Bloomberg’s Increasing Annual Wealth: 1996 to 2009

(Mayor Bloomberg above listening to public testimony about the term limits extension bill he signed immediately afterward.)

Here, as an updated quick reference for the campaign season, are figures on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s increasing estimated annual net worth consolidated from Forbes for our article The Good News IS the Bad News: Thanks A lot for Mayor Bloomberg’s “Charity” (Monday, February 2, 2009). For more on what those numbers mean in context click to read the article.

The most reliably constant gauge of his wealth over the years are the annual figures published by Forbes in September of each year:

1996 - $1 billion
1997 - $1.3 billion
1998 - $2 billion
1999- $2.5 billion
2000- $4 billion
2001- $4 billion
2002- $4.8 billion
2003- $4.9 Billion
2004- $5 Billion
2005- $5.1 Billion
2006- $5.3 Billion
2007- $11.5 billion
2008- $20 billion
2009- $16 billion (interim March figure)*
2009- $17.5 billion

* For more on how Bloomberg's wealth went down (because he didn't see the financial crisis coming?- And how the press missed it) see: Bloomberg Update: Fire and Ice (Sunday, April 12, 2009)

For an update on how the media is not keeping up with the story of Bloomberg's wealth, the conflicts of interests involved in where it comes from and his so-called "charitable" giving see: No Real Debate About It: Press Remains Way Off Track in Presupposing Bloomberg’s “Charity” (Friday, October 2, 2009)

For our recent remarks on Bloomberg's term limits extension see: Challenging Bloomberg Unlimited (Sunday, October 18, 2009)

PS: (NOTE, Updated coverage on this subject is provided here: Sunday, October 16, 2011, Bloomberg’s Increasing Annual Wealth: 1996 to 2011. Added October 18, 2011.)