Changes

'''Michael Rubens Bloomberg''' (born February 14, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bloomberg |first1=Michael |url=http://www.mikebloomberg.com/about/ |title=Mike Bloomberg |work=mikebloomberg.com }}</ref>), an [[elitist]] [[New York City]]-[[liberal]] [[gun control|gun grabbing]] American [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[billionaire]] [[politician]], is the founder and primary owner of Bloomberg, L.P., which licenses computer systems for real-time stock quotes to Wall Street and has news-related businesses. He served as mayor of [[New York City]] for three terms, 2002 to 2013. Even though he was a lifelong registered [[Democrat]], Michael Bloomberg successfully ran for mayor as a [[Republican]] in 2001 due in large part to the support of popular outgoing mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], and was reelected in 2005.   

'''Michael Rubens Bloomberg''' (born February 14, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bloomberg |first1=Michael |url=http://www.mikebloomberg.com/about/ |title=Mike Bloomberg |work=mikebloomberg.com }}</ref>), an [[elitist]] [[New York City]]-[[liberal]] [[gun control|gun grabbing]] American [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[billionaire]] [[politician]], is the founder and primary owner of Bloomberg, L.P., which licenses computer systems for real-time stock quotes to Wall Street and has news-related businesses. He served as mayor of [[New York City]] for three terms, 2002 to 2013. Even though he was a lifelong registered [[Democrat]], Michael Bloomberg successfully ran for mayor as a [[Republican]] in 2001 due in large part to the support of popular outgoing mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]], and was reelected in 2005.   

He ran for a third term in 2009 as an independent, spending a record-breaking sum—the equivalent of $174.53 per vote (more than ten times his competitor).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Katz |first1=Celeste |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/11/28/2009-11-28_mayor_bloomberg_spends_102m_to_win_third_term__or_175_per_vote_.html |title=Mayor Bloomberg spent $102M on campaign to win third term - or $175 per vote  |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=November 27, 2009 }}</ref>  Michael Bloomberg is also one of the richest people in the world according to ''Forbes'' magazine, with an estimated net worth of $17 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Michael-Rubens-Bloomberg_C610.html |title=The 400 Richest Americans |work=[[Forbes]] |date=September 21, 2006 }}</ref>  Michael Bloomberg is divorced and has 2 children.

He ran for a third term in 2009 as an independent, spending a record-breaking sum—the equivalent of $174.53 per vote (more than ten times his competitor).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Katz |first1=Celeste |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/11/28/2009-11-28_mayor_bloomberg_spends_102m_to_win_third_term__or_175_per_vote_.html |title=Mayor Bloomberg spent $102M on campaign to win third term - or $175 per vote  |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=November 27, 2009 }}</ref>  Michael Bloomberg is also one of the richest people in the world according to ''Forbes'' magazine, with an estimated net worth of $17 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Michael-Rubens-Bloomberg_C610.html |title=The 400 Richest Americans |work=[[Forbes]] |date=September 21, 2006 }}</ref>  Michael Bloomberg is divorced and has 2 children.

Bloomberg dropped his Republican Party affiliation on June 19, 2007, stating "I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107202541/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11203856 |title=Bloomberg Drops GOP, Fuels Talk of Presidential Bid |work=[[NPR]] |date=June 20, 2007 }}</ref>  Bloomberg is traditionally known as a fiscal [[conservative]] with social liberal tendencies. He was frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the [[2008 Presidential Election]].

Bloomberg dropped his Republican Party affiliation on June 19, 2007, stating "I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107202541/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11203856 |title=Bloomberg Drops GOP, Fuels Talk of Presidential Bid |work=[[NPR]] |date=June 20, 2007 }}</ref>  Bloomberg is traditionally known as a fiscal [[conservative]] with social liberal tendencies. He was frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the [[2008 Presidential Election]].

Bloomberg re-registered as a Democrat in 2018.<ref>Wise, Justin (October 10, 2018). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/410697-bloomberg-re-registers-as-democrat Bloomberg re-registers as Democrat]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved October 10, 2018.</ref>

Bloomberg re-registered as a Democrat in 2018.<ref>Wise, Justin (October 10, 2018). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/410697-bloomberg-re-registers-as-democrat Bloomberg re-registers as Democrat]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved October 10, 2018.</ref>

Bloomberg enforced a strengthened cell-phone ban in city schools. Under Mayor Bloomberg, the high school graduation rate in New York City went up 18%. He supports [[abortion]] rights and [[same-sex marriage|same-sex "marriage"]]. Bloomberg was also the most prominent Republican to oppose President [[George W. Bush]]'s nomination to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] of Chief Justice [[John Roberts]].  

