Winning Lawsuit, Organisation Supporting Zohran Mamdani Receives £45.5 Million Inheritance

A decision made approximately half a decade ago has suddenly transformed into a massive financial injection for the United States’ socialist movement. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an organisation serving as one of the primary political engines behind the rise of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has won a dispute over a pension account valued at US$5.2 million (approximately £45.5 million).

The ruling comes at a critical juncture for the DSA. The organisation is not only experiencing membership growth but is also enjoying a series of political victories through socialist candidates competing within the Democratic Party primaries.

The legal victory stems from the determination of beneficiaries for the pension account of David Greenberg, a sociology professor at New York University (NYU) who passed away in 2024. Greenberg had designated both of his parents as the primary beneficiaries. However, the account stipulated that if both parents had predeceased him, the funds would be allocated to the New American Movement or any organisation that succeeded it.

Following the deaths of both parents, and after Greenberg’s own passing, the DSA filed a claim for the funds, arguing that the organisation was the successor to the New American Movement. The New American Movement merged with the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee in 1982, a merger that formed the Democratic Socialists of America.

Paul A. Engelmayer, Judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, ultimately accepted the DSA’s arguments. In the ruling for the case of Hecht versus New York University on 27 July 2026, the judge stated that the evidence presented showed the DSA had assumed the position, assets, and liabilities of the organisations that formed it.

The judge also determined that the term ‘successor’ in Greenberg’s documents did not require a legal successor to possess a specific administrative form. In a general sense, the DSA was deemed to be the organisation that followed and replaced the New American Movement. Greenberg himself was recorded as a DSA member who paid dues during a period traceable through the organisation’s electronic archives.

The lawsuit was filed by Martin Hecht, Greenberg’s nephew, in April 2025. The family contested whether the DSA truly met the criteria as the legitimate successor to the New American Movement. The estate also accused NYU of failing in its fiduciary duties, arguing the university should have periodically ensured that beneficiary designations made decades earlier still aligned with Greenberg’s wishes prior to his death.

This argument failed to convince the court. The judge stated that the family failed to provide evidence that NYU was negligent. Furthermore, the university had no legal obligation to personally approach Greenberg to re-verify every pension beneficiary designation.

In addition to the US$5.2 million won by the DSA, there was another account valued at US$1.3 million. At the same exchange rate, this amount reaches approximately £1.1 million. This second account entered Greenberg’s estate without dispute.