Michael Bloomberg To Be The First Recipient Of The Genesis Prize

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New York Mayor Bloomberg has been chosen by the  Genesis Philanthropy Group to pick up what is already being described  as the “Jewish Nobel Prize.”

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Michael Bloomberg/ Getty

The Genesis Philanthropy Group  made their announcement of launching  their  Genesis Prize initiative at a recent news conference in New York.

The Genesis Philanthropy Group was created five years ago to promote the continuation of the Jewish identity among Russian-speaking Jews worldwide. Its founders, Pyotr Aven, Mikhail Fridman German Khan Alexander Knaster and Stan Polovets, have financed the fund with an endowment of $100 million, which will be set aside to pay for the prize for years to come.

According to the founders, the Genesis Prize will perpetuate the recognition of exceptional people whose values and achievements will inspire the next generations of Jewish people.

The Genesis Prize is jointly administered by GPG together with Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel, with candidates being considered among those whose extraordinary achievement represents a living example of of  Tikkun Olam, who have achieved success as well as recognition in a variety of fields, including arts, business, science, diplomacy and local and national government, with Bloomberg’s remarkable achievements having fallen into a few of these categories, the charity organizers stated at their news conference.

Michael Bloomberg was chosen from more than 200 leading figures nominated from around the world, According to the prize committee, which included Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize-winning author, and Meir Shamgar, former head of the Israel Supreme Court.  Bloomberg was chosen to receive the inaugural prize in recognition of his outstanding track record of outstanding public service as well as his role as one of the world’s greatest philanthropists.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  will present the award Mr. Bloomberg at a ceremony in Jerusalem in May.

After it was announced that Michael Bloomberg will be the first recipient of the Genesis Prize,  the outgoing  New York mayor stated  that was honored to be recognized and , the   he plans to donate the one million dollars  that he will receive as part of the award to a philanthropic cause,  which  will be  named in the near future.

In his statement, Bloomberg recalled how his parents instilled Jewish values and ethics in him as a child. “These are the same values and ethics that I have carried with me throughout my life, and which have guided every aspect of my work in business, government, and philanthropy.”

Bloomberg’s statement wound up by saying that the Genesis Prize embraces and promotes those same values and ethics — a common thread among the Jewish people worldwide that has helped move humankind forward for centuries.

Michael Bloomberg was born and raised in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University, from where he graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, going on to study at the Harvard Business School where he gained a Master of Business Administration degree.

After graduation, Bloomberg embarked on his professional career at the Wall Street securities brokerage Salomon Brothers after graduating.

In 1973, Bloomberg was appointed to the role of general partner, where he headed the equity trading department. In 1981, Salomon Brothers were taken over and Bloomberg was  handed a generous $10 million severance package, a  sum large enough to see him form his own company where he spent the next twenty years building it into a multi-billion dollar media empire,  before stepping down to become the Mayor of New York City, Bloomberg took up his role  on the first of January 2002, less than three months after the Twin Towers terrorist attack and is due to step down at the end of the year.

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