Mike Bloomberg has poured more than $463MILLION into his campaign since November

Mike Bloomberg has poured more than $463MILLION into his campaign since November – with $220million spent in January alone, report reveals

  • Bloomberg spent $7million a day on his leadership campaign in January alone
  • Spending includes $126.5 million on TV adverts and $45.5 million on online ads
  • The billionaire has also employed more than 2,100 staff around the country 

Billionaire presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg spent more than $463 million in the first two months of his campaign, a report filed to the Federal Election Commission reveals.

The former New York Mayor poured $220 million of his own money into his campaign in January alone, including $126.5 million on TV ads and $45.5 million on online advertising.

Bloomberg pledged at the start of his Democratic campaign bid to only use his own cash and take no outside donations, which he has stuck to.

The new campaign disclosure shows that Bloomberg’s campaign spent on average around $7 million per day in January.

A campaign aide says more than 2,100 employees have been recruited around the country, according to ABC News, with more than $7 million being paid in wages last month alone.

Bloomberg – who has already apologized for pushing his stop-and-frisk policy – was forced to say sorry for remarks he made about minority men during a 2015 speech  

Data from ad analysis firm Kantar/CMAG reveals that the Bloomberg campaign had spent more than $427 million just on television, radio and online ads up until Thursday afternoon. 

The campaign also paid its primary digital agency Hawkfish LLC – an ad tech start-up founded by Bloomberg – about $13.7 million in January for digital services including content creation, ad placement and analytics, according to a campaign aide.. 

The former mayor has been accused of using wealth to influence the contest and his rival Bernie Sanders has accused Bloomberg of trying to ‘buy the presidency’ and slamming him for not registering to be on the ballot in the early voting states.

The 78-year-old Vermont senator said of Bloomberg during a CNN town hall Tuesday: ‘He said, “I don’t have to do that. I’m worth $60 billion. I have more wealth than the bottom 123 million Americans. I’ll buy the presidency.”

‘That offends me very much.’

Bloomberg defended his spending saying: ‘I’m not trying to buy the election. We’ve been at this for 10 weeks, and the best way to communicate in 10 weeks is through something like mass media, through television and social media.

‘And the other people that are running have been doing it for the last couple years, so maybe they don’t need to do it. But it’s a way for me to get out to this whole country.’

Bernie Sanders was mocked by Mike Bloomberg during Wednesday night's debate, as the billionaire remarked: 'The best known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses. What did I miss?'

Bloomberg on Wednesday night's debate

Bloomberg (right) has been accused of ‘trying to buy the presidency’ by rival Bernie Sanders (left). Bloomberg hit back during Wednesday night’s debate by mocking Sanders’ property portfolio

Democratic Presidential candidates (L-R) former NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former US Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar attend the ninth Democratic presidential debate at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas

Democratic Presidential candidates (L-R) former NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former US Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar attend the ninth Democratic presidential debate at the Paris Theater in Las Vegas

Bloomberg also hit back at Sanders during Wednesday’s Democratic debate, mocking the millionaire socialist’s property portfolio.

He said: ‘The best known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses. What did I miss?’

Sanders, who has taken the lead in the recent national polls in the race, has had to defend his health, his ability to beat President Trump in November and now his estimated net worth of $2.5 million.   

Bloomberg senior advisor Tim O’Brien told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: ‘First and foremost we ask, what is the price to save democracy from Donald Trump.

‘Michael Bloomberg is doing this right now because he sees this as the culmination of his life’s work. As we’ve said repeatedly, this big electoral machine we’re building — we’re in 45 states and territories, 2100 people on the ground — will be in the service of the party, or whoever the nominee is.’

 

 

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk