Latest (Early) Update On Bloomberg’s “Charitable” Giving- A Preview Of 2013? (Added to Info For Years 1997 to 2011)

Bloomberg looking skyward.. . . .The image above is from the November 1, 2012 press conference when Bloomberg made faces behind FEMA’s Secretary Napolitano, who was in New York to provide Superstorm disaster relief assistance.  See: Friday, November 2, 2012, Despite Expected Kudos, Bloomberg Tires of Hurricane Relief Administration Role: That, Or He Tremendously Disrespects Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano.  Video is available on Youtube.

An article came out in the New York Times with information about such a large beginning-of-the-year donation that Mayor Michael Bloomberg is making to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, $350 million, that it is worthwhile to use that number to do a quick footnoted fill-in and update the information available about how much Bloomberg has “given” to charity every year.  All told, Bloomberg has now sent $1.1 billion to that university.  See: $1.1 Billion in Thanks From Bloomberg to Johns Hopkins, By Michael Barbaro, January 26, 2013.

As a reference point, consider that Bloomberg is making the contribution of $150 million in New York taxpayer money to the New York Library system contingent upon the system’s transfer of significant real estate to developers, shrinking the system to consolidate three main branches and essentially dismantling and decommissioning the main 42nd Street library from its intended purpose since afterwards it will no longer be the research library it was designed to be.  See: Critic’s Notebook- In Renderings for a Library Landmark, Stacks of Questions, By Michael Kimmelman, January 29, 2013, Undertaking Its Destruction, by Ada Louise Huxtable, December 3, 2012, The Leonard Lopate Show: Controversy at the New York Public Library, (audio interview with Scott Sherman and Caleb Crain) Monday, March 12, 2012, Upheaval at the New York Public Library, Scott Sherman November 30, 2011.

For more information about Bloomberg’s escalating wealth over the years since declaring his interest in politics (now up to $25 billion) and how he deploys it, including for political purposes and the conflicts of interest in his dealings, see: Friday, January 25, 2013, Bloomberg’s Increasing Annual Wealth: 1996 to 2012 Plus Updates On His Annual “Charitable” Giving.

Below in chart form is updated information about Bloomberg’s level of giving and the years of associated Bloomberg political campaigns. (There is a gap in the chart below because information about the amount of Bloomberg’s 2012 giving is not yet available but should be available very soon.)

$26.6 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 1997 (when he distributed to 433 groups). Handouts have increased every year since - Press mentions of Bloomberg philanthropy begin this year 
$45 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 1998 - Year Bloomberg started talking publicly about running for mayor 
$47 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 1999 
$100.5 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2000 (579 organizations)- Year before first mayoral election campaign 
$122.5 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2001 (540 groups) Was elected mayor in November 
$130.9 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2002 (655 groups) Became mayor 
$135.6 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2003 (653 groups) 
$138/139.9 million*:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2004 (843 groups) 
$143.9 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2005 (987 groups)- Second campaign for mayor in connection with the 2005 election 
$165.3 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2006. (1,077 groups) 
$205 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2007.- The year he started to run for president.- The year he left the Republican party 
$235 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2008 (1,221 recipient groups)- The year that Bloomberg started running for his third term as mayor and overthrew the city’s term limits restrictions.
 $254 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2009 (1,300 organizations).  2009 was the year that Bloomberg was elected in November to his third term as New York Mayor after spending approximately $105 million in acknowledged direct spending on his campaign (many multiples of what his challenger could raise from the public) and, in addition, Bloomberg's political aides (also holding public posts) get fabulously huge bonuses for campaign work.
 $279.18 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2010 - Bloomberg ranked the #2 American "giver", "giving" to "arts, human services, public affairs, and other groups".  2010 was the year that Bloomberg shifted his charitable spending,which had always concentrated on New York City recipients, to focusing on recipients connected to issues of national significance.
 $311.3 million:- Bloomberg’s charitable gifts in 2011 - Bloomberg ranked the #5 American "giver," "giving" to "1,185 arts, human-services, public-affairs, and other groups".
$Unknown now:- Coming soon- 2012
$350 million*:-  (* to Johns Hopkins as of 1/27/13 and increasing) 2013

Early available figures coming out for 2012 giving don’t yet mention a figure for Bloomberg or where he will be in the rankings.

* (difference between Times and Chronicle of Philanthropy figures)

(Figures for calendar years1997 through 2008 available from:

•     The Chronicle of Philanthropy
•     Mayor's $weet Charity, by David Seifman, January 27, 2009
•     Bloomberg’s Gifts to Charity Exceeded $165 Million in 2006, by Diane Cardwell, September 17, 2007
•     Nearly 1,000 Groups Gain From Bloomberg’s Largess, by Sewell Chan, October 18, 2006
•     2003 tax year? For Bloomberg, 'Rich' Is Just Too Weak an Adjective, By Leslie Eaton, July 3, 2004.
•     In 2002, Bloomberg Lost a Bit (for Him) and Gave a Lot, by David Johnston (Correction: David Cay Johnston), June 14, 2003)