Charity has always been important to billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg—in 2009, he handed out $254 million in donations, making him the country's fourth biggest giver. And he greatly exceeded that amount in 2010: Bloomberg gave more than $553 million in donations last year. His charitable organization, The Bloomberg Family Foundation, now has more than $2.7 billion in assets, and according to IRS filings, will donate all of it by Dec. 21, 2026...unless they don't. “That was the date picked by the mayor, [but he has] the absolute discretion at any time” to either extend the date or shut down earlier, spokesman Mike Marinello told the Post.
Altogether, Bloomberg gave $351.5 million of his own money to the foundation last year, which distributed $108 million to charities focusing on global health issues, including New York-based World Lung Foundation, the Geneva-based World Health Organization, the International Red Cross, and Quadrangle Investment Management, a firm once headed by Steve Rattner. Separate from the foundation, Bloomberg gave away another $191 million that didn’t go through the foundation, and he didn't release who the recipients for that money were on the tax filing.
According to the WSJ, tax returns also showed that the foundation invested millions of dollars in offshore tax havens, including tax-sheltering territories such as the Cayman Islands. Bloomberg has been criticized in the past for witholding information about his donations and using his wealth to get political support, help extend term-limits for a third term, and to get reelected. Even though Hizzoner swears he isn't running for office after this term is up, he's spent more than $5.6 million this year on a series of TV ads, polling and mailings designed to get people to love him again.
