Michael Bloomberg
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| Michael Bloomberg | |
 Bloomberg in 2007. | |
| 108th Mayor of New York City | |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Rudy Giuliani |
| | |
| Born | February 14, 1942 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Democratic (until 2001) Republican (2001–2007) Independent (2007–present) |
| Residence | Upper East Side, New York City |
| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University (B.S.) Harvard University (M.B.A.) |
| Religion | Judaism[1] |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official mayoral website |
A lifelong Democrat before seeking elective office, Bloomberg switched his registration in 2001 and ran for mayor as a Republican, winning the election that year and a second term in 2005. He was frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the 2008 presidential election and fueled that speculation when he left the Republican Party in June 2007 to become an independent.[6] There was also speculation that he would run as a vice-presidential candidate.[7] Bloomberg did not, however, seek the presidency nor was he selected as a running mate by any of the presidential candidates.
In the fall of 2008, Bloomberg successfully campaigned for an amendment to New York City's term limits law, in order to allow him to run for a third term in 2009. Bloomberg won the election[8] on November 3, 2009.
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[edit] Early life
Michael Bloomberg was born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital[9] in the Brighton neighborhood[9] of Boston on February 14, 1942. His father, William Henry Bloomberg, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on January 19, 1906, was a real estate agent, and the son of Alexander "Elick" Bloomberg, a Russian Jewish immigrant. His mother, Charlotte Bloomberg (née Rubens), born January 2, 1909, in New Jersey, was the daughter of a Russian immigrant and a New Jersey–born mother. She is now a centenarian and reportedly in very good health. The family lived in the Boston neighborhood of Allston, until Bloomberg was two years old; they subsequently moved to Atherton Road in Brookline, Massachusetts, for the next two years, and finally settled in Medford – a Boston suburb – where Bloomberg lived until after he graduated from college. His younger sister, Marjorie Tiven, has been Commissioner of the New York City Commission for the United Nations, Consular Corps and Protocol, since February 2002.[10]Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University, where he joined Phi Kappa Psi, and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in electrical engineering. Later he received his MBA degree from Harvard Business School. On May 16, 2009, he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Fordham University[11] and in 2007 he received an honorary doctorate of public service from Tufts University.[12]
Bloomberg married Yorkshire-born Susan Brown in 1975. Their marriage produced two daughters: Emma (b. ca. 1979) and Georgina (b. 1983), who were featured on Born Rich, a documentary film about the children of the extremely wealthy. Bloomberg divorced Brown and is currently romantically linked with former New York state banking superintendent Diana Taylor.[13]
[edit] Business career
Bloomberg became a general partner at Salomon Brothers, where he headed equity trading and, later, systems development. In 1981, he was fired from Salomon Brothers and was given a $10-million severance package.[14] Using this money, Bloomberg went on to set up a company named Innovative Market Systems. In 1982, Merrill Lynch became the new company's first customer, installing 22 of the company's Market Master terminals and investing $30 million in the company. The company was renamed Bloomberg L.P. in 1986. By 1987, it had installed 5,000 terminals. Within a few years, ancillary products including Bloomberg Tradebook (a trading platform), the Bloomberg Messaging Service, and the Bloomberg newswire were launched. As of 2009, the company had more than 250,000 terminals worldwide. His company also has a radio network which currently has its flagship station as 1130 WBBR-AM in New York City. He left the position of CEO to pursue a political career as the mayor of New York. He was replaced as CEO by Lex Fenwick. The company is now led by president Dan Doctoroff, a former deputy mayor under Bloomberg.As mayor of New York, Bloomberg declines to receive a city salary, accepting remuneration of $1.00 annually for his services. He maintains a public listing in the New York City phone directory, residing not in Gracie Mansion – the official mayor's mansion – but instead at his own home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, at 17 East 79th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues. He owns additional homes in London, Bermuda and Vail.[15]
Bloomberg is, by his own accounts at least, a frequent rider of the New York City Subway, particularly in the commute from his 79th Street home to his office at City Hall. An August 2007 story in The New York Times contradicted this notion, suggesting instead that he often was chauffeured by two New York Police Department-owned SUVs to an express train station to avoid having to change from the local to the express trains on the Lexington Avenue line.[16]
He has written an autobiography with help from a ghost writer, called Bloomberg by Bloomberg (1997, ISBN 0-471-15545-4).