Bloomberg enforced a strengthened cell-phone ban in city schools. Under Mayor Bloomberg, the high school graduation rate in New York City went up 18%. He supports [[abortion]] rights and [[same-sex marriage|same-sex "marriage"]]. Bloomberg was also the most prominent Republican to oppose President [[George W. Bush]]'s nomination to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] of Chief Justice [[John Roberts]].  

Bloomberg is a supporter of [[illegal immigration]], saying that [[New York City]] would "collapse" if they didn't have illegally come aliens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/07/05/bloomberg-new-york-city-will-collapse-without-illegal-immigrants.html |title=Bloomberg: New York City Will Collapse Without Illegal Immigrants |work=[[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] |date= July 5, 2006 }}</ref>

Bloomberg is a supporter of [[illegal immigration]], saying that [[New York City]] would "collapse" if they didn't have illegally come aliens.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/07/05/bloomberg-new-york-city-will-collapse-without-illegal-immigrants.html |title=Bloomberg: New York City Will Collapse Without Illegal Immigrants |work=[[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] |date= July 5, 2006 }}</ref>

Bloomberg took office as mayor in January 2002, just four months after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Upon taking office, he inherited the largest fiscal crisis in recent New York history. Giuliani spent lavishly during his final year in office, increasing capital spending by 60%. Not anticipating the [[dot-com bubble]] burst and the unforeseen attacks of September 11, Giuliani left office passing on a $4 billion city budget gap, where city law mandates a balanced budget.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303182233/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_05/b3768089.htm |title=New York: A Day Late and $4 Billion Short |work=[[Bloomberg|Bloomberg.com]] |date= FEBRUARY 4, 2002 }}</ref> A large portion of New York City's budget are fixed costs. This created a predicament for the fiscally conservative new mayor. Bloomberg made some very unpopular budget cuts in the portions of the budget under his control, even closing many redundant fire-houses, a subject of severe public outcry so soon after September 11. These cuts, however, had only a marginal effect on the city's budget gap, which was ultimately addressed with the largest property tax increase in the city's history. Later in his second term, Bloomberg lowered property taxes, but not enough to completely remove the increases of his first term. Bloomberg effectively used tax breaks as an incentive to lure companies to the city. When Bloomberg first took office, the city's budget crisis brought threats from Albany that the state may step in and take over the city's finances. By June 2007 S&P (Standard and Poor's) raised New York City's bond rating to AA, the highest bond rating in the city's history.<ref>http://home2.nyc.gov:80/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fhome2.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr174-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1</ref>

Bloomberg took office as mayor in January 2002, just four months after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Upon taking office, he inherited the largest fiscal crisis in recent New York history. Giuliani spent lavishly during his final year in office, increasing capital spending by 60%. Not anticipating the [[dot-com bubble]] burst and the unforeseen attacks of September 11, Giuliani left office passing on a $4 billion city budget gap, where city law mandates a balanced budget.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303182233/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_05/b3768089.htm |title=New York: A Day Late and $4 Billion Short |work=[[Bloomberg|Bloomberg.com]] |date= FEBRUARY 4, 2002 }}</ref> A large portion of New York City's budget are fixed costs. This created a predicament for the fiscally conservative new mayor. Bloomberg made some very unpopular budget cuts in the portions of the budget under his control, even closing many redundant fire-houses, a subject of severe public outcry so soon after September 11. These cuts, however, had only a marginal effect on the city's budget gap, which was ultimately addressed with the largest property tax increase in the city's history. Later in his second term, Bloomberg lowered property taxes, but not enough to completely remove the increases of his first term. Bloomberg effectively used tax breaks as an incentive to lure companies to the city. When Bloomberg first took office, the city's budget crisis brought threats from Albany that the state may step in and take over the city's finances. By June 2007 S&P (Standard and Poor's) raised New York City's bond rating to AA, the highest bond rating in the city's history.<ref>http://home2.nyc.gov:80/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fhome2.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr174-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1</ref>