New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent US$108 million on third term bid

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Sunday, January 17, 2010

New Yorks Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Image: Amanda Cogdon/Jimmy Wales.

According to internal campaign documents New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent $108,371,685.01 dollars (75m, 66m) on his recent campaign for reelection. A large percentage of the money spent went to victory bonuses for his staff. In the 2009 election Bloomberg beat his opponent Bill Thompson by 50,597 votes.

This is the most that the billionaire has spent on any of his mayoral bids, US$85 million in 2005 and $74m in 2001. Approximately US$186 (€129, ₤114) was spent per vote during the election, compared to $112 in 2005 and $100 in 2001. In contrast Bill Thompson had only spent approximately $9 million, or $13 per vote.

The campaign was personally financed by Bloomberg himself who has a net-worth of $17.5 billion. The campaign is the second most costly election in history, beaten by the $650 million election of Barack Obama.


Sources[edit]

  • Associated Press. NYC mayor spent more than $108M on 3rd term bid <broken link> — WABC-TV, January 15, 2010
  • Frank Lombardi. Bloomberg's campaign tab: $108,371,685.01. Getting relected to a third term as NYC mayor? Priceless. <broken link> — The New York Daily News, January 15, 2010