Kevin O'Leary Says New York Mayor Deserves 'Real Estate Agent of the Year Award' for Driving People Out of the City — ‘Beyond Insane, But I Love It’

Kevin O'Leary Says New York Mayor Deserves 'Real Estate Agent of the Year Award' for Driving People Out of the City — ‘Beyond Insane, But I Love It’

Jeannine Mancini

Sun, August 23, 2026 at 10:31 PM GMT+3 5 min read

Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Florida's real estate agents might want to send Zohran Mamdani a thank-you card. 'Shark Tank' investor Kevin O'Leary says the New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is already doing the job for them.

O'Leary delivered that jab during a CNN interview in February, mocking Mamdani's proposed tax hikes at the time as the kind of policies that don't just raise revenue—he felt they also send taxpayers packing.

"What he is proposing is beyond insane, but I love it," O'Leary said.

Don't Miss:

• Find out if you qualify to reduce your monthly debt payments — see how much you could save with a quick, free consultation.

• AI Needs More Power Than The Grid Can Easily Provide. This Startup Is Taking A Different Approach To Energy Storage.

The comment followed Mamdani's fiscal year 2027 preliminary budget, a $127 billion plan unveiled the same day, which floated a 9.5% property tax hike on homes and businesses.

Mamdani framed the hike as a last resort, one he'd only pursue if New York state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to approve his preferred alternative, an income tax hike on the city's wealthiest earners. He later dropped the property-tax proposal after securing additional state funding.

O'Leary's remark wasn't praise. It was sarcasm. His argument at the time was that raising taxes without cutting spending could push more high-income residents and businesses out of New York and into lower-tax states like Florida.

The 'Award' Came With a Punchline

O'Leary took the joke a step further.

"Probably sometime next year, within 12 to 18 months, I will meet him in Miami and give him [a] 'Real Estate Agent of the Year' award," O'Leary told CNN.

Trending: Goldman Sachs Says AI Infrastructure Spending Could Reach Trillions. See How BluSky AI Is Targeting The Data Center Opportunity.

He then explained why.

"Everybody from New York and New Jersey and Massachusetts is moving into my neighborhood," O'Leary said of Miami Beach. "I'm pissed off, and this guy's just doing more of it."

The punchline wasn't that O'Leary welcomed the migration. It was that, in his view, policies like Mamdani's could end up becoming Florida's best recruiting tool.

The Prediction Is Still Fueling Debate

The conversation didn't end with that February interview.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis echoed a similar sentiment in May, joking that Mamdani had become one of Florida's "realtors of the year" for encouraging residents to head south. New York state also implemented a surcharge on certain higher-value non-primary residences beginning July 1, while migration trends have continued to show New York among the leading states sending new residents to Florida.

Exactly how much tax policy influences those moves remains a matter of debate. Housing costs, remote work, weather and lifestyle all play a role. O'Leary, however, has argued that higher taxes make relocating more attractive for many households and business owners.

See Also: New U.S. Energy Policies Are Shining A Spotlight On Domestic Production. Here's One Company Investors Are Watching.

Owning Rental Homes Without Becoming a Landlord

O'Leary has long been a supporter of real estate as a long-term wealth builder, but buying an investment property isn't the only way to gain exposure to the market.

Platforms such as Arrived allow investors to purchase fractional shares of professionally managed rental homes starting with as little as $100. Instead of searching for properties, qualifying for another mortgage or managing tenants and maintenance, investors can own shares of rental homes while Arrived handles the day-to-day operations.

It's a different approach than becoming a landlord, but one that offers a passive way to invest in residential real estate.

O'Leary's "Real Estate Agent of the Year" line was meant to get a laugh. Behind the joke, though, was a familiar message he's repeated for years: when taxes rise enough, people don't just rethink their finances—they rethink where they want to live.

Read Next: Most Investors Don't Realize Their IRA Can Hold More Than Stocks And Mutual Funds. Learn More.

Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market

Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That's why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn't tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.

Arrived

Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors canbuy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.

Frontieras

As electricity demand accelerates alongside AI and domestic energy production becomes a growing priority,Frontieras is developing patented technology that converts coal into fuels, chemicals, and low-emission energy products without combustion. Through its Regulation A offering, investors can gain exposure to an emerging energy infrastructure company focused on modernizing American industrial and power resources.

FarmTogether

Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors,FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.

Fundrise

Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio.Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.

Qnetic

As electricity demand rises alongside AI, data centers, and renewable energy, long-duration energy storage is becoming increasingly important.Qnetic is developing a kinetic energy storage system designed to provide long-lasting, chemical-free electricity storage, offering investors exposure to the infrastructure supporting a more resilient and reliable power grid.

Mode Mobile

Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte's fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.

EquityMultiple

For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.

BluSky AI

As artificial intelligence drives unprecedented demand for computing power, the infrastructure behind it is becoming just as important as the software itself. BluSky AI is developing modular, prefabricated data centers designed to bring AI compute capacity online faster than traditional builds, giving investors exposure to a critical layer of the rapidly expanding AI ecosystem through its Regulation A offering.

Image: Imagn

This article Kevin O'Leary Says New York Mayor Deserves 'Real Estate Agent of the Year Award' for Driving People Out of the City — 'Beyond Insane, But I Love It' originally appeared on Benzinga.com

© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.