Michael Bloomberg

Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P. He was the mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013 and was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.

Bloomberg grew up in Medford, Massachusetts and graduated from Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School. He began his career at the securities brokerage Salomon Brothers before forming his own company in 1981. That company, Bloomberg L.P., is a financial information, software and media firm that is known for its Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg spent the next twenty years as its chairman and CEO. In 2019, Forbes ranked him as the ninth-richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $55.5 billion. Since signing The Giving Pledge, Bloomberg has given away $8.2 billion.

Early life and education

Bloomberg was born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, in Brighton, a neighbourhood of Boston, Massachusetts, on February 14, 1942, to William Henry Bloomberg (1906–1963), a bookkeeper for a dairy company, and Charlotte (née Rubens) Bloomberg (1909–2011). The Bloomberg Center at the Harvard Business School was named in William Henry's honour. His family is Jewish, and he is a member of the Emanu-El Temple in Manhattan. Bloomberg's paternal grandfather, Alexander "Elick" Bloomberg, was a Polish Jew. Bloomberg's maternal grandfather, Max Rubens, was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant from present-day Belarus. His maternal grandmother was born in New York to Lithuanian Jewish parents.

Business career

In 1973, Bloomberg became a general partner at Salomon Brothers, a large Wall Street investment bank, where he headed equity trading and, later, systems development. In 1981, Salomon Brothers were bought by Phibro Corporation, and Bloomberg was laid off from the investment bank with a $10 million cash buyout of his partnership stake in the firm.

Using this money, Bloomberg, having designed in-house computerized financial systems for Salomon, set up a data services company named Innovative Market Systems (IMS) based on his belief that Wall Street would pay a premium for high-quality business information, delivered instantaneously on computer terminals in a variety of usable formats. The company sold customized computer terminals that delivered real-time market data, financial calculations and other analytics to Wall Street firms. The terminal, first called the Market Master terminal, was released to the market in December 1982.

Wealth

In March 2009, Forbes reported Bloomberg's wealth at $16 billion, a gain of $4.5 billion over the previous year, the world's biggest increase in wealth from 2008 to 2009. Bloomberg moved from 142nd to 17th in the Forbes list of the world's billionaires in only two years. In the 2019 Forbes list of the world's billionaires, he was the ninth-richest person; his net worth was estimated at $55.5 billion.

Political career

Mayor of New York City

Bloomberg assumed office as the 108th mayor of New York City on January 1, 2002. He won re-election in 2005 and again in 2009. As mayor, he initially struggled with approval ratings as low as 24 per cent; however, he subsequently developed and maintained high approval ratings. Bloomberg joined Rudy Giuliani and Fiorello La Guardia as re-elected Republican mayors in the mostly Democratic city.

Bloomberg stated that he wanted public education reform to be the legacy of his first term and addressing poverty to be the legacy of his second.

Bloomberg chose to apply a statistical, metrics-based management approach to city government and granted departmental commissioners broad autonomy in their decision-making. Breaking with 190 years of tradition, he implemented what New York Times political reporter Adam Nagourney called a "bullpen" open office plan, similar to a Wall Street trading floor, in which dozens of aides and managerial staff are seated together in a large chamber. The design is intended to promote accountability and accessibility.

Mayoral elections

2001 election

In 2001, New York's Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani was ineligible for re-election due to the city's limit of two consecutive terms. Bloomberg, who had been a lifelong member of the Democratic Party, decided to run for mayor on the Republican ticket. Voting in the primary began on the morning of September 11, 2001. The primary was postponed later that day, due to the September 11 attacks. In the rescheduled primary, Bloomberg defeated Herman Badillo, a former Democratic congressman, to become the Republican nominee. After a runoff, the Democratic nomination went to New York City Public Advocate Mark J. Green.

2005 election

Bloomberg was re-elected mayor in November 2005 by a margin of 20 per cent, the widest margin ever for a Republican mayor of New York City. He spent almost $78 million on his campaign, exceeding the record of $74 million he spent on the previous election. In late 2004 or early 2005, Bloomberg gave the Independence Party of New York $250,000 to fund a phone bank seeking to recruit volunteers for his re-election campaign.

Former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer won the Democratic nomination to oppose Bloomberg in the general election. Thomas Ognibene sought to run against Bloomberg in the Republican Party's primary election. The Bloomberg campaign successfully challenged the signatures Ognibene submitted to the Board of Elections to prevent Ognibene from appearing on ballots for the Republican primary. Instead, Ognibene ran on only the Conservative Party ticket. Ognibene accused Bloomberg of betraying Republican Party ideals, a feeling echoed by others.

