had warned VAPPIE and CANTRELL
that their conduct was illegal. This “disappearing messages” feature,
moreover, only applied to new messages. During roughly this same
period, CANTRELL also manually deleted thousands of her prior
WhatsApp messages with VAPPIE. As alleged, even at the time
CANTRELL responded to the grand jury subpoena, she still possessed
more than 50 pictures, including screen shots of correspondence with
VAPPIE, that were responsive to the subpoena, but which she
nevertheless concealed from the grand jury.

The superseding indictment further alleges that VAPPIE and CANTRELL
continued their pattern of obstruction through the rest of 2023 and 2024.
This included improperly pressuring the Interim Superintendent of NOPD
to overrule findings of an internal investigation into VAPPIE's conduct.
When the Interim Superintendent did not heed that directive, CANTRELL
ordered the Interim Superintendent to nevertheless reassign VAPPIE
back to her protection detail. Months later, in a meeting VAPPIE attended,
CANTRELL informed the Interim Superintendent that the
Interim Superintendent would be replaced. Similarly, when a
private citizen took pictures of CANTRELL and VAPPIE together in
public, dining and consuming alcohol al fresco while VAPPIE reported
to be on duty, CANTRELL obtained non-public information about the
citizen, filed a police report, and sought a restraining order against the citizen.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that an indictment is
merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be
proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

If they are convicted of the conspiracy to commit wire fraud,
CANTRELL and VAPPIE each faces up to five years in prison and
up to three years of supervised release. For each count of wire fraud,
CANTRELL and VAPPIE each faces up to twenty years in prison and
up to three years of supervised release. For the conspiracy to
obstruct justice, CANTRELL and VAPPIE each faces up to twenty years
in prison and up to three years of supervised release. For the false
statement to the FBI, VAPPIE faces up to five years in prison and
up to three years of supervised release. For each obstruction of
justice count, CANTRELL faces up to twenty years in prison and
up to three years of supervised release. For each count of making
false statements to a grand jury, CANTRELL faces up to five years
in prison and up to three years of supervised release. For each count,
both defendants face a fine of up to $250,000 and a $100 mandatory
special assessment fee.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation in investigating this matter and expressed appreciation
for the support provided by the Department of Justice’s Computer Crimes
and Intellectual Properties Section Cybercrime Lab, the City of
New Orleans Office of Inspector General, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the
Public Integrity Unit, and Nicholas D. Moses, of the Financial Crimes Unit
and Health Care Fraud Coordinator, are in charge of the prosecution.

Federal grand jury indicts former FBI director
for false statements and obstruction in congressional testimony

Thursday, September 25, 2025

ALEXANDRIA, Va. –

Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia,
announced today that a federal grand jury returned an indictment
charging former FBI Director James Comey with making a false
statement and obstruction relating to his oral testimony before
the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020.

“The charges as alleged in this case represent a breach of the
public trust at an extraordinary level,” said U.S. Attorney Halligan.
“The balance of power is a bedrock principal of our democracy,
and it relies upon accountability and a forthright presentation of
facts from executive leadership to congressional oversight. Any
intent to avoid, evade, prevent, or obstruct compliance is a
violation of professional responsibility and, most importantly, the law.”

If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison. Actual
sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the
maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine
any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
and other statutory factors.






A copy of this press release is located on the
website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Eastern District of Virginia. Related court
documents and information are located on
the website of the District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER
by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-272.



An indictment is merely an accusation.
The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.