Michael Bloomberg

News organizations and titles: President and founder, Bloomberg News, 1990-present; president and founder, Bloomberg L.P., 1982-present; prior to forming his own company, Mr. Bloomberg worked as a securities trader at Salomon Brothers. He left in 1981.

Legacy: Mr. Bloomberg has built a media empire that is home to magazines, newsletters, a publishing house, television network, radio station, Bloomberg News wire service, and its core activity, the Bloomberg Service, a real-time financial information network of more than 100,000 terminals around the world that display many types of financial information simultaneously.

Journalistic Progeny: Larry Kramer, James J. Cramer, Bridge News.

Personal: Born Feb. 14, 1942, in Boston. Chairman, board of trustees, Johns Hopkins University; trustee for Big Apple Circus, Central Park Conservancy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Jewish Museum, and New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Fund.

Family: Divorced, two daughters.

Books: "Bloomberg by Bloomberg," with Matthew Winkler.

Education: Johns Hopkins University, 1964; Harvard University School of Business, graduated 1966.

What he has said about himself: On the launching of Bloomberg News: "From the beginning, we tried to be different. We built a unique product: We combined text and analytics with computer-driven tours that let readers automatically see the calculations and graphs of what we wrote about. At the end of each story, we gave our reporter's name and phone number. Unlike everyone else, we built customer access to our people rather than protection from our clients.

"Most news organizations never connect reporters and commerce. At Bloomberg, they're as close to seamless as it can get. That's our system. We have give and take on both sides of the table."

What he made news or headlines for: On June 14, 1990, Bloomberg Business News began operations. In July 1992, Bloomberg Magazine was launched. In July 1992, Bloomberg L.P. bought WNEW-AM radio in New York City and switched the former big-band station to a business-news format. In January 1994, the company aired the first 15-minute Bloomberg Business News program, produced by Maryland Public Television. A month later, the Bloomberg Information TV network became available via satellite dish and Bloomberg terminal.

What others have said about him: Michael Lewis, author of "Liar's Poker": "He's got a gift for making quick judgments. That's very much a part of a trader's mentality. Traders don't build businesses. He's obviously got a knack for long-term planning, too. Traders don't."

Joshua Mills, a New York Times business and financial news editor: "Mike Bloomberg saw an opportunity to jump on the new technology, and he did it much more quickly than Dow Jones or The New York Times."