On Sunday, billionaire Michael Bloomberg did more than just announced his run for president: He also gave his 231,000 Instagram followers insight on how he built his $54.1 billion fortune.
Bloomberg says at the age of 39, he was out of a job after being laid off and wasn't really sure what to do next.
"But I had an idea to start a company, so I took a chance," Bloomberg wrote on Instagram.
That year, in 1981, Bloomberg and three friends — Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillian and Charles Zegar — founded software company, Bloomberg L.P.
Today, Bloomberg L.P. has grown into a global leader in business and financial data as well as a media company that employs 20,000 people in 167 offices around the world. (Annual revenues for Bloomberg L.P. reportedly surpassed $10 billion in 2018, according to a leaked memo obtained by Business Insider.)
But Bloomberg says he never could have done it alone. And he advises young people to eliminate two words from their vocabulary if they want to achieve success too.
"My advice is [to] get rid of the words, 'I and me,' and switch to, 'we and us,'" Bloomberg wrote.
"Everything you do is going to be collaborative and you need to have people help you and the way you get that is by helping them," he said.
Bloomberg said he believes his company's success and large profits are a reflection of how he invests in his employees.
"We pay our employees very well and provide the best health care benefits money can buy. And if someone has a baby, they get six months of paid leave," Bloomberg said.
In 2019, Bloomberg L.P. ranked No. 74 on Forbes list of America's Best Employers and 449th for America's Best Employers for Diversity.
However the company has also been plagued by multiple layoffs over the years, there have been allegations of a sexist environment, which Bloomberg L.P. has denied (including a pregnancy discrimination suit that was later thrown out) and stories of Bloomberg's exacting standards.
Bloomberg also attributes his success to four key values: honesty, integrity, fairness and inclusion, which he said will help him win in the 2020 election.
Still, Bloomberg may have a long road ahead to win over certain voters. He has a history of making sexist remarks, which his team recently acknowledged were disrespectful. And Bloomberg recently apologized for his longstanding support of New York City's "stop-and-frisk" strategy by police, which disproportionately impacted black and Latino people.
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