NEW: How Bloomberg spent $10 billion+ building a political & philanthropic empire
His wealth has forged alliances, earned goodwill – & muzzled critics who fear or depend on him
From @nkulish & me, the most detailed account ever of his influence & power
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
His wealth has forged alliances, earned goodwill – & muzzled critics who fear or depend on him
From @nkulish & me, the most detailed account ever of his influence & power

Bloomberg's money is an enormous deterrent against dissent.
In 2018, Emily's List debated uninviting Bloomberg from a major event after he questioned #MeToo
, but decided it could not risk alienating him.
He has given the group $6mm over the years. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
In 2018, Emily's List debated uninviting Bloomberg from a major event after he questioned #MeToo

He has given the group $6mm over the years. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
In 2015, Center for American Progress researchers wrote a report on U.S. Islamophobia, w/a 4300-word chapter on the Bloomberg-era NYPD.
When the report was published, the chapter was gone.
By then, Bloomberg had given CAP ~$1.5mm. That number has grown. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
When the report was published, the chapter was gone.
By then, Bloomberg had given CAP ~$1.5mm. That number has grown. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
Much of Bloomberg's giving is to causes that aren't explicitly political, and have no apparent linkage to his 2020 campaign: global public health, higher education, culture and the arts, etc.
The biggest recipient of his donations, by far, has been Johns Hopkins, his alma mater.
The biggest recipient of his donations, by far, has been Johns Hopkins, his alma mater.
But there are also areas where Bloomberg's philanthropic and political giving overlap, turning cities or states into focal points for concentrated spending.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
Most recipients of Bloomberg's political and charitable donations have not endorsed his campaign. But a good number of them have, and their support has helped make Bloomberg a major national force while other candidates have been tied up in Iowa and NH.
Top Dems say Bloomberg is already their most important donor. His campaign makes plain the financial incentive it is presenting for 2020.
"If Mike Bloomberg is the nominee, he will ensure that the Democratic Party has the greatest funding in its history." https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
"If Mike Bloomberg is the nominee, he will ensure that the Democratic Party has the greatest funding in its history." https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html
Hope many of you will read the whole story, and if you are not already, please follow the great @nkulish and graphics wizards @LazaroGamio & @KarlNYT, whose visual journalism really captures the arc of Bloomberg's rise https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/02/15/us/politics/michael-bloomberg-spending.html