Where his money comes from and goes

From NY1:

New details emerged today about the city’s wealthiest resident, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with the release of his latest tax return.

Bloomberg is worth an estimated $18 billion and is believed to be the wealthiest person in New York City and the 23rd richest man in the world, according to Forbes Magazine.

A spokesman for the mayor says Bloomberg's tax returns that are shared with the press do not show specific dollar amounts to protect the mayor's company, Bloomberg LP.

"He wants to show New Yorkers where that money is coming from, and the preponderance of it is coming from his company,” said spokesman Stu Loeser. “Because he is the majority owner of a company in a highly-competitive industry, giving out specific details would reveal company secrets that would hurt the company without increasing the knowledge New Yorkers would gain about where his money's coming from.”

According to his tax return, the mayor also had a much better year with his investments in 2009 than he did in 2008. He lost money in 2008, when the economy took a nosedive. Last year, while he made money on his investments, his tax return showed the gains were not enough to offset the earlier losses.

One clear example of the scope of the mayor's wealth is the amount he spends on his personal household staff. The mayor paid between $250,000 and $500,000 in household employment taxes – not salaries, but taxes – for his household staff in 2009. That's an increase from last year, when he paid between $100,000 and $250,000 in taxes for his personal staff.