What Happens To Billionaire Michael Bloomberg's Money When He Dies?

Michael Bloomberg, multi-billionaire and former mayor of New York City, is worth $109.4 billion as of August 2025, according to Forbes. In his 80s, Bloomberg has taken a turn in his third act of life, becoming a philanthropist and announcing that he plans to give away most of his money before he dies, with a large portion likely going towards his humanitarian organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies.

While the average person might worry about what happens to their money if they die without a will, Bloomberg is making his wishes for his wealth disbursement loud and clear prior to his death. In a 2010 letter to the Giving Pledge, in which some of the world's wealthiest people pledged to donate most of their wealth, Bloomberg laid out his wishes by stating: "For decades, I've been committed to giving away the vast majority of my wealth to causes that I'm passionate about — and that my children are passionate about. And so I am enthusiastically taking the Giving Pledge, and nearly all of my net worth will be given away in the years ahead or left to my foundation."

This is not the first time that Michael Bloomberg has used his money, not to mention his position of power and influence, for good. He was America's biggest donor to charitable causes in 2023, giving away an estimated $3 billion to a number of different causes and organizations. In 2024, he increased that number to $3.7 billion, stating, "I've never understood people who wait until they die to give away their wealth," as reported by CNBC.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which has developed a methodology for discovering who the highest-level philanthropic donors are on an annual basis, found that in 2024, the biggest donors gave away a total of $16.2 billion, with Bloomberg topping the list by contributing almost 25% of those charitable funds. If anyone is worried about what Bloomberg's two children, Emma and Georgina, think of their father giving away his fortune before his death, both of them have seats on the board of Bloomberg Philanthropies, so they are working closely to ensure that their family's money is directed as their father intended, both before and after his death.

There are millionaires who avoid paying taxes without breaking the law and then there are millionaires and billionaires who use their money to better the world around them. Michael Bloomberg has committed himself and the Bloomberg Philanthropies to making millions of lives better in over 700 cities across 150 countries, giving more than $21 billion to philanthropic causes over the course of his entire life, according to the Bloomberg Philanthropy website.

There are five main categories that Bloomberg Philanthropies works with: public health, the environment, education, government innovation, and the arts. All in all, the foundation covers a wide range of communities that are under-resourced and underserved. Much of Bloomberg's money goes towards difficult situations or circumstances that might not otherwise be paid much attention to, let alone received adequate funding to do the necessary work. Since Bloomberg has decided to put his money into supporting these causes during his lifetime rather than after his death, he is deeply involved with the direction and focus of how his money is used to make a significant impact around the world.