Billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker threw sharp elbows at a New York City mayoral candidate’s anti-billionaire rhetoric, exposing the Democratic Party’s growing rift over wealth and power.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, Pritzker, a hotel heir worth $3.6 billion, aimed to counter Zohran Mamdani’s claim that billionaires shouldn’t exist. The spat reveals a deeper tension: Can Democrats champion equality while cozying up to cash?
Pritzker, governor since 2019, and Mamdani, fresh off his June 2025 Democratic primary win for NYC mayor, represent opposing wings of their party.
The New York Post reported that Pritzker’s fortune, built on the Hyatt hotel empire and Pritzker Group investments, makes him one of America’s richest politicians. Mamdani, meanwhile, campaigns on seizing wealth to fix inequality, a stance that’s ruffling elite feathers.
Last Thursday, Mamdani stood outside New York’s Jacob K. Javits federal building, doubling down on his belief that billionaires are a symptom of a broken system.
“I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality,” he said in June on “Meet the Press.” His words are a dog whistle for progressives who see wealth as theft, but they ignore the reality that ambition and innovation often drive fortunes.
Pritzker, unfazed, clapped back on Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” insisting values, not bank accounts, define a Democrat. “Look, how much money you have doesn’t determine what your values are,” he declared. It’s a tidy soundbite, but it sidesteps how wealth can amplify influence in a party preaching fairness.
“It does not matter what your income level is. What matters is what your values are,” Pritzker continued. His defense sounds noble, yet critics might argue it’s easy to preach values when you’ve spent $323 million on gubernatorial campaigns. Mamdani’s camp, notably silent when pressed for comment, seems content to let their candidate’s rhetoric speak for itself.
Mamdani’s vision goes beyond wealth taxes—he’s flirted with government seizure of production means, a policy that reeks of socialist overreach.
Such ideas might thrill the far left, but they risk alienating moderates who see free markets as a path to prosperity. Pritzker, for his part, hasn’t endorsed Mamdani’s mayoral bid, keeping his distance from the firebrand’s radicalism.
Pritzker’s record isn’t spotless, especially on redistricting. Illinois boasts one of the nation’s most gerrymandered congressional maps, with Democrats controlling 14 of 17 seats.
Pritzker’s claim of transparent map-drawing—“We held public hearings, legislative hearings”—feels hollow when the outcome so blatantly favors his party.
Yet Pritzker had the gall to criticize Texas Republicans for their redistricting plans, accusing them of violating the Voting Rights Act.
“What Texas is trying to do is, again, violate the Voting Rights Act. We didn’t,” he said on “Meet the Press.” The irony is rich: Illinois’ map is a masterclass in partisan rigging, yet Pritzker paints himself as a defender of democracy.
Texas, where Republicans hold 26 of 38 congressional seats, is pushing mid-decade redistricting to gain five more. Texas Democrats, in protest, have fled the state to stall the process, a tactic Pritzker has welcomed by inviting them to Illinois. It’s a curious move for a governor who claims to value fair representation.
The Pritzker-Mamdani feud underscores a Democratic Party at war with itself. Mamdani’s anti-billionaire stance appeals to those fed up with inequality, but it risks demonizing success in a country built on opportunity.
Pritzker, with his Hyatt fortune and political ambitions—he’s eyeing a third term and hasn’t ruled out a 2028 presidential run—represents the establishment’s grip on power.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo weighed in, warning that Mamdani’s policies could mirror Chicago’s budget woes under Mayor Brandon Johnson. It’s a pointed critique: Progressive pipe dreams often crash into fiscal reality. Mamdani’s refusal to engage with critics only fuels doubts about his pragmatism.
Pritzker’s wealth, inherited from his late uncle Jay’s Hyatt empire, places him on Forbes’ richest families list, a status that’s hard to square with populist rhetoric.
His $3.6 billion net worth, bolstered by Pritzker Group investments, gives him a megaphone most Democrats can’t afford. Yet he insists his values align with the working class—a claim that rings hollow when you’re bankrolling campaigns with pocket change.
Mamdani’s call to erase billionaires is a simplistic jab at a complex problem. Inequality exists, but punishing success won’t lift the poor—it’ll just scare off the innovators who drive growth. His vision of government seizing production smells like a recipe for stagnation, not progress.
Pritzker, meanwhile, wants it both ways: a progressive hero who happens to be a billionaire. His defense of values over wealth is compelling until you remember his gerrymandered state and self-funded campaigns. The governor’s high-minded talk can’t fully mask the privilege that props him up.
