Michael Bloomberg loves data. Except when he doesn’t.
The billionaire philanthropist who finances campaigns against vaping won’t listen to dissenting views
Michael Bloomberg, the philanthropist and former New York City mayor, made a fortune estimated at $70 billion by selling data, so it’s no wonder that he loves to talk about data and its value.
His foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, which says it is “using data to save lives” makes grants to cities to deploy data and evidence. Bloomberg said during his presidential campaign that “data is more important than ever in the era of fake news and alternative facts.” He tweeted: “In God we trust. Everyone else: bring data.” He tweeted, again: “Let science, and good data, and good evidence guide your policy.”
Yet Bloomberg’s interest in data has its limits. Some of the world’s leading experts on tobacco and public health have been trying for months to meet with him and share evidence showing that his foundation’s opposition to flavored e-cigarettes is doing more harm than good.
Bloomberg declined.
In a letter, the public-health experts wrote:
Your famous injunction “In God we trust. Everyone else, bring data” is a good one, and should be a universal maxim in…
