The character arc of Michael Bloomberg

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 14 February 1942 in Boston, to a bookkeeper who never earned more than six thousand dollars a year. Between then and now sit an Eagle Scout badge at twelve, Medford High School in 1960, a Johns Hopkins engineering degree in 1964, a Harvard MBA in 1966, Salomon Brothers the same year on nine thousand dollars, a general partnership in 1972, a firing in 1981 with ten million dollars, a company founded with it, the first terminal in December 1982 and the renaming in 1986. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Michael Bloomberg?

They fired him in 1981.

He was born in Boston in 1942 to William Henry Bloomberg, a bookkeeper for a dairy company who never earned more than six thousand dollars a year, and Charlotte Bloomberg. The family settled in Medford. He became an Eagle Scout at twelve, graduated from Medford High School in 1960, and went to Johns Hopkins University, where he built the blue jay costume for the university mascot and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. He took an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1966. His father died suddenly while he was at college.

In 1966 he was hired at Salomon Brothers, a large Wall Street investment bank, on nine thousand dollars a year. He was promoted to the equities desk, became a general partner in 1972, and headed equity trading and later systems development. When Phibro Corporation bought Salomon Brothers in 1981, the new management fired him, paying him ten million dollars for his equity in the firm.

He had designed in-house computerised financial systems inside Salomon, and he used the payout to set up a data services company on the belief that Wall Street would pay a premium for high-quality business information delivered instantly on a screen, in usable formats. The terminal, first called the Market Master, was released in December 1982. The company renamed itself Bloomberg L.P. in 1986, and added a news service, radio, messaging and trading products over the years. It had revenues of approximately ten billion dollars in 2018, and as of 2019 more than 325,000 terminal subscribers worldwide and twenty thousand employees. He wrote an autobiography, Bloomberg by Bloomberg, with the help of the company's news editor in chief.

The moments

Michael Bloomberg's timeline.

The 1950s

Jun 1954

Eagle Scout at twelve

Milestone. Eagle Scout at twelve, which is young for it.

The 1960s

Jun 1964

Engineering at Johns Hopkins

Milestone, and it changed his direction. An engineering degree, and he made the mascot costume.

Jun 1966

Harvard, then Salomon

Milestone, and it changed everything. An MBA and a nine thousand dollar job, in the same year.

The 1970s

Jun 1972

A general partner

Milestone, and it changed everything. Partner in six years, and then the systems.

The 1980s

Aug 1981

They fired him

Setback, and it changed everything. Fifteen years at one bank, and the new owners let him go.

1 Sep 1981

Another bank, or build the machine

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: build the terminal, taken, or take another partnership. The first terminal was released in December 1982 and the company had revenues of approximately ten billion dollars in 2018.

Dec 1981

He started it with the payout

Milestone, and it changed everything. The cheque that came with the firing paid for the company.

Dec 1982

The Market Master

Milestone, and it changed everything. A machine on a desk, a year after being fired.

Jun 1986

It takes his name

Milestone, and it changed everything. The company named after him, four years after the first terminal.

The 1990s

Jun 1997

Bloomberg by Bloomberg

Milestone, and it changed his direction. His own account, written with his own newsroom.

The 2010s

Jun 2018

Ten billion in revenue

Milestone, and it changed everything. Three hundred and twenty five thousand screens, from one firing.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving was already in his hands before the worst day: he had built the systems inside the bank, and being fired was what let him sell them to everybody else.

What he wrote

Books by Michael Bloomberg

1997
Bloomberg by Bloomberg
His own account of the firing and the company he built with the payout, written with the help of his own news service's editor in chief.

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Michael Bloomberg: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Michael Bloomberg's character arc?

A bookkeeper's son who became an Eagle Scout at twelve, took an engineering degree and an MBA, and spent fifteen years at Salomon Brothers. New owners fired him in 1981 with a ten million dollar payout, and he used it to build a financial data company.

How did Michael Bloomberg start his company?

With the money he was paid when he was fired. Phibro Corporation bought Salomon Brothers in 1981 and the new management let him go, paying him ten million dollars for his equity. He used it to set up a data services company later named Bloomberg L.P.

What was Michael Bloomberg's first product?

A customised computer terminal delivering real-time market data, financial calculations and analytics to Wall Street firms. First called the Market Master terminal, it was released to market in December 1982, about a year after he was fired.

What did Michael Bloomberg do at Salomon Brothers?

He was hired in 1966 on nine thousand dollars a year, was promoted to the equities desk, became a general partner in 1972, and headed equity trading and later systems development. Those in-house systems are what the terminal grew out of.

Where did Michael Bloomberg study?

Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and built the blue jay costume for the university mascot, and Harvard Business School, where he took an MBA in 1966.

How big is Michael Bloomberg's company?

Bloomberg L.P. had revenues of approximately ten billion dollars in 2018, and as of 2019 had more than 325,000 terminal subscribers worldwide and employed twenty thousand people in dozens of locations.

Did Michael Bloomberg write a book?

Yes, an autobiography called Bloomberg by Bloomberg, written with help from Matthew Winkler, the editor in chief of his own news service. It covers the firing and the company he built with the money that came with it.

Where does this timeline of Michael Bloomberg's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Michael Bloomberg isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Michael Bloomberg, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Business School degree records, 1964 and 1966.
Bloomberg L.P. company history, including the Market Master terminal of December 1982 and the renaming of 1986.