As the time ahead of Election Day dwindles, celebrities, entrepreneurs, and influential businesspeople have come out of the woodwork to throw their support behind one of the presidential candidates. On Wednesday, one of the biggest names in media, politics, and business announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris: Mike Bloomberg.
“I voted for Kamala Harris without hesitation,” Bloomberg wrote in a LinkedIn post published Thursday. “When it comes to policy and personal integrity, the contrast could not be clearer.”
Bloomberg, who is worth nearly $105 billion, according to Forbes, has had a long and storied past in politics and business. The three-term mayor of New York City was affiliated with the Democratic Party before 2001, but during the first portion of his time as mayor he was a registered Republican, and during the second half he was an independent.
However, he flipped again years later when he launched a campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election. He self-funded the campaign with $935 million, but ended it in March 2020 after having won just 59 delegates. He ran the most expensive U.S. presidential primary campaign on record.
At the time, some top-ranking Democrats called out Bloomberg for his connection to the Republican party. One of the primary messages in his presidential campaign was that he “took charge” of New York City after the 9/11 attacks, but he leaned heavily on an endorsement by Rudy Giuliani, who was NYC mayor when the attacks occurred and served as former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney.
“To come down and say he wants to be the head of the Democratic Party—the hubris is unbelievable,” Monica Klein, a founding partner of progressive political consulting firm Seneca Strategies, told Politico in 2019.
But Bloomberg is also the businessman behind his namesake media and financial data company, a multibillion-dollar empire that includes Bloomberg Professional, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Radio, and Bloomberg Businessweek. The inspiration behind Bloomberg’s first venture was from building an in-house computerized financial system for Wall Street investment bank Salomon Brothers in the mid-1960s.
He used the money he had earned from setting up data services company Innovative Market Systems, which sold customized computer terminals that delivered real-time market data, financial calculations, and other business analytics to Wall Street firms. The terminal was released in 1982 and was called the Market Master terminal, which later became known as the Bloomberg Terminal. As of 2023, Bloomberg LP, a private company, had an estimated $12.5 billion in revenue, according to Forbes. More than 325,000 people subscribe to the terminal, and Bloomberg employs 20,000 people.
Bloomberg the person is also in a unique position as the face for a major business news publication considering his close connection to politics. Still, he nailed down the reasons for his vote.
“I’ve been impressed by the way Vice President Harris has run her campaign: reaching out to independents and Republicans and rallying voters of all parties by offering a positive vision of the country,” Bloomberg wrote in the LinkedIn post. “She is determined to lead our nation forward, and she understands that the only way to do that is by bringing people back together.”
Bloomberg received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden this year. The highest civilian award in the U.S. is “presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” according to a White House statement.
Along with his political and business endeavors, he was awarded the medal as a nod to his dedication to philanthropy. In 2010, Bloomberg signed the Giving Pledge, a promise for the ultrawealthy to give away at least half of their fortune. During this lifetime, Bloomberg has given away about $17.4 billion to philanthropy.
With just five days until the election, Bloomberg leaves voters with one final message: “I hope undecided voters of all political stripes will join me in voting for Vice President Harris.”
