Biography
American businessman,
billionaire and politician, elected the 108th Mayor of New York City on
November 6, 2001, succeeding Rudy Giuliani. After spending up to $70
million of his own money on his campaign, he was sworn in by his
predecessor in Times Square, just minutes after midnight on January 1,
2002. Later that day, he took the oath of office at 12:21 PM EST in a
short, no-frills ceremony at the city clerk's office. He lives in his
five-story, art filled brownstone on Manhattan's Upper East Side rather
than the Governor's Gracie mansion.
In the worlds of finance and financial journalism, Michael Bloomberg is
a phenomenon. The 25th richest American with an estimated net worth of
$11.5 billion (Forbes September 2007), he runs a vast communications
empire that takes in $4.7 billion a year in revenue and employs more
than 10,000 people in more than 125 offices worldwide. As his business
empire solidified, he became more interested in philanthropy and civic
involvement. A proven salesman, legendary motivator and disciplined
manager, he built a global conglomerate basically from scratch.
From a modest background, the son of a bookkeeper and a homemaker,
Bloomberg was so interested in technology as a kid that he attended
lectures at the local museum on the weekends and spent his summers
working for a small electronics company. With student loans and a part
time job of parking cars, he earned an engineering degree from Johns
Hopkins University in 1964 and continued on to Harvard Business School
for two years. He began work as a bond trader at Salomon Brothers firm
in 1966, becoming a partner in 1972. He was soon supervising all of
Salomon's stock trading, sales and later, its information systems. But
his relationship with Salomon ended abruptly after the company was
purchased by the Phibro Corporation in 1981 and he was fired, a move he
called political back-stabbing.
Bloomberg used his $10 million severance package to start his own firm.
He persuaded Merrill-Lynch to back his plan to build a system that
supplied data and data analysis. Prior to then, trading information was
found in bookkeeping ledgers and past issues of financial journals, and
sometimes on mainframe computers with limited access. Tapping into the
capacity of electronics, Bloomberg established a financial service that
allowed the business community to obtain current and past information
quickly and easily. Two Merrill traders even helped him figure out what
to put on the system. Once he delivered, the firm put up a critical $30
million for a 30% stake. Later, Merrill Chief Executive Daniel P. Tully
waived Bloomberg's exclusive contract with Merrill so he could market
his service to others. Bloomberg’s service company proved indispensable
to the financial world.
By 2000, Bloomberg L.P. had nearly 160,000 subscribers worldwide.
Bloomberg News was launched in 1990, providing economic, business,
political and sports stories to leading corporations, financial
institutions and newspapers throughout the world. Bloomberg Radio
followed in 1993, a general news station with an emphasis on business
and the markets. The following year, Bloomberg TV made a debut and has
expanded to multiple networks broadcasting in several languages
worldwide.
A ruthless competitor, he is noted for his hot temper and vivid
profanity. Ferocious, he is not without compassion; flippant, he is
deeply serious about the social responsibilities of wealth and
privilege. His philanthropy has amounted to $100 million a year for some
time. His adventures include two near-crashes in aircraft he was
piloting, one a helicopter and the other a small plane. At one time he
saved a friend's life in an avalanche on the ski slopes: he argued with
skeptics and obstinately refused to leave the spot where his friend
turned out to be buried. Though driven in business, he is always up for
a good party or a ski vacation. At times breezy and given to
malapropisms and silly comments, he is a fun target for the late-show
comedians. In the spring of 1997, he published his autobiography,
"Bloomberg by Bloomberg," written with journalist Matthew Winkler. The
bio has been called an exciting story, with anecdotes about breaking
into the news business in Washington and Tokyo. Reviewers have also
called it pompous and ego-centric, which might be understandable
qualities in a self-made man who has achieved a position of world
acclaim. Forbes magazine listed him as the richest American politician
in October 2002. In early 2007 he was ranked 142nd on Forbes’ list of
the world’s billionaires.
Bloomberg is a divorced father of two who switched to the Republican
ticket in 2000, aiming for his present job of New York City Mayor. He
and Susan Brown married in 1976 and divorced in 1993 when he wanted to
go out and party. Their daughters are Emmy, born in 1979 (who worked in
her dad's campaign) and Georgina, born in 1983. His ex-wife is still his
good friend and was a helpmate on his mayoral campaign. Bloomberg now
dates Diana Taylor, a brainy, successful and attractive investment
banker. She is usually seen with him at his official functions.
New York’s mayor announced on June 19, 2007 that he was ending his
affiliation with the Republican Party. He declared himself an
Independent, sparking speculation that he might run for US President in
2008.
For More Information on the Web:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1640778.stm
http://www.newsweek.com/id/68113
Article in Rolling Stone |
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What Do You Think?
Frances McEvoy, an ardent data collector, wise
astrologer, prolific astrology writer, and good friend, died recently.
Fran’s legacy lives on in part through her many contributions to
AstroDatabank, and we all owe her a debt of gratitude. This week, in her
honor, we are featuring the chart of one of the many politicians whose data
she obtained—Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg set off waves of speculation this past summer when he declared
himself an Independent. News analysts report that he is considering running
for US President but only if he thinks he can win. An Independent has never
before won a US Presidential campaign. Nevertheless, his associates are
actively assessing electoral votes and popular opinion. A self-made
billionaire, he has built a communications empire and has established
himself as a successful politician and leader. Let’s look at his chart to
see whether he has the right stuff to run and win a bid for the White House.
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Bloomberg is a financial whiz and business
genius. His company website describes itself as being “about information:
accessing it, reporting it, analyzing it and distributing it, faster and
more accurately than any other organization.” What factors in his chart
indicate his astute business sense, his ability to harness technology to
serve a major need for financial data, data analysis and communications, to
raise funds to finance his fledging idea and to parlay it into an empire?
Where’s the billionaire?
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What drives the man? What are his leadership
qualities and where are they indicated in the chart? Are there Presidential
qualities here? Bloomberg used to be a Democrat; he switched to the
Republican Party and is now an Independent. Why do you think he has switched
parties so often?
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If Bloomberg does run, it could be against another New Yorker, Hillary
Clinton, who is by most national polls a front-runner. They both have two
significant groups of planets in fixed signs. Bloomberg’s chart emphasizes
Aquarius and Taurus, while Clinton’s accents the archetypes of Leo and
Scorpio. What do these powerful fixed squares reflect about these
individuals?
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