Talk:Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg's height

Recently User:Chess added Bloomberg's height to the infobox. Chess, I disagree with this and I plan to revert it while we discuss. We don't generally report a person's height or weight, except for sports figures. For example, there has been a lot of coverage about Trump's weight (is he obese or isn't he?) but we don't mention his weight in his article. The argument given for including it was that Trump has been calling attention to Bloomberg's height. Yes, that's true; Trump has been calling him "Mini Mike". I can't imagine a worse reason for including it. Are we now going to list the physical characteristics of everyone Trump mocks? God forbid. Trump loves scornful nicknames and particularly loves mocking people that are shorter than he is; see Little Marco (Rubio), Liddle Adam Schiff, etc. In any case, the reference cited is not authoritative; it says that Bloomberg "once referred to himself as 5-foot-7" but other sources say 5 foot 8.[1] -- MelanieN (talk) 22:11, 2 February 2020 (UTC)

MelanieN Although I think height is a bit different from weight (since Trump for example used to be thinner, but he's not getting any taller or shorter), the fact of the matter is people come looking for information, and his height is something people will come looking for. I like Mike, I think he'd be a great president, but I came onto this page looking for his height and couldn't find it; I don't know any good reasons not to include it since it's in the popular zeitgeist other than to resist Trump (which while fun is a bad reason in this instance). 50.204.125.186 (talk) 19:40, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

I agree, this seems like something that's worth mentioning on the page. It's also just interesting; there aren't many 5'6" people in politics, and that's not something you'd assume about Mike just from watching him on TV/hearing about him on the news. Haxonek (talk) 06:09, 15 February 2020 (UTC)

We need to add a section where it says Blombers didn't ask for a box to stand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.146.54.223 (talk) 23:06, 3 February 2020 (UTC)

If they want to know his height they can just Google "Bloomberg's height". Try it! The answer pops right up.[2] Aside from Trump's nasty nickname "Mini Mike" he has been blatantly lying about it lately - the other day he claimed Bloomberg is 5'4", and there is a faked picture circulating that makes Bloomberg look like he doesn't even come up to Trump's shoulder.[3] If this keeps up and gets coverage we might want a debunking sentence in the article. But the height generally doesn't go in the infobox except for athletes. (BTW re: "Trump's not getting any shorter": actually he probably is. People his age tend to lose an inch or two of height as they age.) -- MelanieN (talk) 22:20, 14 February 2020 (UTC)

This is sort of unrelated but why is snopes fact-checking a meme? Would they also fact-check Seinfeld if they didn't like a joke he made? lol. That said you need to remember that wikipedia is intended for neutral content, it's not about taking political swings at people you don't like. I'm not saying you would do that but some of your comments are coming across as rather political Haxonek (talk) 06:18, 15 February 2020 (UTC)

Hi, I added a section under personal info about Bloomberg's height. I forgot to add a section where https://nypost.com/2020/02/23/warren-placing-fourth-in-nevada-still-cant-resist-a-mike-bloomberg-height-joke/ also discussed it, making it a topic of political discussion that happens among the most prominent figures of all political stripes. Moreover, the New York Times in the 2000s detailed a lot of speculation and interest about Bloomberg's height, so it has been a long-standing area of public interest--not something that President Trump just fabricated. (I already cited that) HorseDonkey (talk) 07:31, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Lead text not reflected in article

The lead says

As mayor of New York, Bloomberg established public charter schools, rebuilt urban infrastructure, and supported gun control, public health initiatives, and environmental protections. He also led a rezoning of large areas of New York City, which facilitated massive and widespread new commercial and residential construction after the September 11 attacks.

. Somehow the corresponding text and sources no longer are found in the article. This is an important part of Bloomberg's legacy as mayor and the article text needs to be reinstated or developed in the Mayoralty section. SPECIFICO talk 13:15, 1 April 2020 (UTC)

I want to add this, seeking consensus.

