Michael Bloomberg Is Glad He Got Fired From First Job, Now He's The Seventh-Richest Person In World

At the age of 39, Michael Bloomberg faced a turning point when he was fired from his sole full-time position at Solomon Brothers' equities desk. Undeterred, he embarked on a new venture, founding his namesake company the very next day after losing his job.

Sticking To His Guns: In a recent LinkedIn post, Bloomberg recounted how many people doubted his idea of delivering financial data to people's desktops at the time. However, after being let go from his job and receiving a $10 million payout from his equity in Solomon Brothers following an acquisition, he was able to found Bloomberg.

“Setbacks are only setbacks if you allow them to be - and in order to succeed, you first must be willing to fail,” Bloomberg said in his post. 

Bloomberg went on to help grow his financial data and media company into the behemoth it is today. According to Forbes, Bloomberg is the seventh-richest person in the world, with a net worth of nearly $100 billion.

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Bloomberg also ran for president in 2020, losing the Democrat Party nomination to current president Joe Biden. As of now, Bloomberg has not announced any plans or ambitions of running in 2024. 

Fail Forward: Bloomberg’s message about one’s willingness to fail is a common message from the ultra-successful. 

Michael Jordan was famously cut from his high school’s basketball team and said that “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Walt Disney recalled that he was fired from a newspaper job because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” 

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This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

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