- Billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already spent more on the first few months of his 2020 presidential campaign than former President Barack Obama did on his 2012 bid.
- Bloomberg just surpassed $338.7 million on television, radio and digital media advertising, while Obama spent a total of $338.3 million on the entirety of his 2012 general election campaign.
- By comparison, the Democratic frontrunner, Sen. Bernie Sanders, has spent an estimated $18 million on ads, despite the fact that he's campaigned for more than 8 months longer than Bloomberg has.
- With more than eight months left until the 2020 general election, Bloomberg has plenty of time to blow other spending records out of the water.
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Billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already spent more on the first three and a half months of his 2020 presidential campaign than former President Barack Obama did on the entirety of his 2012 reelection bid.
Bloomberg, whose estimated worth is over $50 billion, has spent $338.7 million on television, radio and digital media advertising as of Tuesday, while Obama spent $338.3 million on ads for his 2012 general election campaign. Bloomberg officially entered the race in early November and began running his first ads that month.
The former mayor's spending far exceeds that of his opponents, including the president. But he and Trump both spent $11 million each on single 60-second TV ads during the Super Bowl earlier this month.
By comparison, the Democratic frontrunner, Sen. Bernie Sanders, has spent an estimated $18 million on ads, despite having campaigned over 8 months longer than Bloomberg. Former Vice President Joe Biden has spent just over $4 million.
With more than eight months left until the 2020 general election, Bloomberg has plenty of time to blow other spending records out of the water.
The former Wall Street executive has said he's willing to spend more than $1 billion of his personal fortune on his 2020 presidential bid and that he'd continue spending on the race to help the Democratic nominee even if it isn't him.
Bloomberg is accustomed to spending significant sums on philanthropy and politics. In 2019, he spent $2.8 billion on charitable donations, $1 billion of which went to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University. Bloomberg and his organizations spent more than $100 million on the 2018 midterm elections.