5 Money-Making Lessons You Can Learn From Billionaire Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg is a media tycoon worth over $100 billion. He’s currently the 16th richest person in the world, according to Forbes. He was also the mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and continues to donate billions through his philanthropic efforts.

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Treat Your Job Like Your Own Business Take Big Risks, Move Quickly Invest In Yourself Diversify Your Income Streams Always Be Learning

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But Michael Bloomberg didn’t just wake up a billionaire one day without putting in hard work over several decades. And though attaining billion-dollar status may be out of reach for most, we can study successful entrepreneurs to take away valuable lessons that can help us similarly build wealth.

Bloomberg has built most of his fortune from his media company, but there are some strategic moves he’s made over the life of his career that we can draw lessons from.

Here are a few of the most impactful money-making lessons from Michael Bloomberg.

Treat Your Job Like Your Own Business

After graduating from Harvard Business School in 1966, Bloomberg got a job at Salomon Brothers — a Wall Street firm. He started at an entry-level position, but then became a bond trader. He eventually made partner, but was later demoted to run the computer systems department.

Bloomberg took his knowledge of business and information systems to build out smart computer information systems for Salomon. His success came from hard work and ultimately treating Salomon like his own business. He knew that giving traders access to real-time information could help them make smarter trades — and he was right.

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Take Big Risks, Move Quickly

Eventually, Salomon was sold to publicly-traded company Phibro Corporation, and Bloomberg was asked to leave. To buy out his equity, Phibro paid out a $10 million severance to Bloomberg.

Using $4 million of the severance and the knowledge he gained as a bond trader and information systems manager at Salomon, Bloomberg quickly started up his own company. Innovative Market Solutions was launched in a 10′ x 10′ room with a few friends who previously worked for Salomon.

He knew that he wanted to build the industry’s foremost trading information terminal, and — using his electrical engineering background — built a terminal that gave traders access to information on the Treasury Bond market.

He eventually sold 22 MarketMaster terminals to Merrill Lynch and received a $30 million investment for a 30% stake in the company. His risk-taking and fast moves to stay ahead of the technology curve paid off.

Invest In Yourself

After the huge boost from the Merrill Lynch investment and purchase, Bloomberg was launched to the forefront of Wall Street technology. He ended up selling his 5,000th terminal by 1987, and his company name changed from Innovative Market Solutions to Bloomberg LP.

He had earned enough to buy back the 30% stake in his company that was previously sold to Merrill Lynch. This move did two massive things for his wealth:

It gave him back a huge amount of equity in the company he built
It set the valuation for Bloomberg LP at nearly $2 billion, making it a massively valuable company for the year 1989

Bloomberg believed he could continue to grow his company further, and wanted as much ownership and equity in that success as possible. He invested back into his own company with this move, which proved to be the right move.

Diversify Your Income Streams

While the Bloomberg Terminal became a ‘must-have’ for most Wall Street trading firms, Bloomberg knew that he needed to diversify his business to truly grow. During the 1990s — using his knowledge of the power of information — he launched several media companies, including Bloomberg Business News, Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Markets Magazine.

This expanded his reach and influence in the market, and continued to push the Bloomberg name as the leader in business information. Whether you were a trader for a hedge fund or an investor looking to buy stocks for retirement, Bloomberg was the foremost in business and investment news.

If you’re building a business, you might have one main offer or product to serve your audience. But as you grow, you may need to find other ways to make money and expand your reach. This can lead to 10 times growth (or more) if you build it right.

Always Be Learning

“The day you stop learning is the day you start dying,” said Bloomberg in a LinkedIn Post. This is a principle he has embodied throughout his entire career. From building an information systems department at Salomon Brothers, to launching a trading terminal in the early 1980s, to growing a media empire — Bloomberg learned, built, launched, and continued to innovate for decades.

Bloomberg knows the power of knowledge in business and life. He has pivoted away from building his business at Bloomberg and has focused his efforts on philanthropy. Having given away over $21 billion in his lifetime (so far), he continues to learn how to best use his wealth for the greater good.

If you want to make money, you must consume knowledge at a fast rate. Don’t ever feel like you’ve “figured it all out” — otherwise opportunities to pass you by. Continue to learn, grow, and build — and the money will follow.

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