Michael Bloomberg is a businessman and former politician who has served as the Mayor of New York City from 2002 until 2020. He is a Democrat. However, he has been known to cross the aisle and work with Republicans.

Bloomberg is a very controversial figure. Some people love him, while others despise him. His policies have helped make New York City one of the most livable cities in the world but have also divided the people.

Michael Bloomberg’s Early Life

Michael Bloomberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1942. He is the son of William Henry Bloomberg, a bookkeeper for a dairy company, and Charlotte Rubens Bloomberg, who served as a volunteer nurse’s aide at Massachusetts General Hospital.

His parents are immigrants from England and Ireland respectively. As a child, he went to school in Medford, Massachusetts. He has 3 siblings, two brothers, and one sister.

Michael Bloomberg’s Educational Background

Michael Bloomberg studied at Johns Hopkins University from 1962-1966. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. In 1966, he later joined the U.S Army Reserves and was on active duty until 1968.

In 1966 he returned to Harvard Business School, where he received his Master of Business Administration degree 1970. Michael Bloomberg had further studies at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University between 1977-1978 and a course at the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1981.

Michael Bloomberg’s Financial Career

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Michael Bloomberg began working at Salomon Brothers. Here, he was originally hired as an entry-level systems programmer.

He worked his way up through the company and eventually became involved with their information technology projects which led him to become a director on their board. After this position, he left Salomon Brothers and started Innovative Market Systems which focused on designing financial computer systems that would provide real-time market data to investors while also allowing them to conduct trades. He served as chairman until 2001 when he decided to run for New York City.

Michael Bloomberg’s Professional Career

In 1973, Michael Bloomberg started working as an analyst for Salomon Brothers, an investment bank based out of New York City. In 1974, after 2 years, he became a general partner with them before leaving in 1981 after having become a millionaire.

Michael Bloomberg then started his own company, known as Innovative Market Systems. This became the foundation for his later company which would go on to be worth $33 billion, Bloomberg LP.

In 1981 he was elected to the board of Solomon Bros. Later in 1982 they were taken over by what is now Salomon Smith Barney. He claims that this takeover motivated him to move on and create his own financial news business.

From 1981-2001 Michael Bloomberg served as CEO & Chairman of Bloomberg LLP, where he took an idea based on 3 friends with desktop computers who shared information and expanded it into a global media company that has more than 15,000 employees worldwide in 170 countries. Under his leadership, it has become one of the world’s leading global media, software, and information companies.

Michael Bloomberg served as Chairman for New York City beginning in 1998. He has also served as Co-Chairman of the Partnership for New York City since 2008. In addition to that, Michael Bloomberg also donates large amounts of his money back to charities including an initial investment of USD 100 million at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Michael Bloomberg’s Political Career

Early on in his career, Michael Bloomberg amassed a net worth of about $10 million by working at Salomon Brothers and later investing in the financial data company Innovative Market Systems which he co-founded. After this, he founded his own company, Bloomberg LP. Bloomberg LP primarily focused on providing financial services to large corporations. Michael Bloomberg’s political career began when he was elected Mayor of New York City in 2001 after being a registered Democrat for years.

As mayor between 2002 and 2013, he developed policies that aimed to reduce crime rates, improve public education and health care access, promote economic development, and tackle climate change. When running for reelection in 2005, Michael Bloomberg campaigned against Democratic nominee Fernando Ferrer but also secured the endorsements of members from the Democratic Party after he had to come out of his party to run for mayor.

Michael Bloomberg City Mayor

On January 1, 2002, Michael Bloomberg became mayor of New York City after being elected with 50.7% votes against Democrat Mark Green’s 47%. He was reelected on November 6, 2005, with 72% votes over Fernando Ferrer’s 26%. On November 3, 2009, he defeated Democrat Bill Thompson, with 73% of the votes. Michael Bloomberg is known to be an independent politician who has served as mayor under the Republican and Democratic parties.

Michael Bloomberg’s Achievements While Mayor of New York City

Since becoming Mayor, Michael Bloomberg claims to have initiated more than 150 major initiatives which include improving education by reorganization, creating over 600,000 jobs, expanding access to technology in schools, and building dozens of new schools. He has also worked towards reducing crime levels by 30%.

As part of his plans for economic development, he pushed for incentives that would attract new business into the city such as tax breaks for home buyers. Through these projects, 10,000 units of affordable housing for families were built since 2004.

Another one of Michael Bloomberg’s focuses as Mayor was on public health. This included pushing for bans on smoking in bars and restaurants, as well as trans-fats in food.

Michael Bloomberg’s Salary as Mayor of New York City

As mayor, Michael Bloomberg earns $225k annually before taxes. He has chosen not to accept a salary during his third term which began on January 1st, 2014.

