Michael Bloomberg

American businessman and politician; 108th mayor of New York City

Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American business magnate, politician and philanthropist. He was the 108th Mayor of New York City for three terms from 2002 to 2013, as both a Republican and an independent who purveyed socially liberal and fiscally moderate policies. He has a net worth of $53 billion. He is the ninth-richest person in the United States. He is the thirteenth-richest person in the world.[1] He is the founder and 88% owner of Bloomberg L.P..[2][3] In November 2019, Bloomberg announced his presidential campaign for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2020. He ended his campaign in March 2020 after losing many states on Super Tuesday.

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg in January 2019
108th Mayor of New York City
In office
January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013
Preceded byRudy Giuliani
Succeeded byBill de Blasio
Personal details
Born
Michael Rubens Bloomberg

(1942-02-14) February 14, 1942 (age 82)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (before 2001, 2018–present)
Independent (2007–2018)
Republican (2001–2007)
Height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Spouse(s)
Susan Brown-Meyer
(m. 1975; div. 1993)
Domestic partnerDiana Taylor (2000–present)
Children2, including Georgina
ResidenceUpper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materJohns Hopkins University (BS)
Harvard University (MBA)
OccupationBusinessman, politician, philanthropist
Net worthUS$53 billion (November 2019)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

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Michael Bloomberg was born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, on February 14, 1942.[4] He is Jewish.[5] His father, William Henry Bloomberg (1906–1963), was a real estate agent and the son of Alexander "Elick" Bloomberg, an immigrant from Russia. His mother, Charlotte Rubens Bloomberg (January 2, 1909 – June 19, 2011), was a native of Jersey City, New Jersey. His maternal grandfather, Max Rubens, was an immigrant from present-day Belarus, then also part of Russia.[6][7]

Education

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Bloomberg received a Bachelor's degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1964. He received a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University in 1966.[8]

Business career

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Bloomberg began his career at Salomon Brothers before forming his company in 1981 and became its Chairman and CEO.[9] He also served as chairman of the board of trustees at his alma mater Johns Hopkins University from 1996 to 2002.

Mayor of New York City (2002–2013)

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He was a Democrat before running for office. He switched his party registration in 2001 to run for mayor as a Republican. He defeated opponent Mark Green in a close election held just weeks after the September 11 attacks. Bloomberg won a second term in 2005 and left the Republican Party two years later.[9] He campaigned to change the city's term limits law and was elected to his third term in 2009 as an independent candidate on the Republican ballot line. He was criticized by many for his "Stop And Frisk" policy, which has been criticized for disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic men in New York City, as most of those stopped (~90%) were not found to be guilty of any crime or wrongdoing.[10]

Post mayoral career

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He was often mentioned as a possible candidate for the U.S. presidential elections in 2008 and 2012,[11] and for New York Governor in 2010. He declined to seek either office, instead wanting to continue serving as Mayor of New York. On January 1, 2014, Bill de Blasio succeeded him as Mayor of New York City.[12]

Bloomberg is co-chair with Tom Steyer and Henry Paulson for a report called Risky Business Archived 2015-02-14 at the Wayback Machine by a coalition of top U.S. political and economic leaders from the political left, right, and center on the dire economic consequences from climate change (global warming), from lost property to ruined crops.[13]

In 2015, there was speculation of Bloomberg possibly running for president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[14][15][16] On January 10, 2016, Bloomberg showed interest in running as an Independent in the upcoming election.[17][18] On March 7, 2016, Bloomberg said that he will not run for president lest it bring victory to Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.

2020 presidential campaign

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Bloomberg's 2020 logo

Following the 2016 election, Bloomberg was seen as a possible candidate for the 2020 election. In October 2018, Bloomberg announced that he had changed his political party affiliation to Democratic.[19] In March 2019, Bloomberg said that he would not run for president.[20]

However, later that year on November 7, 2019, Bloomberg announced that he was taking steps to enter the 2020 presidential race,[21] and said that he would make a formal announcement of his campaign soon.[22] On November 21, he filed paperwork to enter the Democratic primaries.[23] Three days later, Bloomberg launched his campaign and his official website.[24]

Bloomberg's total spending in the primary has passed $500 million, making it the most money spent on a presidential primary campaign in American history.[25]

On Super Tuesday, Bloomberg won the American Samoa caucus which brought his first and only victory in his campaign. He ended his campaign the next day on March 4, 2020 and announced his support of Joe Biden.[26]

Personal life

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Bloomberg was married to Susan Brown from 1975 until they divorced in 1993. He is now in a domestic partnership with Diana Taylor since 2000. Bloomberg has two daughters with Brown.

