Billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg’s decision to hand off his lucrative company to Bloomberg Philanthropies upon his death — “if not sooner” — could be a game changer for a philanthropy sector and especially the causes that he cares about, such as public health and fighting climate change, philanthropy experts told Devex.
Bloomberg is preparing to transfer ownership of his media and financial information services company Bloomberg L.P., which generated more than $12 billion in revenue last year, “likely” to a trust that will finance his philanthropic organization, Financial Times reported last week. It would be one of the largest charitable donations in history. The transfer would allow Bloomberg Philanthropies to “operate for perpetuity.”
The move would be similar to Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s decision last year to transfer his family’s ownership of the then- $3 billion outdoor apparel company to a trust and a nonprofit organization that would focus on climate change and conservation. Bloomberg also has advocated for those causes and could exponentially increase the pot of money available for them with his gift.