Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg (born 1942) is a United States billionair, businessesman, politician, and philanthrophist. As of April 2019, his net worth was estimated at $62.1 billion.

He is a co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., a global financial services, software and mass media company that is used by stock and forex traders all over the world.

Bloomberg served as Mayor of New York City, holding office for three consecutive terms, from 1 January, 2002 to 31 December, 2013.

Michael Bloomberg

Short facts about Michael Bloomberg

Name: Michael Rubens Bloomberg

Born: 14 February, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Alma maters: Johns Hopkins University (BS); Harvard University (MBA)

Spouse: Susan Brown-Meyer (married 1975, divorced 1993); Diana Taylor (domestic partner since 2000)

Children: 2, including Georgina Bloomberg

Advocacy

Bloomberg is an environmentalist and has advocated policy to fight climate change, pushing to transition US energy production away from fossil fuels.

Philanthropy

At the time of writing, Bloomberg has donated $8.2 billion to philanthrophy. One of the largest donations was his $1.8 billion gift to John Hopkins University for student aid. This was the largest private donation ever made to a higher education institution.

The Bloomberg Philanthrophies foundation is focused on public health, the arts, government innovation, the environment, and education.

“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.” – Bloomberg

The Giving Pledge

Bloomberg is a signer of The Giving Pledge.

Examples of causes and philanthropic projects supported by Bloomberg

  • Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • World Lung Foundation
  • The World Health Organization (WHO)
  • The Museum of Science, Boston
  • Temple Shalom, Bloomberg’s hometown synagogue, which is now known as the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Jewish Community Center of Medford.
  • The Carnegie Corporation, which distributed Bloomberg’s donations to other organizations in New York City, including Gilda’s Club (cancer support) and the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
  • A $3 million donation endowing the William Henry Bloomberg Professorship at Harvard.
  • In 2001, the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health was renamed the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health, in honor of Bloomberg’s long-term financial support to the school and the rest of the Johns Hopkins University. At the time of writing, Bloomberg has donated nearly $3 billion to to the university over a period of several decades.Bloomberg has also made very large donations to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, the teaching hospital of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. This includes the endowment of the Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships for interdisciplinary expertise, and donations to The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in East Baltimore.
  • A $75 million donation to The Shed, an arts center on the far west side of Manhattan.
  • Bloomberg is the founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, now known as Everytown for Gun Safety.
  • In 2011, Bloomberg Philanthropies donated $50 million to Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. In 2015, another $30 million was donated to the campaign, and this money was matched by another $30 million from other donors.
  • Bloomberg Philantrophies has awarded a $6 million grant to the Environmental Defense Fund to promote stricter regulations for fracking.
  • The Risky Business initiative was launched by Bloomberg Philantrophies, hedge-fund billionaire Tom Steyer and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. The initiative works to convince the business community of the need for more sustainabile energy by quantifying the economic risks linked to climate change.
  • In January 2014, Bloomberg Philanthrophies commenced a five-year commitment to support the Vibrant Oceans Initiative. The commitment totals $53 million.
  • In 2014, Bloomberg was appointed first Special Envoy for the project Cities and Climate Change by United Nations secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Ban Ki-moon’s successor António Guterres appointed Bloomberg as UN envoy for climate action.
  • In 2015, Bloomberg Philantrophies partnered with the Heising-Simons family to launch the Clean Energy Initiative.
  • Bloomberg supports Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of mayors and city officials fighting local greehouse gas essissions and enhancing city resilience to climate change. At the time of writing, over 250 cities are involved, representing more than 300 million people world wide.
  • In 2018, Bloomberg joined the billionair hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio in anncounging a commitment of $185 million towards ocean protection.
  • Together with former Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope, Bloomberg has authored the book “Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet”. After being published in 2017, the book made it to the New York Times harcover nonfiction best seller list.
  • In June 201, Bloomberg pledged $500 million to reduce climate impacts and shut remaining coal-fired power plants via the new Beyond Carbon initiative.