Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has described Brexit as ‘the stupidest thing any country has ever done’ apart from electing Donald Trump.
The billionaire businessman was in London opening his new European headquarters and admitted he would have sought a different location if he thought Britain was going to quit the EU.
Bloomberg’s new European headquarters is in a building designed by British architect Norman Foster and will be home to 4,000 employees of the financial information company.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pictured here in London earlier today at the opening of his new building with London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, left, and Norman Foster, right, reportedly told a conference in Boston two weeks ago that Brexit ‘was stupid’
The Billionaire businessman, right, admitted he may have considered a different location for his European headquarters if he thought Britain was going to leave the European Union
Mr Bloomberg, left, admitted London would not be ‘destroyed’ as a result of the Brexit decision
However, two weeks ago, according to The Guardian, Bloomberg expressed his reservations about London addressing a technology conference in Boston.
He said: ‘My former wife was a Brit, my daughters have British passports, so we love England – it’s the father of our country, I suppose
‘But what they are doing is not good and there is no easy way to get out of it because if they don’t pay a penalty, everyone else would drop out. So they can’t get as good of a deal as they had before.’
He added: ‘I did say that I thought it was the single stupidest thing any country has ever done but then we Trumped it.’
However, he told AFP in London at the opening of his new building that the city will remain as the ‘financial centre of Europe’ despite Brexit.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, expressed a view which British PM Theresa May will find highly frustrating given her attempts to reassure the international banking sector
Mr Bloomberg, centre, said the election of Donald Trump was worse than the Brexit decision
He said: ‘ Paris will do well because some people will move to Paris and develop there – same thing with Frankfurt and Amsterdam and other cities.
‘London will not do as well as they would have if they had stayed in the EU.’
In his opinion, Brexit would not ‘destroy’ the city.
Built on top of of an ancient Roman temple renovated by the company during a decade of works, its two buildings stretch over seven levels.
Works of art, a giant spiral staircase and aquariums will all make the workplace ‘more exciting and more stimulating’, according to the company’s founder.
The site ‘has the highest rating in terms of sustainability, conservation of energy, recycling’, Foster told AFP.
‘The ceiling, the facades, the floors… and the things you don’t see, all contribute to making this the greenest building of its kind,’ he said.