24 Business Spotlight 2/2020 NEW YORK SPECIAL
Foto: Maxim SchulzT
hese days, Donald Trump and Democratic presidential
hopeful Michael Bloomberg can best be described as mor-
tal enemies. A media mogul and former New York may-
or, Bloomberg is leveraging his deep pockets to oust his
fellow Manhattan billionaire. Bloomberg, eighth on the
Forbes list of richest people in the world, has more than
1,000 staffers and organizers and his ads are ubiquitous
on TV. Bloomberg and Trump were each reported to have spent
$10 million for a 60-second spot during the Super Bowl on 2 Feb-
ruary — an illustration of the arms race that a general election
battle between Bloomberg and Trump would be if Bloomberg
can secure the Democratic nomination.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg and Trump squabbled about
healthcare on Twitter, with Trump calling the former New York
mayor “Mini Mike”. And the financial website Marketplace pub-
lished a scathing article by Bloomberg headlined“Trump has
been great for people like me — but I’ll be great for you”.
It wasn’t always like this. Bloomberg and Trump, both billion-
aires from New York, for years kept a cordial and even friendly
relationship as they repeatedly ran into each other at charity
events, parties and even one of the weddings of former New
York mayor Rudy Giuliani.Huges amounts of money and ego
Along the way, they swapped praise. At a 2007 charity golf club
event, Trump said it was “my really terrific privilege to introduce
a man that I think is one of the great mayors and will go down
as one of the great mayors, if not the greatest, in New York City”.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2013, Trump said Bloomberg
had “been a great mayor”, adding: “I mean, this guy is fantastic.”
Bloomberg has also thrown Trump some kind words. At the
same ribbon-cutting ceremony, he said: “If there is anybody who
has changed this city, it is Donald Trump.” And back in 2004,
Bloomberg appeared on an episode of Trump’s TV show, The
Apprentice. Trump said at the time that he invited Bloomberg on
to the show because he had “great respect for him”.
Yet even back then, the identities they each fostered as fa-
mous billionaires were radically different and they moved in
different social circles. “I’m sure Bloomberg has no gold toilets
at his house,” says Rebecca Katz, a New York-based Democratic
strategist. “It’s a different kind of money, with less to prove.”Congressman Peter King, a New York Republican, recalls
Bloomberg once telling him that the only time he really inter-
acted with Trump was at a charity golf tournament. “They were
in many ways from different worlds,” King said.
“It wasn’t like they were hugging or talking about ‘Hey, re-
member the great times we had?’. It was like two guys who knew
each other but didn’t seem overly close. [But] they didn’t seem
overly hostile,” King says.
But those days are long gone. And the antagonism is only
likely to escalate as the two pour more money and time into the
2020 presidential race. King believes that a head-to-head battle
between the two candidates would involve “a huge amount of
money, a huge amount of ego on both sides”.
“Each guy would think he’s smarter than the other,” King
says, adding that each billionaire would be acting like he’s
accomplished more than the other.
The relationship is also extra testy because of Bloomberg’s
unique position within the field of Democratic candidates.
Bloomberg is the only one from the same state as Trump —The battle of the billionaire egos
Der eine – Donald Trump – ist amtierender Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten, der andere –
Michael Bloomberg – Medienmogul und ehemaliger Bürgermeister von New York. Sollte letzterer
als demokratischer Kandidat nominiert werden, würden im Wahlkampf zwei Milliardäre
mit starkem Ego gegeneinander antreten. DANIEL STRAUSS berichtet.
ADVANCEDaccomplish sth.
[E(kVmplIS]
, etw. erreichen
antagonism
[Än(tÄgE)nIzEm]
, Gegner schaft
apprentice [E(prentIs]
, Auszubildende(r)
Lehrling
arms race [(A:mz reIs]
, Wettrüsten
charity [(tSÄrEti]
, karitativ, Wohltätigkeits-
cordial [(kO:diEl]
, herzlich
foster sth. [(fQstE]
, etw. pflegen
go down as sb.
[)gEU (daUn Äz]
, als jmd. in Erinnerung
behalten werden
golf tournament
[(gQlf )tUEnEmEnt]
, Golfturnierhopeful [(hEUpf&l]
, Anwärter(in)
hostile [(hQstaI&l]
, feindselig
hug [hVg]
, sich umarmen
leverage one’s deep
pockets [)li:vErIdZ wVnz
di:p (pQkIts]
, etwa: sein großes
Vermögen einsetzen
mayor [meE]
, Bürgermeister(in)
mortal enemy
[)mO:t&l (enEmi]
, Todfeind(in)
oust sb. [aUst]
, jmdn. verdrängen;
hier: aus dem Amt jagen
overly [(EUvEli]
, übermäßig
pour sth. into sth.
[(pO: )Intu]
, hier: etw. in etw. steckenribbon-cutting ceremony
[(rIbEn )kVtIN )serEmEni]
, Eröffnungsfeier
run into sb.
[)rVn (Intu]
, jmdn. (zufällig) treffen
scathing [(skeIDIN]
, vernichtend
squabble about sth.
[(skwQb&l E)baUt]
, sich wegen etw. zanken
swap praise
[)swQp (preIz]
, hier: Komplimente
austauschen
terrific [tE(rIfIk] ifml.
, großartig
testy [(testi] , gereizt
throw sb. sth. [TrEU]
, hier: jmdm. etw. zuteil
werden lassen
ubiquitous
[ju(bIkwItEs]
, allgegenwärtigNEW YORK
POLITICS