Michael Bloomberg Enters US Presidential Race – Can he Dethrone Trump?

According to Forbes, Michael Bloomberg is the 9th richest person in the world in 2019. His net worth is at estimated $55.5 billion. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he put himself through John Hopkins and Harvard before becoming a partner at Salomon Brothers. In 1981, he started his own company Bloomberg LP, which revolutionized the distribution of financial information and made him a billionaire.

Now, he is entering the 2020 Presidential Race as part of the Democratic Party. Earlier this year, in March, he said that he was ruling out a run. But now, less than three months to go before the Iowa caucuses, he is entering the Democratic presidential race.

Political career

Bloomberg has had a successful stunt in US politics. He entered the political arena in 2001, when he won the election and became the 108th mayor of New York. He called himself a liberal Republican back then. He was pro-choice and favored legalizing same-sex marriage. One of his most popular programs was the 311 telephone line. It put callers in direct contact with the city.

He was reelected mayor in 2005. In 2008, he pushed through legislation allowing him to run for a third term as mayor. He argued that the particularly difficult economic climate and his financial skills warranted his remaining in office. He spent more than $90 million on the campaign to secure a third four-year term in November of 2009. His third term was as an independent candidate.

He stepped down from his political duties in 2014.He considered running as a third party independent for the 2016 Presidential campaign. He feared that the Democratic and Republican parties were two extreme. That would turn off many voters, and he will have no chance.

After ruling out, he endorsed Hillary Clinton. He spoke at the Democratic Convention in support of Clinton.

How is he different than Donald Trump?

There are two main issues Bloomberg is different than Donald Trump. The first and the most obvious one is climate change.

After Trump announced he was pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement in June 2017, Bloomberg rallied a coalition of influential leaders and provided up to $15 million in funding to make up for the loss of American resources. In April 2018, he pledged $4.5 million to help cover what would have been the US financial commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement for the year.

In March 2019, he announced the plan to launch Beyond Carbon. Its goal is to retire every single coal-fired power plant over the next 11 years and move America as quickly as possible away from oil and gas and toward 100% clean economy.

He is also more in favor of gun control. Unlike Donald Trump, who is all talk and no action, Bloomberg has donated a significant amount of money to gun control. Trump has announced his plans for strict gun control, mainly on background checks. But we have yet to see that plan in action.

Will he succeed?

Bloomberg officially entering the 2020 US Presidential campaign puts in a new dynamic. Joe Biden was seen as the favorite of the Democratic Party for a long time. Bernie Sanders expected to make a run at it as well. But Bloomberg has more money to throw at financing his campaign. He is expected to spend $500 million on defeating Trump.

For comparison, in 2016, Hillary Clinton spent $623 million on campaign. Trump spent $334.8 million. But he still won.

In 2016, Forbes estimated Trump’s net worth to be at $3.7 billion. However, then billionaire said he is worth more than $10 billion. Since Trump announced his presidential run in 2015, his net worth declined by 31%.