Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg paid for his Johns Hopkins University tuition through loans and a job as a parking lot attendant. He was born on February 14, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in a middle-class home in Medford. His father, William Henry Bloomberg, was an accountant; his mother was Charlotte Rubens Bloomberg. He is of Russian Jewish descent. Bloomberg attended Medford High School and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1966.

Bloomberg began his career on Wall Street at Salomon Brothers in 1966, rising to oversee equity trading and sales. Salomon Brothers let him go in 1981 after its acquisition, and he founded Bloomberg LP, a financial information company that grew to over 15,500 employees in 73 countries. He served as New York City mayor from 2002 to 2013, implementing policies including a smoking ban, raising education standards, and launching the Young Men’s Initiative. He chaired the C40 Climate Leadership Group from 2010 to 2013 and was appointed U.N. Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change in 2014.

Bloomberg married Susan Meyer on December 15, 1976; they divorced in 1993. He has two daughters, Georgina and Emma Bloomberg. He is a close friend of Paul McCartney and recalls seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. His philanthropy includes donating over $4.3 billion to various causes, including his alma mater Johns Hopkins University, where the Bloomberg School of Public Health is named after him.

Bloomberg’s smoking ban increased New York City life expectancy by 36 months. He transformed public schools, implemented data-driven philanthropy through Bloomberg Philanthropies, and chaired the C40 Climate Leadership Group from 2010 to 2013. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and inspired other cities through his climate work. Bloomberg is most remembered for founding Bloomberg LP and serving as mayor during a period of economic growth and public health improvements.