Zohran Kwame Mamdani (born October 18, 1991) is an American politician who has been elected as the new mayor of New York City. A member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America, he has been serving as a representative for the 36th district in the New York State Assembly since 2021, covering the Astoria neighborhood in Queens.
Early life and education of Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, on October 18, 1991, as the sole child of Mahmood Mamdani, a scholar of postcolonialism, and Mira Nair, a filmmaker. His father chose the middle name Kwame to honor Kwame Nkrumah, the inaugural president of Ghana. His parents both have Indian heritage; his father is a Gujarati Shia Muslim from the Khoja community, originally from Mumbai, and his mother is a Punjabi Hindu who was born in Rourkela and raised in Bhubaneswar. His paternal grandparents originated from what is now Tanzania, and his father’s family was a part of the Indian diaspora in Southeast Africa. His maternal grandfather, Amrit Lal Nair, served as an Indian Administrative Service officer, and his grandmother, Praveen Nair, was a social worker who founded the Salaam Baalak Trust in India.
Until the age of five, Mamdani lived in Kampala, after which his family relocated to Cape Town in South Africa’s Western Cape province due to his father’s appointment as head of African studies at the University of Cape Town. During the early post-apartheid years, he attended St. George’s Grammar School in Mowbray, and later remarked that living in Cape Town “showed me the reality of inequality… [and] that justice must be a tangible reality, not just an idea.”
When Mamdani was seven, his family moved to the United States, settling in New York City, where he grew up in Morningside Heights. He characterized his upbringing as “privileged,” stating, “I never had to desire for anything, yet I understood that was not the experience for most New Yorkers.” As a young boy, he spent considerable time on his mother’s film sets and was adored by the crew members, who playfully nicknamed him “Z,” “Zoru,” “Fadoose,” and “Nonstop Mamdani.”
Mamdani attended the Bank Street School for Children located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he ran as an independent candidate in a middle school mock election, promoting a platform focused on “equal rights, anti-war [policy], suggesting funding education instead of the military.” In 2003, he traveled back to Kampala for a year to attend school during his father’s sabbatical there, where his paternal grandparents and aunt offered him support while his father worked on the book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim.
In 2010, Mamdani graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in Kingsbridge Heights, where he co-founded the school’s inaugural cricket team and made an unsuccessful bid for the position of student body vice president. He also participated in soccer through the West Side Soccer League. Mamdani then enrolled at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he established the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. He frequently contributed to the campus newspaper, The Bowdoin Orient, writing about politics, culture, and sports in a column named Kwame’s Kolumnalu.
In January 2014, he collaborated on an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News, advocating for Bowdoin to participate in the American Studies Association’s boycott of Israel and critiquing college president Barry Mills. He completed his degree in 2014, majoring in Africana studies.
Before his political candidacy, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention and housing advisor, aiding lower-income immigrant homeowners in Queens with eviction notices and efforts to stay in their residences. He stated that this experience inspired him to pursue a political career to tackle the housing and affordability crisis.
Personal life of Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani holds dual citizenship in Uganda and the United States, having been naturalized in the latter in 2018. He is a Shia Muslim, specifically identifying with the Twelver sect.
In 2021, Mamdani connected with animator and illustrator Rama Duwaji through the dating app Hinge. They became engaged in October 2024, had a private nikah ceremony two months later, and were married in February 2025 in a civil ceremony at New York City Hall; they also celebrated in Uganda in July 2025. The couple lives in Astoria, Queens, close to Steinway Street.
In addition to English, Mamdani speaks at least five other languages to varying extents: Hindi, Bengali, Spanish, Luganda, and Arabic. He is a supporter of Arsenal but also enjoys watching cricket, All Elite Wrestling, and the New York Knicks, whose games he has attended during previous campaigns. Since 2012, he has been a shareholder of Real Oviedo, purchasing a share during the capital increase initiated by the club to prevent its dissolution.
Net worth of Zohran Mamdani
The estimated net worth of Zohran Mamdani is about $10 million