His yearly salary is larger than that given to Barack Obama who earns $400,000 per year and significantly higher than that given to Pope Francis who only earns $250,000 per year.

The median household income for people living in New York City is $52k per year. This means that Michael Bloomberg makes over 25 times more than an average person living in NYC. The majority of this comes from their investments rather than their salary.

Michael Bloomberg’s Political Hurdles

In 2002, Michael Bloomberg revealed that Michael Bloomberg had been using the Cayman Islands to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes. This happened right after he became the mayor. This issue was brought up again during his 2009 re-election campaign.

The public criticized Michael Bloomberg in 2003 for installing a video surveillance system that monitored all public areas in the city without having made any public announcement beforehand. The project cost $200 million and raised privacy concerns among citizens.

In 2006, he proposed a ban on cars in Manhattan below 86th street. This would have affected over 1 million people. The proposal was met with criticism and never went through.

In 2007, he announced a plan to charge 5 cents for each plastic bag used at stores. He did this to encourage people to use reusable bags. The idea was met with opposition from the plastics industry. It was never implemented due to a lack of support from the City Council.

In 2008, he ordered mandatory reductions in energy consumption. He did this by buildings over 25,000ft². This had affected many businesses who claim it’s only hurting the economy.

In 2009, he imposed a ban on trans-fats at restaurants after successful bans on smoking and large sodas at restaurants and bars. However as pointed out by his political opponents, this is not as big an achievement as Michael Bloomberg claims given that other cities have been taking steps for years already to limit these harmful fats.

In 2013, he banned Styrofoam containers from being used at food establishments throughout the city.

Michael Bloomberg’s Famous Controversies

Michael Bloomberg is known for being a pragmatic and brash politician, frequently coming off as aggressive during public addresses.

In 2002, he referred to Bill Gates as “my hero” but also made the point of mentioning that his investments in Merril Lynch were a smart move.

On September 30th, 2006, Michael Bloomberg claimed that he “is against gay marriage”. As a result, many have criticized him for being too liberal on LGBT issues. He continued by saying that he was “for civil unions.” This statement created controversy. It even cost him votes since most Democrats and Republicans now support same-sex marriage.

At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, Michael Bloomberg argued during an address at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government that Americans should be “willing to give up a little liberty” to combat terrorism.

The quote was met with criticism which he later defended by saying that he never told American citizens to give up all their freedoms.

On July 16th, 2009, Michael Bloomberg discussed his views on same-sex marriage. In an interview with The Colbert Report, he was asked about it. He said for the first time that he supported gay marriage. Michael Bloomberg continued by discussing the separation of church and state. He stated that religion has nothing to do with what rights people have.

In December 2012, Michael Bloomberg expressed satisfaction at the re-election of Barack Obama. Moreover, Michael also made remarks criticizing his foreign policy choices. He commented on arming Syrian rebels earlier and pulling troops out of Iraq despite Prime Minister Maliki asking for them to stay. Furthermore, he also commented on the Iranian nuclear program during this interview.

Michael Bloomberg’s Awards and Honors

Michael Bloomberg had been honored with many awards for his achievements as Mayor of New York City. These include:

-The World Mayor Prize in 2006

-The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2009

-The Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013

In addition, he has received honorary degrees from 20 universities including Yale, Harvard, and Oxford.

Michael Bloomberg’s Net Worth

Michael Bloomberg is currently worth an estimated USD 27 billion, making him the 10th richest person in the world. Much of this wealth comes from his stakes in the media company Bloomberg LP. In 1981, Bloomberg LP was founded. Michael Bloomberg acquired the financial data firm called Merrill Lynch later in 1998. In addition to his business ventures, Michael Bloomberg also donates large sums of money to charities. This includes an initial investment of USD 100 million at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

As of 2021, Michael Bloomberg’s net worth stands at USD 62.7 billion, making him the 4th richest person in the world.

Michael Bloomberg’s Personal Life

Michael Bloomberg married Susan Elizabeth Brown in New York State. He met Susan in London while they were both studying at Harvard Business School. Michael Bloomberg proposed to her with a three-carat diamond engagement ring which cost USD 82,000. However, he claims it didn’t cost that much). Together they have 3 daughters, Georgina (born 1979), Emma (born 1983), and Georgiana (born 1986).

On March 19th, 2018, rumors swirled that Michael was having an affair with his girlfriend of 16 years, Diana Taylor. She was among the guests when he formally announced his candidacy for the 2020 election.

As of 2021. Forbes Magazine estimated his net worth to amount to USD 70 billion.

Read more on: THE LEGACY OF WALT DISNEY