Motivational Leaders: Mike Bloomberg

Michael R. Bloomberg is an entrepreneur and three-term mayor of New York City whose innovations in business, government, and philanthropy have made him a global leader on climate change, public health, education, and other critical issues facing America and the world.

Born in Boston on February 14, 1942, Bloomberg grew up in a middle-class home in Medford, Massachusetts. His drive to succeed, love of work, and passion for service began at a young age. When he was 12 years old he became one of the youngest Eagle Scouts in history. To help pay his way through Johns Hopkins University, he worked in a parking lot and took out government loans. After college, he attended Harvard Business School and in 1966 was hired by a financial services firm, Salomon Brothers, for an entry-level job.

With his proud parents and sister looking on, Mike Bloomberg becomes an Eagle Scout in 1954 (Courtesy of the City of New York).

Bloomberg quickly rose through the ranks at Salomon, overseeing equity trading and sales before heading up the firm’s information systems. When Salomon was acquired in 1981, he was let go. It turned out to be a moment that would define the rest of his life. The next day, with the idea for a technology company that would bring greater transparency and fairness to the financial system, he launched a small startup in a one-room office. Today, Bloomberg LP is a global company that employs some 20,000 people in 120 countries.