Mike Bloomberg ‘would sell his business if elected US president’

One of the world’s richest men would sell the financial data and media company he created if he were elected US president.

Democratic presidential hopeful and former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg. Picture: AFP

Mike Bloomberg, one of the world’s richest men, would sell the financial data and media company he created in the 1980s if he were elected US president, a top adviser says.

Mr Bloomberg would put Bloomberg LP into a blind trust, and the trustee would then sell the company, Tim O’Brien said.

Proceeds from the sale would go to Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable arm that funds causes from climate change to public health and grants for American cities. The only restriction Mr Bloomberg would put on the sale is that it not be sold to a foreign buyer or a private equity company.

The Democrat presidential candidate is currently chief executive of the company.

“We want to be 180 degrees apart from Donald Trump around financial conflicts of interest,” Mr O’Brien said. “We think it’s one of the biggest stains on the presidency, and Trump’s record is his refusal to disengage himself in his own financial interests.

“And we want to be very transparent and clean and clear with voters about where Mike is on these things.”

Mr Bloomberg would have an extraordinarily complicated fin­ancial mesh to untangle if he won the presidency.

His commitment to selling the company stands in contrast to Mr Trump, who refused to fully divest from his business, instead putting his assets in a trust controlled by his two adult sons and a senior company executive.

He has continued to make money from his properties.

Mr Bloomberg said in 2018, when he was considering a presidential run, that he would consider selling his business if elected. The company is not currently for sale. He retained ownership in the company when he served as New York City mayor from 2002 to 2013, but gave up his title of chief executive.

Mr O’Brien’s comment comes amid increasing scrutiny of Mr Bloomberg’s wealth and business holdings from his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. He’ll face them on the ­debate stage for the first time on Thursday AEDT, having qualified to appear when he came second in a national poll with 19 per cent, behind Bernie Sanders on 31 per cent.

Mr Bloomberg is not on the ballot for next Sunday’s Nevada caucuses, and is instead focusing his efforts on the 14 states that vote on Super Tuesday, March 3, which elect one-third of the delegates to the party convention in July when the presidential candidate will be crowned.

Thursday’s debate will be the first chance for his Democratic ­rivals to spar in person with the three-time former New York mayor after weeks of rising anger about his ability to “buy the nomination”.

If he won the White House, the exact timeline for a sale isn’t clear, Mr O’Brien said. There’s also been no decision on what would happen to Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Mr Bloomberg created his own company in 1981, after he was sacked from investment bank ­Salomon Brothers with a $US10m severance payment. His new venture created the Bloomberg Terminal, a dedicated computer with proprietary software that allowed Wall Street traders, buyers and sellers to see financial transaction data in real time. He then increased the business to include a fin­ancial news arm that morphed into a major news wire service.

Mr Bloomberg entered the presidential race in November and has been steadily climbing in nat­ional polls, buoyed by $US400m in advertising.

AP