Bloomberg Donates $350M To Alma Mater, Becomes Largest Living Donor To Education

Yesterday, it was discovered in a New York Times exclusive that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg would be making a $350 million donation to Johns Hopkins University - the Hizzoner's alma mater where he apparently ruled the frat circuit. With this amount, Mr. Bloomberg has donated a total of $1.1 billion to the school. Accepting this former C student was the best decision the quasi-Ivy-League school ever made.

So, along with his huge donations to the New York City and Baltimore public school systems, the Mayor has officially become the largest living donator to education in America's history.

"It's Rockefeller, it's Carnegie, it's Mellon, it's Stanford--and it's Bloomberg," Ronald Daniels, President of John Hopkins, said.

Yeah, that just happened.

You can do a lot with $1.1 billion. Since its inception, the money donated by Mr. Bloomberg has added a physics hall, a children's hospital, a school for public health (a subject the Mayor is all too familiar with), a malaria institute, a building for stem cell research and a new library wing. Also, add in beautiful art exhibits and 20 percent of need-based financial aid to students covered. Maybe 'a lot' was an understatement.

With his mayoral exit this year in mind, yesterday's $350 million donation is a sign of what lies ahead for the billionaire-turned-politician. He has told sources near him that he pledges to give away all of his wealth ($25 billion or so) to philanthropic causes before he dies.

If this is the case, becoming the largest living donor to education in America's history might be only one of the financial records this Mayor break. And that's a story in itself.

[jsurico15@gmail.com/@JSuricz]