Michael Bloomberg has always approached his political career utilizing his business experience, adapting when necessary and striving for efficiency. Once a general partner at Salomon Brothers, a Wall Street investment bank, Bloomberg later founded Bloomberg L.P., currently the largest financial news and data company in the world. Though a Democrat, he went over to the Republicans for the 2001 ballot for mayor of New York City. Re-elected in 2005, he became an Independent two years later and was considered a possible late runner for the 2008 presidency for that party.

Life in the Private Sector

Michael Rubens Bloomberg was born February 14, 1942 into his Russian-Polish Jewish family residing in the Boston neighborhood of Allston, Massachusetts. His mother, Charlotte Rubens and father, William Henry Bloomberg moved the family to Medford, Massachusetts when Michael was four. Attending John Hopkins University, Bloomberg paid his tuition with loans and summer work as a parking lot attendant. A member of Phi Kappa Psi, Michael graduated in 1964 with a degree in electrical engineering. He then attended Harvard Business School where he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 1966. That same year, he moved to New York City and was hired by the Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers. Bloomberg "quickly rose through the ranks at Salomon, where he eventually oversaw the trading firm's information systems, using his lifelong interest in technology and gaining a keen understanding of the importance of innovation to a successful business." (Source: Official Website) Salomon Brothers was aquired in 1981 and Bloomberg was out of a job; that very same year he founded Bloomberg LP. Headquartered in New York City, the financial news and information server has over 250,000 subscribers and 9,500 employees in over 100 cities around the world. Due to his entrepeneurial endeavor, Bloomberg is now ranked 34th by Forbes in its list of the 400 richest Americans, putting him at a net worth of $5.5 billion. Rather than living in Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the New York City mayor, Bloomberg resides in NYC's Upper East Side and also has a home in Bermuda.

Philanthropy

Due to his amassed fortune, Bloomberg has been able to be "a generous donor of his time and resources, and...has sat on the boards of numerous charitable, cultural, and educational institutions." (Source: Official Website) He is registered as donating or pledging $138 million in 2004, $144 million in 2005 and $165 million in 2006.(Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy) Recipients for 2006 include the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Hopkins Bloomberg School for Public Heath, the World Lung Foundation, the World Health Organization, the Carnegie Corporation, and Harvard.

Entrance into Politics

With Rudy Giuliani ineligible for re-election as Mayor in 2001, the Republican primary went to Bloomberg. Spending $73 million dollars of his own money, Bloomberg outspent the Democratic candidate Mark Green five to one. (Source: New York Daily News) According to New York's fusion rules, a candidate can run on more than one party's line and combine all the votes received. Bloomberg also had a heavy influence over the Independence Party and garnered many votes from them, as well as his Republican base. He won the election with 50% of the vote to Green's 48%. As Mayor, Bloomberg has declined a Mayor's salary, opting rather for a $1.00 per year salary. Socially-liberal, pro-choice, in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage and a proponent of stricter gun control laws, Bloomberg is a Republican that is indeed no Republican at all; rather, he is a businessman who knows how to secure a win.

In 2005 Bloomberg was re-elected as mayor by a 20% margin. He has stated that his desired legacy would be a reformed public education system from his first term and an addressing of poverty to be the legacy of his second. (Source: Gotham Gazette) Nyc.gov sums up Bloomberg's first term as follows: "Mayor Bloomberg cut crime 20 percent; created jobs by supporting small businesses; unleashed a building boom of affordable housing; expanded parks and worked to revitalize the waterfront; implemented ambitious public health strategies, including the successful ban on smoking in restaurants and bars; expanded support for community arts organizations; and improved the efficiency of government. In addition, fulfilling a campaign promise, he won control of New York's schools from the broken Board of Education, and began turning around the nations largest school district by injecting standards into the classroom and holding schools accountable for success. As a result, graduation rates have increased nearly 20 percent, and reading and math scores have both risen to record levels." In his second term thus far, he has "launched an innovative program to combat poverty that encourages work and makes work pay. Hes undertaken a far-reaching campaign to fight global warming and prepare New York for an estimated million more residents by 2030. And as co-founder of a bipartisan coalition of more than 200 mayors from every region of the country, Mayor Bloomberg is working to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals and off city streets." (Source: nyc.gov)

An Independent President?

On June 19, 2007 Bloomberg left the Republican Party citing that "the politics of partisanship and the resulting inaction and excuses have paralyzed decision-making, primarily at the federal level, and the big issues of the day are not being addressed leaving our future in jeopardy." (Source: New York Times) Rumors of Bloomberg's enterance into the 2008 presidential race surrounded the campaigning season, as he can't run for re-election in 2009 due to New York City laws. Independents traditionally face a difficult time garnering votes due to a relatively minuscule war chest compared to the behemoth Democratic and Republican parties. Bloomberg, billionaire that he is, could overcome such obstacles.

Currently, there was an active and growing Draft movement encouraging the Mayor to run for the Presidency in 2008 (a href="a href="http://www.uniteformike.com">UniteForMike.

Biography Links

• www.mikebloomberg.com