Bloomberg Must Sell $45 Million in Stocks

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg must sell at least $45 million in publicly traded stock and his interest in a hedge fund to comply with the city’s conflict-of-interest laws, a panel ruled Thursday.

The Conflict of Interest Board ruled that Bloomberg’s stake in companies that do business with the city violated the City Charter. The mayor was ordered to sell his holdings in about 95 publicly traded stocks within 90 days.

“Because Mr. Bloomberg owns his stock directly and not, for example, through a mutual fund, because many of the firms in his portfolio have business dealings with the city’s executive branch, and because of the size of his holdings, many of Mr. Bloomberg’s stock ownership interests violate” the City Charter, the report says.

After he was elected last year, Bloomberg resigned as chief executive officer of Bloomberg L.P., the financial services information company he founded. The mayor is estimated to be worth more than $4 billion.

After he sells his stock, the board will allow Bloomberg to invest his holdings in “large, highly diversified mutual funds ... managed by money managers with whom he has no relationships.” He is likely to donate a large chunk of the proceeds to charity, aides say.

The board also ruled that the mayor can keep his ownership stake in Bloomberg L.P., but must not involve himself as mayor with issues that concern Merrill Lynch, which has a 20% stake in the company.

Bloomberg spokesman Ed Skyler said the mayor would comply with the decision.

“As he’s said many times before, the mayor will abide by the ruling of the Conflict of Interest Board,” said Skyler.

Bloomberg’s potential conflicts represented an unprecedented situation for the city’s ethics watchdogs. The city had never elected a mayor so wealthy and with so many investments and business relationships with the city’s top companies.

Bloomberg refuses to disclose exactly how much money he has invested in public stocks. But as of Dec. 31, he owned shares in 85 stocks with a value of at least $500,000 each.

The companies include Dow Jones, AOL Time Warner, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Costco, Ethan Allen, JP Morgan Chase, Waste Management, Starwood Hotels and Boston Properties.