Google billionaire Sergey Brin is reportedly among the many New York City landlords fearing more hurt from capitalism-hating Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent freeze — seemingly dumping his stake in a real-estate fund for pennies on the dollar.
Amphitheatre LLC, an investment firm affiliated with Brin, last year sold shares in a New York real estate fund that holds nearly 5,900 units back to its manager, A&E Real Estate, according to documents filed in December and earlier reported by Bloomberg.
It is unclear how much Brin invested with A&E — which Mamdani called out earlier this year — or how much the group paid to buy it back, though the gross value of his stake in the properties was roughly $79 million, according to records.
A&E confirmed it bought out one of its long-term investors, though it did not specifically name Brin – telling The Post the seller “was willing to accept six cents on the dollar on their original equity investment to divest itself from the New York City multifamily sector.”
Brin – whose worth of $265.7 billion, according to Forbes, makes him the world’s third-richest person – seemingly offloaded his ties to NYC real estate at a steep loss after Mamdani clinched election victory with promises of a rent freeze.
“The simple and deeply troubling fact for renters is that institutional capital – both equity investors and lenders – are fleeing New York City’s rent stabilized apartment sector,” an A&E spokesperson told The Post.
“They understand New York is in a doom loop created in large part by the 2019 Albany rent laws, which handcuff owners’ ability to recoup costs for necessary capital repairs and improvements, coupled with rapidly rising operating expenses and a hostile political establishment determined to freeze the rents no matter the real-life implications for residents,” the spokesperson added.
“Absent changes, the city’s working class housing stock will continue to steadily decline.”
The city’s Rent Guidelines Board voted in a 7-1 decision Thursday to freeze increases on 1 million rent-stabilized apartments, delivering a key tenet of Mamdani’s affordability-focused campaign to a crowd of cheering supporters.
But landlords are warning it could be the final straw, complaining that they are already struggling to survive in the Big Apple following 2019 legislation that restricted their ability to raise rents, and pandemic-era conditions that caused borrowing costs and insurance premiums to spike.
The rent freeze is expected to face serious legal challenges. Critics have argued that if it remains in place, the freeze could drive up prices for market-rate tenants and prompt landlords to start selling their properties or neglecting them.
In the meantime, A&E has faced foreclosure on dozens of apartment buildings and faced repeated challenges from tenant activists and housing agency lawyers – who have accused the group of running units in filthy conditions, including dangerous mold and bedbugs.
Last year, the University of California said it had written down the value of a $115 million investment in the real-estate fund by 50%.
In January, Mamdani blasted A&E for what he called “overt cruelty” to tenants, pointing to thousands of alleged violations that made the company’s president the city’s “worst landlord,” according to Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
A&E said its operating expenses have increased by 78.5% over the past decade, rising faster than rent, and that it is carrying arrears of $84 million in unpaid rent.
The group also said it has invested more than $800 million across its portfolio to replace boilers, modernize elevators, fortify security and clear 35,000 building violations, many of which were inherited upon the acquisition of properties.
NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation & Development has sued A&E multiple times over unsafe living conditions, including mold, bedbugs, peeling lead paint and broken pipes.
Earlier this year, Mamdani announced a $2.1 million settlement with A&E to address hazardous conditions and alleged tenant harassment across 14 buildings.
Brin may be souring on coastal bastions of lefty policies.
The Google co-founder fled California – and moved 15 LLCs out of the state – over a potential one-time tax on billionaires that would equal 5% of their assets.
He has since launched two ballot initiatives aimed at taking down the tax proposal.
