The final tally is in: Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg (D, Nanny State) donated $1,221,777,405.26 of his own money to fund a quixotic four-month presidential campaign.
To put this in perspective:
- It’s more than the combined campaign expenditures of every Democratic Party hopeful in 2020. Bloomberg alone spent around half of all TV advertising dollars.
- It’s far more than the National Rifle Association has spent on political lobbying in its entire existence. According to Bloomberg News, the NRA spent a record-shattering $9.6 million on lobbying from February 2017 to February 2019.
- It’s more than fossil fuel companies have spent on decades of lobbying. Big Pharma, the top lobbying group in Washington, spends around a fifth of what Bloomberg did every year.
- It’s more than the expenditures of either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton during the entire 2016 election. It’s double what Trump spent on the 2016 campaign.
- It’s more than the amount raised by all super PACs supporting Trump and Clinton for the 2016 general election.