2013 election

Main article: 2013 New York City mayoral election

On September 13, 2013, Bloomberg announced that he would not endorse any of the candidates to succeed him. On his radio show, he stated, "I don't want to do anything that complicates it for the next mayor. And that's one of the reasons I've decided I'm just not going to make an endorsement in the race." He added, "I want to make sure that person is ready to succeed, to take what we've done and build on that."

Bloomberg praised The New York Times for its endorsement of Christine Quinn and Joe Lhota as their favourite candidates in the Democratic and Republican primaries, respectively. Quinn came in third in the Democratic primary and Lhota won the Republican primary. Bloomberg criticized Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio's campaign methods, which he initially called "racist;" Bloomberg later downplayed and partially retracted those remarks.

On January 1, 2014, de Blasio became New York City's new mayor, succeeding Bloomberg.

Post-mayoral political involvement

2016 elections

On January 23, 2016, it was reported that Bloomberg was again considering a presidential run, as an independent candidate in the 2016 election, if Bernie Sanders got the Democratic party nomination. This was the first time he had officially confirmed he was considering a run. Bloomberg supporters believed that Bloomberg could run as a centrist and capture many voters who were dissatisfied with the likely Democratic and Republican nominees. However, on March 7, Bloomberg announced he would not be running for president.

In July 2016, Bloomberg delivered a speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in which he called Hillary Clinton "the right choice". Bloomberg warned of the dangers a Donald Trump presidency would pose. He said Trump "wants you to believe that we can solve our biggest problems by deporting Mexicans and shutting out Muslims. He wants you to believe that erecting trade barriers will bring back good jobs. He's wrong on both counts." Bloomberg also said Trump's economic plans "would make it harder for small businesses to compete" and would "erode our influence in the world". Trump responded to the speech by condemning Bloomberg in a series of tweets.

2018 elections

In June 2018, Bloomberg made pledged $80 million to support Democratic congressional candidates in the 2018 election, with the goal of flipping control of the Republican-controlled House to Democrats. In a statement, Bloomberg said that Republican House leadership were "absolutely feckless" and had failed to govern responsibly. Bloomberg advisor Howard Wolfson was chosen to lead the effort, which was to target mainly suburban districts. By early October, Bloomberg had committed more than $100 million to return the House and Senate to Democratic power, fueling speculation about a presidential run in 2020. On October 10, 2018, Bloomberg announced that he had returned to the Democratic party.

2020 presidential campaign

On March 5, 2019, Bloomberg had announced that he would not run for president in 2020. Instead, he encouraged the Democratic Party to "nominate a Democrat who will be in the strongest position to defeat Donald Trump". However, due to his dissatisfaction with the Democratic field, Bloomberg reconsidered. He officially launched his campaign for the 2020 Democratic nomination on November 24, 2019.

Bloomberg self-funded his campaign from his personal fortune and did not accept campaign contributions.

Bloomberg's campaign suffered from his lacklustre performance in two televised debates. When Bloomberg participated in his first presidential debate, Elizabeth Warren challenged him to release women from non-disclosure agreements relating to their allegations of sexual harassment at Bloomberg L.P. Two days later, Bloomberg announced that there were three women who had made complaints concerning him, and added that he would release any of the three if they request him to do so. Warren continued her attack in the second debate the next week. Others criticized Bloomberg for his wealth and campaign spending, as well as his former affiliation with the Republican Party.

As a late entrant to the race, Bloomberg skipped the first four state primaries and caucuses. He spent $676 million of his personal fortune on the primary campaign, breaking a record for the most money ever spent on a presidential primary campaign. His campaign blanketed the country with campaign advertisements on broadcast and cable television, the Internet, and radio, as well as direct mail. Bloomberg also spent heavily on campaign operations that grew to 200 field offices and more than 2,400 paid campaign staffers. His support in nationwide opinion polls hovered around 15 per cent but stagnated or dropped before Super Tuesday. Bloomberg suspended his campaign on March 4, 2020, after a disappointing Super Tuesday in which he won only American Samoa. He subsequently endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.

When a 60 Minutes correspondent remarked on March 1 that Bloomberg had spent twice what President Trump had raised, he was asked how much he would spend. Bloomberg replied, "I'm making an investment in this country. My investment is I'm going to remove President Trump from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or at least try as hard as I can."

