Founder of Barstool Sports Dave Portnoy threatened to move the company’s headquarters from New York if there was a democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is claiming victory in the mayoral elections on November 4.
Portnoy, 48, who has a net worth of around $250 million. USD, 2003 founded Barstool Sports in his home state of Massachusetts; however, the company has been headquartered in New York for several years.
However, the entrepreneur and podcaster has now admitted that he has started looking at other potential locations for his business, which is worth 2023. was about 600 million
“If it was just me, I would move the company out of New York because I hate this guy so much,” Portnoy said during a live appearance on Barstool’s The Unnamed Show podcast.
“But I’m not going to do that because there are a lot of people in New York, and I don’t want to change their lifestyle because of it.”
This isn’t the first time Portnoy has hinted at plans to flee the Big Apple, recently revealing in a live broadcast that he considered Jersey City or Hoboken as alternative locations for Barstool’s headquarters, which is currently based in Manhattan.
“Honestly, I’ve been thinking a lot — and he’s definitely going to win — whether it’s like Hoboken or Jersey City or something…” Portnoy said when asked where he would move Barstool if Mamdani wins.
But Portnoy again said that any plans to flee Manhattan are complicated by the fact that many of his employees are based in and around New York.
“But then we have all these people who are like, I hate it, just because I hate the guy. Like, all the people in the New York office have to go to Jersey or Hoboken? So it’s a Catch-22,” he added, according to Whiskey Riff.
But Portnoy hasn’t completely given up on the idea of closing his New York office and relocating, revealing that he’s asked his “finance” to start looking for real estate elsewhere.
“I can close the New York office. Trust me, I’ve thought about it a lot. Because I can’t stand the thought of Mamdani running New York City. I can’t stand it. But then part of me is like, how much is really going to change?
“But I really thought about it. I told our financier to start looking for assets. Don’t joke. Stand on principle. A 30-year-old Communist who runs New York, never had a job in his life, hates America, doesn’t look like the best.”
Portnoy has been an outspoken critic of Mamdani, 34, for months and told Fox News in July that he believed in the candidate, who is now the clear front-runner in the race with Republicans. Curtis Sliwa and independent Andrew Cuomo— “hates capitalism” and would hurt New York’s economy.
“It’s a very scary time,” Portnoy said. “I can’t believe this guy can be the mayor of New York.
“This is one of the worst, most terrible candidates. He calls himself a democratic socialist, he’s not, he’s a socialist. He’s closer to a communist. He’s said it, he’s on the record, that he wants to put as many socialists in power as possible so he can seize the means of production.”
Although his company is still based in New York, Portnoy himself has been based outside the city for a long time, spending time traveling between his several homes in Florida, Massachusetts, where he was born and raised, and the Hamptons.
Most recently, the Barstool founder added to his already impressive real estate portfolio with a brand new home in the picturesque village of Islamadora, Florida for $27.75 million.
Portnoy’s newest abode sits on 1.65 acres of waterfront land and spans 10,228 square feet.
This “rare offering in the heart of the Florida Keys” includes “150 feet of private waterfront, dock, boat ramp, private beach, two pools and lush, mature tropical landscaping,” according to the listing.
The sale set a record for Islamorada, a village made up of six islands between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The previous record was 22.65 million. US dollars – was reached in 2023.
It was Portnoy’s second major real estate purchase in the Sunshine State in the past five years as well In 2021, when he was last listed for $15 million.
The contemporary two-story home has nine bedrooms and nine bathrooms. It features a one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest house.
in 1939 built 6,000 square foot home has been restored and updated. The lushly landscaped grounds include a pool, deck, beach cabana and private dock.
Although the home was luxurious, it has since been plagued by mold problems, according to a post shared on Portnoy’s X account, which he moved to in 2024. asked his followers in August to recommend “the best mold company in the history of Miami” to come see his “moldy-ass house.”
After returning to his home state of Massachusetts, Portnoy decided not to buy in his hometown of Swampscott, and for 2023. purchased two adjacent homes in Nantucket for $42 million.
According to multiple reports, the purchase set a record for the island and the state at the time. He reportedly spent an additional $2 million on furniture.
The price was more than worth it to secure a home in his “favorite place on Earth,” he said.
“Nantucket has always been my favorite place on Earth,” he wrote in his post X. “The best day of my year was going to the island for vacation. The worst day was going home on the ferry.”
Two homes are located on 1.2 acres of the popular vacation island: a 5,200-square-foot main residence and a two-bedroom guest house. There are also views of the pool and harbor for miles.
Perhaps the home’s most intriguing feature is an underground tunnel that connects the guest house to a separate studio, both of which are separate from the massive main residence.
And when the media mogul wants R&R closer to his company’s New York office, he can head to his mansion in Montauk, New York, which is expected to be completed in 2021. purchased for 9.8 million
The 5,700-square-foot vacation-chic Hamptons enclave features five bedrooms, a pool, and endless ocean views.
Although there were reports that the cash-strapped owner wanted to sell the property for $14 million.