Michael Bloomberg

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Michael R. Bloomberg founded the financial news and information service Bloomberg LP. and was the 108th Mayor of the City of New York.
He also oversaw the trading information systems at Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers. He is the 16th richest person in the world, with a net worth of approximately $36.8 Billion as of April 2015, according to Forbes. 
Eight months after his final term as mayor, he told Bloomberg executives that he would resume leadership of the company at the end of 2014 and that Daniel L. Doctoroff, its chief executive and a longtime friend, would step down. Bloomberg still owns 88 percent of the company.
== Background ==
Bloomberg was born on Feb. 14, 1942, in Boston and raised by middle-class parents in Medford, Massachusetts.
In 1966, he was hired by Salomon Brothers. He quickly rose through the ranks at Salomon, where he eventually oversaw the trading firm's information systems. In 1981, Salomon was acquired by Philipp Brothers, and Bloomberg was squeezed out by the merger. In 1981 he started up a small start-up company called Bloomberg L.P. The company currently has more than 320,000 subscribers to its financial news and information service. Headquartered in New York City, the company has 15,500+ employees in more than 192 locations worldwide. 
As the company grew, Bloomberg started directing more of his attention to philanthropy. He has sat on the boards of numerous charitable, cultural, and educational institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, where, as chairman of the board, he helped build the Bloomberg School of Public Health into one of the world's leading institutions of public health research and training.
In 2001 he ran for Mayor of the City of New York. His election came just two months after the tragic terrorist attacks of 9/11. After he took office, Bloomberg set up a counter-terrorism bureau to gather information about potential threats to New York City. He also focused on rebuilding the city after the disaster.
Considered a liberal Republican, Bloomberg is pro-choice and in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. 
In his first term, Mayor Bloomberg cut crime 20%; created jobs by supporting small businesses; unleashed an affordable housing boom; expanded parks and worked to revitalize the waterfront. He implemented a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars and expanded support for community arts organizations. In addition, he won control of New York's schools from the Board of Education, and began a program of requiring certain standards in the classroom and holding schools accountable for success. As a result, graduation rates increased nearly 20%, and reading and math scores rose to record levels.
In 2005, Bloomberg was re-elected. In his second term, he balanced the budget by increasing property taxes and cutting social services and after-school programs. He launched a program to combat poverty that encouraged work. He embarked on a campaign to fight global warming and prepare New York for an estimated million more residents by 2030. He also co-founded a bipartisan coalition of more than 200 mayors from around the country to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. His most popular program was the 311 telephone line that allowed callers to report crimes, trash problems, or anything else. 
Bloomberg ignited controversy in 2008 when he pushed through legislation that allowed him to run for a third term as mayor, saying his financial skills were necessary in the difficult economic climate. He spent more than $90 million of his own money on the campaign and secured a third four-year term in November of 2009.
His detractors criticized him for increasing the city's divide between the "haves" and "have nots" and for the city's aggressive (and allegedly racially biased) stop-and-frisk policy, which was later ruled unconstitutional. A study concluded that during his tenure, conditions worsened at Riker's Island prison partly due to his reducing jail staff and failing to curb escalating violence by guards. 
Bloomberg is the father of two daughters, Emma and Georgina.
== Education ==
Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University, where he paid his tuition by taking loans and working as a parking lot attendant during the summer. He graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. Later he received his Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. 
== Awards ==
In 2008 Bloomberg, received the annual CME Group Fred Arditti Innovation Award. In presenting the award, CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy said, “Michael Bloomberg challenged Wall Street's traditional approach to financial information, creating an innovative company that changed the speed, delivery and scope of data for investors around the world. His strategic use of technology increased the flow of critical information, adding transparency to financial markets around the world. He also had the foresight to understand the role of the news media in financial markets, moving his company beyond the platform into news services, print and broadcast. As a result of his innovation, when you think of financial information, whether it’s prices or news, you think of Bloomberg.”
In April 2015, Bloomberg was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. British Conservative Party activists have been pushing Bloomberg to run for mayor of London, but in order to qualify, he would have had to apply for British residency.
== External Links ==
*Bloomberg's myspace page
*Bloomberg's Facebook page
*Homepage Bloomberg.com
 
== References ==
category: Bios - Executives