Mike Bloomberg said when he first heard about the Bloomberg 50, “I thought the Treasury Department had decided to put me on the $50 bill. But Ulysses S. Grant is safe – for now,” the billionaire philanthropist and former three-term New York City mayor joked as he hosted the inaugural Bloomberg 50, celebrating innovators from the worlds of business, finance, tech & science, politics and entertainment.
Comedian Keegan-Michael Key emceed Monday night’s event at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall.
Among the honorees Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Chance the Rapper, and Rachel Maddow. Former NBC News correspondent Ronan Farrow was considered “One to Watch” in 2018. And it wasn’t just people on the list. Russian botnets, and their effect on the 2016 election, got a spot. Rose McGowan, Ashley Judd and Lauren O’Connor shared a spot as whistleblowers, speaking out about Harvey Weinstein’s behavior.
Not on the list: Mike Bloomberg. “I was told it would be seen as self-promotion — and as we all know, the American people will not stand for a business executive who promotes himself at every turn,” Bloomberg joked.
Hamilton star Mandy Gonzalez closed out the show, performing a set that included the song Satisfied, its first-ever performance outside the Hamilton stage.
We also spotted Martha Stewart, actress Jane Seymour, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, The Late Show’s Jon Batiste. Also, Stephanie Ruhle, (who had to run to make an appearance on Lawrence O’Donnell‘s show), David Westin, Tamron Hall, Tammy Haddad, Ken Burns, and Bloomberg’s Justin Smith, Keith Grossman, Megan Murphy, and John Micklethwait.
Bloomberg was proud to point out that the company’s first Bloomberg 50 was created “using hard data. That’s the Bloomberg way.”
(L-R) Honorees Chieh Huang and Luhan Yang, Mandy Gonzalez, Megan Murphy, Hannah Alper, Mike Bloomberg and Keegan-Michael Key.