Would it be appropriate to add this? Mike Bloomberg has pledged at least $100m (£78m) to help Democrat Joe Biden's presidential campaign in Florida. Thank you! AngusMEOW (chatter • paw trail) 12:23, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

References

KBE

Under MOS:POSTNOM, the use of state-issued post-nominals is reserved for individuals who have been associated with the issuing state through citizenship or residence. 73.71.251.64 (talk) 04:29, 23 November 2020 (UTC)

 Done --TheImaCow (talk) 13:42, 23 November 2020 (UTC)

Thanks. It is in the info box too. 73.71.251.64 (talk) 22:17, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

 Done Bangabandhu (talk) 00:19, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

The above statement implies that it is not appropriate to use "KBE" after Mayor Bloomberg's name. The is absolutely not true! It is completely legitimate to put these letters after his name. The principal reason honorary knights aren't made Knight Bachelors is that Knight Bachelors don't have letters after their names to indicate their "Knight Bachelorhood". Foreigners are awarded knighthoods (from Britain, that is) that will allow them an official indication of their knighthoods, that is, the official abbreviations of their knighthoods. For, of course, honorary knights cannot have the knightly title of "Sir". For example, the American pianist Murray Perahia is officially Murray Perahia, KBE. Bill Gates is officially Bill Gates, KBE.

Semi-protected edit request on 8 April 2021

Where it says that he was helped to write his autobiography by the Bloomberg editor-in-chief there is a typo where what's written is "editor-in-ehief" MihoKush (talk) 19:11, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

Done. Thank you. Slywriter (talk) 20:08, 8 April 2021 (UTC)

Legion of Honour award given to Bloomberg

In September of 2014, the government of France named Michael Bloomberg a Commander of the Legion of Honour. Please include this wonderful award in Mayor Bloomberg's entry. (Some articles from 2014 stated that Bloomberg was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. But the photographs given in articles concerning this award clearly show that he was made a Commander and not simply a Chevalier.)

Estate taxes

How am I misrepresenting the source [4]?

This is what the source says

“ ProPublica’s data shows that Michael Bloomberg, the majority owner of the company that bears his name and No. 13 on Forbes’ list of the wealthiest Americans, is himself a heavy user of GRATs. Over the course of a dozen years, he repeatedly cycled pieces of his private company in and out of the trusts — often opening multiple GRATs in one year. During that time, hundreds of millions of dollars in income flowed through Bloomberg’s GRATs, giving him opportunities to shield parts of his fortune for his heirs.

ProPublica described the transactions (but not the name of the person engaging in them) to Lord, the trusts and estates attorney. The GRAT is “the perfect loophole to avoid estate and gift tax in this situation,” said Lord, who is also tax counsel for Americans for Tax Fairness and an advocate for estate tax reform.

When Bloomberg ran for president in 2020, he vowed to shore up the estate tax. “Owners of the biggest estates are expert at gaming the system to reduce what they owe,” a campaign fact sheet for his tax plan said. Bloomberg vowed to “lower the estate-tax threshold, so that more estates are taxed,” and to “shut down multiple estate-tax avoidance schemes.”

”

The text that I added is a summary which mentions the most important details

“ He supported decreasing estate-tax threshold to collect more estate taxes and close tax avoidance schemes. According to Propublica investigation he set up multiple GRATs thus shielding parts of his fortune for his heirs. ”

There is no synthesis whatsoever. The connection is made explicitly by the source. Alaexis_¿question? 13:34, 3 October 2021 (UTC)

Semi Protected Edit Request on 1 February 2022 at 23:22

Please remove the line in the second paragraph detailing his net worth in September 2020. The line before it in 2021 is the most recent source CollectiveSolidarity (talk) 23:22, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

 Not done: The September 2020 line is useful because it says what his net worth was when he was listed in the Forbes 400 casualdejekyll 01:56, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

References

Semi-protected edit request on 29 November 2022

citation needed for Lithuanian grandmother. He says she is from there in an essay he wrote, here: https://subwayreads.org/book/journeys-an-american-story/ Gossamer armor (talk) 10:14, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

 Done Cheers, Ovinus (talk) 23:40, 9 December 2022 (UTC)

Update to Philanthropic Efforts to Include Recent $600M+ Donation to 5 HBCUs

This week, Mr Bloomberg donated in excess of $600 Million for Medical Schools at 5 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Howard, Meharry, Morehouse, Charles Drew, and Xavier Universities. This information should be added to his existing philanthropic efforts. The following link is from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, August 6, 2024. Other sources are available including the New York Times, UPI, and AP News. If further documentation is required, please notify me via the E-Mail address associated with my Wikipedia account.

https://www.philanthropy.com/article/bloomberg-gives-600-million-to-four-hcbu-medical-schools-endowments?bc_nonce=g1efnqq7kwewgg0gd11op&cid=reg_wall_signup Cosanders1000 (talk) 05:08, 12 August 2024 (UTC)