Political positions

Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat until 2001 when he switched to the Republican Party to run for Mayor. He switched to an independent in 2007 and registered again as a Democrat in October 2018. In 2004, he endorsed the re-election of George W. Bush and spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention. He endorsed Barack Obama's re-election in 2012, endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, and spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

As Mayor of New York, Bloomberg supported government initiatives in public health and welfare. This included tobacco control efforts (including an increase in the legal age to purchase tobacco products, a ban on smoking in indoor workplaces, and an increase in the cigarette tax); the elimination of the use of artificial trans fats in restaurants; and bans on all flavoured tobacco and e-cigarette products including menthol flavours. Bloomberg also launched an unsuccessful effort to ban on certain large (more than 16 fluid ounce) sugary sodas at restaurants and foodservice establishments in the city. These initiatives were supported by public health advocates but were criticized by some as "nanny state" policies.

Philanthropy

In August 2010, Bloomberg signed The Giving Pledge, whereby the wealthy pledge to give away at least half of their wealth. Since then, he has given away $8.2 billion.

According to a profile in Fast Company, his Bloomberg Philanthropies foundation has five areas of focus: public health, the arts, government innovation, the environment, and education. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Bloomberg was the third-largest philanthropic donor in America in 2015. Through his Bloomberg Philanthropies Foundation, he has donated and/or pledged $240 million in 2005, $60 million in 2006, $47 million in 2007, $150 million in 2009, $332 million in 2010, $311 million in 2011, and $510 million in 2015.

2011 recipients included the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; World Lung Foundation and the World Health Organization. According to The New York Times, Bloomberg was an "anonymous donor" to the Carnegie Corporation from 2001 to 2010, with gifts ranging from $5 million to $20 million each year. The Carnegie Corporation distributed these contributions to hundreds of New York City organizations ranging from the Dance Theatre of Harlem to Gilda's Club, a non-profit organization that provides support to people and families living with cancer. He continues to support the arts through his foundation.

Bloomberg gave $254 million in 2009 to almost 1,400 nonprofit organizations, saying, "I am a big believer in giving it all away and have always said that the best financial planning ends with bouncing the check to the undertaker."

Environmental advocacy

Bloomberg is an environmentalist and has advocated policy to fight climate change at least since he became the mayor of New York City. At the national level, Bloomberg has consistently pushed for transitioning the United States' energy mix from fossil fuels to clean energy. In July 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies donated $50 million to Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, allowing the campaign to expand its efforts to shut down coal-fired power plants from 15 states to 45 states. In 2015, Bloomberg announced an additional $30 million contribution to the Beyond Coal initiative, matched with another $30 million by other donors, to help secure the retirement of half of America's fleet of coal plants by 2017. In early June 2019, Bloomberg pledged $500 million to reduce climate impacts and shut remaining coal-fired power plants by 2030 via the new Beyond Carbon initiative.

Johns Hopkins University philanthropy

As of 2019, Bloomberg has given more than $3.3 billion to Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater, making him "the most generous living donor to any education institution in the United States." His first contribution, in 1965, had been $5. He made his first $1 million commitment to JHU in 1984 and subsequently became the first individual to exceed $1 billion in lifetime donations to a single U.S. institution of higher education.

Other educational and research philanthropy

In 2016, the Museum of Science, Boston announced a $50 million gift from Bloomberg. The donation marks Bloomberg's fourth gift to the museum, which he credits with sparking his intellectual curiosity as a patron and student during his youth in Medford, Massachusetts. The endowment supported the museum's education division, named the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Science Education Center in honour of Bloomberg's parents. It is the largest donation in the museum's 186-year history.

In 2015, Bloomberg donated $100 million to Cornell Tech, the applied sciences graduate school of Cornell University, to construct the first academic building, "The Bloomberg Center", on the school's Roosevelt Island campus. In 1996, Bloomberg endowed the William Henry Bloomberg Professorship at Harvard University with a $3 million gift in honour of his father, who died in 1963, saying, "throughout his life, he recognized the importance of reaching out to the nonprofit sector to help better the welfare of the entire community."

Urban innovation philanthropy

In July 2011, Bloomberg launched a $24 million initiative to fund "Innovation Delivery Teams" in five cities. The teams are one of Bloomberg Philanthropies' key goals: advancing government innovation. In December 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies launched a partnership with online ticket search engine SeatGeek to connect artists with new audiences. Called the Discover New York Arts Project, the project includes organizations HERE, New York Theatre Workshop, and the Kaufman Center.

In 2016, Bloomberg gave Harvard $32 million to create the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative within Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation; the initiative provides training to mayors and their aides on innovative municipal leadership and challenges facing cities.

Tobacco, guns and public health

Bloomberg has been a longtime donor to global tobacco control efforts. Bloomberg has donated close to $1 billion to the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote anti-smoking efforts, including $125 million in 2006, $250 million in 2008, and $360 million, making Bloomberg Philanthropies the developing world's biggest funder of tobacco-control initiatives. In 2013, it was reported that Bloomberg had donated $109.24 million in 556 grants and 61 countries to campaigns against tobacco. Bloomberg's contributions are aimed at "getting countries to monitor tobacco use, introduce strong tobacco-control laws, and create mass media campaigns to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use."

