How financial whizz and media mogul bloomed to become Big Apple mayor

BOOK REVIEW: Mike Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics.By Joyce Purnick; Public Affairs Books; $26.95 (€19)

RARELY IN American life has there been a less likely political success story than that of billionaire businessman and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg.

In a country in which ideology and style are typically more valued in political life than capability and experience, and in a city which likes its politicians to be big on personality and presence, Bloomberg – a self-described short, balding, divorced Jew with no political experience – managed to get himself elected for three consecutive terms as mayor of New York city. Not only that, but the reclusive Bloomberg has won some of the highest approval ratings of any New York mayor, from one of the toughest constituencies on the planet.

Bloomberg stumbled into political life out of nowhere – or so it must have seemed to New Yorkers. A nondescript student in high school who morphed into an intensely competitive over-achiever at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg made his name as a successful, bad-mouthed, risk-taking financial whizz at Salomon Brothers before being fired (thanks to internal politics) and leaving to form his own company.

He rightly foresaw that his little side project at Salomon – a computer terminal for the company’s bond and stock traders that listed detailed financial information on companies and could make fast calculations on the “what ifs” of potential deals – could have a life of its own.

And what a life. The corporate computer age was dawning and Wall Street was ripe for the competitive advantage instant access to information could give to its floor traders. The computer industry did not really see the alignment of interest, and financial companies did not have the computing expertise.

But Bloomberg, who had a flair for computers, astutely realised this was a match made in financial heaven. Bloomberg could barely keep up with demand and expanded into media too. Soon, Bloomberg LP overtook market leader Reuters.

Former Salomon colleagues noted later that letting Bloomberg and the idea for his machine go was “one of the dumbest things ever”. But it was the making of the multibillionaire, who – once he was unimaginably wealthy and successful – started to sniff around for something else to do. And that turned out to be running for mayor.

New York Timesreporter and columnist Joyce Purnick chronicles Bloomberg's life and unlikely political career in this accessible cracker of a biography that lets the reader peer into Wall Street fisticuffs, Big Apple politics and the motivations of a billionaire. All are illuminated in interesting ways through the prism of Bloomberg, who initially hid away, made himself inaccessible to journalists and the public, and let his money do his talking.

Keeping the Bloomberg beak shut was definitely a campaign strategy, according to Purnick. Gruff, politically incorrect, prone to using foul language “and, frankly . . . something of a pill”, Bloomberg was presented to the voter through tightly focused mailshots and advertisements where his image and message could be controlled without fear of destructive gaffes. Of course, this is a simpler strategy when you can afford to spend tens of your personal millions on your campaigns.

But it wasn’t just the cash. Ultimately, circumstances colluded to create the right moment for Bloomberg, a liberal Democrat who ran as a Republican in a Democratic city, to step into City Hall in 2001.

In the panicky wake of the September 11th, 2001, attacks, with the high-profile Rudy Giuliani stepping down, New Yorkers were ready for a tough, proven fiscal manager.

They also bought the idea that in Bloomberg they got a guy who might hobnob with the elite and live a life far removed from theirs, but who could ignore the usual allurements and expectations of lobbyists and special interests. They accepted him as a neutral broker, financially beholden to no one (after all, he works for a nominal $1 annual pay cheque, which he frames each year).

Sure enough, Bloomberg conquered in some formerly intractable areas of city governance such as education and finance, tamed this difficult city, and has been extremely popular. But, likewise, some big personal projects, such as the bid for the 2012 Olympics, went awry and were much criticised.

He toyed with a run for US president in the last election, without confirming his interest, but the moment passed as Barack Obama gathered steam. Pressed by journalists to state the circumstances under which he would run, Bloomberg snapped: “If everybody in the world was dead and I was the only one alive.”

With his two terms drawing to a close and faced with the alarming prospect of once again having nothing to do, Bloomberg was party to getting New York laws changed so that he could run for – and win – a third term. Purnick clearly views that decision as Bloomberg’s most serious flaw – the point at which he compromised on the standards he set himself and his founding promises to the electorate.

If you love New York, are fascinated by big-city politics, American style, or are interested in this impetuous, complex, generous and difficult man, Purnick’s biography has plenty to chew over.