Bloomberg Drops $18.7M on Campaign

(NEWSER) - Billionaire New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg added to a growing store of off-the-cuff comments yesterday when he defended the Obamas’ theater outing to his Big Apple by saying the president “lives on a budget,” the Times reports. Obama, who makes $400,000 a year, “does not get paid that much,” Bloomberg continued, before clarifying his comments. “The president is worth a lot more than we pay him.” More»

New York mayor got wealthier as rest of rich list top 20 got poorer

(NEWSER) - How does he do it? Last year was so bad for the world's billionaires that a third of them were demoted to mere multi-millionaires but Michael Bloomberg bucked the trend big time by actually increasing his wealth, the New York Daily News reports. The New York mayor, with an estimated net worth of $16 billion, is now the 17th-wealthiest person in the world, according to the latest Forbes rich list. More»

Bloomberg's city-as-business style likely hard to replicate

(NEWSER) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will vacate his office in 18 months, the New York Times reports, and local business honchos are already hunting for a replacement candidate who shares Bloomberg's financial independence and city-as-a-business approach. "What the business community wants is not just a businessman but a Bloomberg-type businessman, who is not beholden to special interests," said one corporate bigwig. More»

Washington pushed those shaky mortgages, 'plain and simple'

(NEWSER) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks Occupy Wall Street protesters are going after the wrong villains: "It was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis," he said today, according to Capital New York . "It was, plain and simple, Congress who forced everybody to go and give mortgages to people who were on the cusp." It might feel "cathartic" to blame Wall Street, he added, but the folks in DC "were the ones who pushed Fannie and Freddie to make a bunch of loans that were imprudent, if you will. They were the ones that pushed the banks to loan to everybody." More»

Mayor will preside over ceremony on first day it's legal

(NEWSER) - Michael Bloomberg isn’t wasting any time celebrating New York’s new marriage law. The day gay marriage becomes legal in the state, the mayor will officiate at the wedding of two city officials, NBC New York reports. Bloomberg will unite his chief policy adviser (John Feinblatt) and the city’s consumer affairs commissioner (Jonathan Mintz) in a ceremony at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence. More»