New Delhi: Multi-billionaire and former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is the latest entrant in the 2020 US presidential race. The 77-year-old will be contesting from the Democratic party.
A little late to the party, but Bloomberg formally announced his presidential bid Sunday, defining his campaign in opposition to US President Donald Trump.
“I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America… We cannot afford four more years of President Trump’s reckless and unethical actions. He represents an existential threat to our country and our values. If he wins another term in office, we may never recover from the damage,” he said in a statement.
Trump was least concerned about Bloomberg’s announcement.
He predicted Friday that the billionaire would spend a lot of money on a campaign and would damage Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden chances. The US President also taunted Bloomberg by saying, “There’s nobody I’d rather run against than little Michael.”
As Bloomberg gets set to run the presidential race, here is a look at the former NYC mayor’s life and past political career.
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How did he acquire his wealth?
According to Forbes, Michael Bloomberg’s net worth is $54.1 billion. In 1981, he co-founded Bloomberg LP, the financial media company that invented the widely-used computer software system, the Bloomberg terminal. The device digitised Wall Street and eventually, news media businesses too.
Estimated revenues of the company now stand at $10 billion and Bloomberg is a majority shareholder.
But where did he get the capital to start the venture? Back in 1966, fresh out of Harvard Business School, Bloomberg joined Salomon Brothers, a renowned investment bank. Fifteen years later, he was laid off with a $10 million payout. He used this as seed funding to build his company.
When I was 39, I got laid off. I didn’t know what I’d do next. But I had an idea to start a company – so I took a chance.
Today, our company employs 20,000 people, and generates large profits, almost all of which go to helping people across the country and around the world. pic.twitter.com/kKIj31KMSQ
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) November 24, 2019
What do other Democrat candidates think about Bloomberg?
Michael Bloomberg’s entry into the already-crowded 2020 Democrat primary race has not been well received by his fellow contenders.
Running Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have accused the billionaire of “buying the presidency” after it was learnt that he set aside over $30 million in television ad time for his last-minute campaign.
Notably, Bloomberg was a big critic of the proposals of Warren and Sanders to impose a new tax on the richest.
Bloomberg’s history of political shape-shifting will also determine whether he will be seen as an authentic member of the Democratic party.
Before becoming the mayor of New York City, he was a long-time Democrat. In 2001, he bagged the mayoral post as a Republican, on the endorsement of outgoing mayor, Rudy Giuliani — US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer who has recently been at the centre of Congressional impeachment hearings.
Bloomberg won mayoral elections three times over but wearing different shoes. In 2007, during his second term, he registered as an independent. Then, on seeking a third term, he returned to the Republican party. It was only last year that Bloomberg went back to the Democratic party and now hopes to brand himself as “a new choice for Democrats”.
He seriously considered running for president as an independent in 2016 but backed away saying it was unlikely for a candidate outside the bi-party system to win. Last year too, he was hesitant to join the 2020 presidential race over fears that Joe Biden was already “a formidable standard-bearer for the party’s moderate wing”.
However, Biden’s recent struggles in the presidential bid may give Bloomberg a window to lead the political centre of the Democratic party.
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Past controversies
As NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg was widely criticised for pushing the New York Police Department’s “stop and frisk” policy allowing policemen to detain, question, and search individuals without probable cause. The practice was condemned for mainly targeting minorities.
This could dampen his appeal to African-American and Latino voters in the presidential election.
The billionaire has also faced the heat over alleged sexist and derogatory remarks against women. He was once reported to have said, “If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they’d go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale’s.” His aides, however, have come to his defence by reiterating his financial contributions to women’s causes like female reproductive rights, among others.
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Sorry ashok – we do NOT need a liberal leftist gun-grabber, multi-sex-gender believer, socialist, America hater in ANY office.
If a wealthy businessman has to be President, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who governed New York well for twelve years, would be so much better than real estate developer Donald Trump.