Bloomberg is the co-founder of Everytown for Gun Safety (formerly Mayors Against Illegal Guns), a gun-control advocacy group.

In August 2016, the World Health Organization appointed Bloomberg as its Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases. In this role, Bloomberg will mobilize the private sector and political leaders to help the WHO reduce deaths from preventable diseases, traffic accidents, tobacco, obesity, and alcohol. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan cited Bloomberg's ongoing support for WHO anti-smoking, drowning prevention, and road safety programs in her announcement of his new role.

Other philanthropy

In 2017, Bloomberg donated $75 million for The Shed, a new arts and cultural centre in Hudson Yards, Manhattan.

Bloomberg also endowed his hometown synagogue, Temple Shalom, which was renamed for his parents as the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Jewish Community Center of Medford.

Bloomberg hosted the Global Business Forum in September 2017, during the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly; the gathering featured international CEOs, heads of state, and other prominent speakers.

Electoral history

Personal life

Family and relationships

In 1975, Bloomberg married Susan Elizabeth Barbara Brown, a British national from Yorkshire, United Kingdom. They have two daughters: Emma (born c. 1979) and Georgina (born 1983), who was featured on Born Rich, a 2003 documentary film about the children of the extremely wealthy. Bloomberg divorced Brown in 1993, but he has said she remains his "best friend." Since 2000, Bloomberg has lived with former New York state banking superintendent Diana Taylor.

Bloomberg's younger sister, Marjorie Tiven, has been Commissioner of the New York City Commission for the United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol, since February 2002. His daughter Emma is married to Christopher Frissora, son of multimillionaire businessman Mark Frissora.

Religion

Although he attended Hebrew school, had a bar mitzvah, and his family kept a kosher kitchen, Bloomberg today is relatively secular, attending synagogue mainly during the High Holidays and a Passover Seder with his sister, Marjorie Tiven. Neither of his daughters had bat mitzvahs.

Public image and lifestyle

Throughout his business career, Bloomberg has made numerous statements which have been considered by some to be insulting, derogatory, sexist or misogynistic. When working on Wall Street in the 1960s and 1970s, Bloomberg claimed in his 1997 autobiography, he had "a girlfriend in every city". On various occasions, Bloomberg allegedly commented "I'd do her", regarding certain women, some of whom were coworkers or employees. Bloomberg later said that by "do", he meant that he would have a personal relationship with the woman. Bloomberg's staff told the New York Times that he now regrets having made "disrespectful" remarks concerning women.

Awards and honours

Bloomberg has received honorary degrees from Tufts University (2007), Bard College (2007), Rockefeller University (2007), the University of Pennsylvania (2008), Fordham University (2009), Williams College (2014), Harvard University (2014), the University of Michigan (2016), Villanova University (2017) and Washington University in St. Louis (2019). Bloomberg was the speaker for Princeton University's 2011 baccalaureate service.

Bloomberg has received the Yale School of Management's Award for Distinguished Leadership in Global Capital Markets (2003); Barnard College's Barnard Medal of Distinction (2008); the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Leadership for Healthy Communities' Healthy Communities Leadership Award (2009); and the Jefferson Awards Foundation's U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official (2010). He was the inaugural laureate of the annual Genesis Prize for Jewish values in 2013 and donated the $1 million prize money to global competition, the Genesis Generation Challenge, to identify young adults' big ideas to better the world.

Bloomberg was named the 39th most influential person in the world in the 2007 and 2008 Time 100. In 2010, Vanity Fair ranked him #7 in its "Vanity Fair 100" list of influential figures.

In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Bloomberg an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his "prodigious entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavours and the many ways in which they have benefited the United Kingdom and the U.K.-U.S. special relationship."

Books and other works

Bloomberg, with Matthew Winkler, wrote an autobiography, Bloomberg by Bloomberg, published in 1997 by Wiley. A second edition was released in 2019, ahead of Bloomberg's presidential run. Bloomberg and former Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope co-authored Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet (2017), published by St. Martin's Press; the book appeared on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction best-seller list. Bloomberg has written a number of op-eds in the New York Times about various issues, including an op-ed supporting state and local efforts to fight climate change (2017), an op-ed about his donation of $1.8 billion in financial aid for college students and support for need-blind admission policies (2018);^[ an op-ed supporting a ban on flavoured e-cigarettes (2019); and op-ed supporting policies to reduce economic inequality (2020).

Super Star CEO

Tuesday, May 26, 2020