[edit] Wealth
In March 2009, Forbes reported Michael Bloomberg's wealth at $16 billion, a gain of $4.5 billion since the previous year, which makes him one of the most successful billionaires in the United States during the recession, and a person enjoying the world's biggest increase in wealth in 2009.[17] At that time, there were only four fortunes in the U.S. that were larger (although the Wal-Mart family fortune is split among four people). Bloomberg moved from 142nd to 17th in the Forbes list of the world's billionaires in only two years (March 2007 - March 2009).[18][19][20][edit] Philanthropy
Bloomberg's personal net worth, in addition to aiding his political career, has allowed him to engage in substantial philanthropic endeavors, including the donation of over $300 million to Johns Hopkins University,[21] where he served as the chairman of the board from 1996 to 2002.According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Bloomberg, through his Bloomberg Family Foundation, donated and/or pledged $138 million in 2004, $144 million in 2005, $165 million in 2006, and $205 million in 2007, making him the seventh largest individual contributor to philanthropy in the United States for 2007.[22] 2006 recipients include the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School for Public Health; World Lung Foundation and the World Health Organization. In 2008, Bloomberg's website announced a combined donation of $500 million with Bill Gates to help governments in developing countries with tobacco control.[23]
According to The New York Times,[24] Bloomberg has been an “anonymous donor” to the Carnegie Corporation each year for the last several years, with gifts ranging from $5 to $20 million. The Carnegie Corporation has distributed this contribution to hundreds of New York City organizations[25] ranging from the Dance Theater of Harlem to Gilda’s Club, a not-for-profit organization that provides support to people and families living with cancer.
In 1996, Bloomberg endowed the William Henry Bloomberg Professorship at Harvard with a $3 million gift in honor 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."[26] He also endowed his hometown synagogue, Temple Shalom, which was renamed for his parents as the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Jewish Community Center of Medford.[1][27]
Bloomberg reports giving $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."[28]
[edit] Awards and honors
At the 2007 Commencement exercises for Tufts University, Bloomberg delivered the commencement address. He was awarded an honorary degree in Public Service from the university. Likewise, Bloomberg delivered the 2007 commencement address at Bard College, where he was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.[29] In February 2003, he received the "Award for Distinguished Leadership in Global Capital Markets" from the Yale School of Management. He was named the 39th most influential person in the world in the 2007 Time 100.[30] In September, 2007, Vanity Fair ranked him #9 in its "Vanity Fair 100: The 2007 New Establishment."[31] In May 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by the University of Pennsylvania, where he delivered the commencement speech to the class of 2008.[32] Bloomberg also delivered the commencement address to the class of 2008 at Barnard College after receiving the Barnard Medal of Distinction, the College's highest honor.[33]He was also awarded a tribute award at the 2007 Gotham Awards, a New York based celebrator of Independent Film. On November 19, 2008, Mr. Bloomberg received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." Additionally, he was awarded an honorary doctorate at Fordham University's 2009 commencement ceremonies.[34]
In 2009, he received a Healthy Communities Leadership Award from Leadership for Healthy Communities – a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program – for his policies and programs that increase access to healthy foods and physical activity options in the city.[35] For instance, to increase access to grocery stores in underserved areas, the Bloomberg administration developed a program called FRESH that offers zoning and financial incentives to developers, grocery store operators and land owners.[36] His administration also created a Healthy Bodega initiative, which provides healthy food samples and promotional support to grocers in lower-income areas to encourage them to carry 1% milk and fruits and vegetables.[37] Under Bloomberg’s leadership, the city also: passed a Green Carts bill,[38] which supports mobile produce vendors in lower-income areas; expanded farmers’ markets using the city’s Health Bucks program which provides coupons to eligible individuals to buy produce at farmers’ markets in lower-income areas;[39] and committed $111 million in capital funding for playground improvements.[40] New York also was one of the first cities in the nation to help patrons make more informed decisions about their food choices by requiring fast-food and chain restaurants to label their menus with calorie information.[41]