Articles

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References

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  1. Michael Sherer, "Michael Bloomberg Wants To Be Mayor of the World," Time, October 21, 2013, pages 20-31
  2. "Bloomberg – Are you a robot?". www.bloomberg.com. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  3. "The 400 Richest Americans: #8 Michael Bloomberg". Forbes. September 17, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  4. Harris, Elizabeth A. (June 20, 2011). "Charlotte R. Bloomberg, Mayor's Mother, Is Dead at 102". The New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  5. "4 Jewish Things To Know About Michael Bloomberg". The Forward. 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  6. Purnick, Joyce (8 October 2009). "'Mike Bloomberg,' by Joyce Purnick". The New York Times.
  7. Ford, Beverly; Lovett, Kenneth; Blau, Reuven; Einhorn, Erin; Lucadamo; Kathleen (June 19, 2011). "Charlotte Bloomberg, Mayor Bloomberg's Mother, Dies at 102" Archived 2012-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. Daily News (New York). Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  8. Ward, Marguerite (22 May 2017). "Billionaire Michael Bloomberg: When choosing a job, prioritize this over salary". CNBC. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Bloomberg Leaves Republican Party – NYC Mayor, Subject of Speculation about Presidential Run, Now Unaffiliated". msnbc.com. Associated Press. June 20, 2007. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  10. Blow, Charles M. (2019-11-10). "Opinion | You Must Never Vote for Bloomberg". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  11. Chan, Sewell (June 19, 2007). "City Room: Bloomberg Leaving Republican Party". The New York Times.
  12. The New York Times (November 6, 2013). "De Blasio Is Elected New York City Mayor in Landslide". The New York Times. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  13. 5 Dire Warnings From Bipartisan Report on Climate Change's Economic Impact; Risks include flooding, disruption to farming, and dangerous heat. June 25, 2014 National Geographic
  14. Harper, Jennifer (August 18, 2015) Inside the Beltway: Michael Bloomberg, a Democratic presidential candidate?, Washington Times. Retrieved August 19, 2015
  15. Lucas, Fred (August 8, 2015) Early State Primary Voters Will See More ‘Michael Bloomberg for President’ Ads — From the NRA Archived 2015-09-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Blaze. Retrieved August 19, 2015
  16. Chambers, Francesca (June 5, 2015) Could Hillary get serious opposition as another no-hoper – Lincoln Chafee – enters 2016 race: Michael Bloomberg holds meeting on running for White House and says it’s 'no problem' becoming a Democrat, The Daily Mail.com. Retrieved August 19, 2015
  17. "Bloomberg commissioned poll to test 2016 waters, source says". CNN.com. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  18. "Bloomberg Eyes Third-Party Run Against Trump and Clinton". Weekly Standard.com. 9 January 2016. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  19. CNN, Devan Cole. "Bloomberg re-registers as a Democrat, saying the party must provide 'checks and balances'". CNN. Retrieved 2018-10-10. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. Burns, Alexander (March 5, 2019). "Michael Bloomberg Will Not Run for President in 2020". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-11-07.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. Viser, Matt, & Scherer, Michael (March 5, 2019). "Billionaire and ex-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking steps to run for president". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-11-07.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. Caitlin Conant (November 8, 2019). "2020 Daily Trail Markers: Bloomberg to make decision about running "in the near future"". CBS News. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  23. "Michael Bloomberg files paperwork to enter 2020 Democratic primary". NBC News. November 21, 2019.
  24. "Michael Bloomberg launches Democratic presidential bid". AP NEWS. November 24, 2019.
  25. Allsion, Bill; Niquette, Mark (February 24, 2020). "Bloomberg Tops Half a Billion Dollars in Campaign Advertising". Bloomberg. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  26. "Mike Bloomberg Suspends His Presidential Campaign, Endorses Joe Biden". NPR. March 4, 2020.

Other websites

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Party political offices
Preceded by
Rudy Giuliani
Republican nominee for Mayor of New York City
2001, 2005, 2009
Succeeded by
Joe Lhota
Political offices
Preceded by
Rudy Giuliani
Mayor of New York City
2002–2013
Succeeded by
Bill de Blasio