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Posted: 2020-02-19T04:09:20Z | Updated: 2020-02-19T16:54:53Z

Mike Bloomberg will sell his massive media and data company, Bloomberg LP, if hes elected president, his campaign said on Tuesday.

Tim OBrien, one of the former New York mayors advisers, said on CNN that Bloomberg would offload the company that made him a multibillionaire, contrasting the plan with the actions of President Donald Trump , who has continued to benefit from his own swath of business holdings throughout his administration.

There will be no confusion about any of his financial holdings, blurring the line between public service and personal profiteering, OBrien told host Christiane Amanpour. He later added that Bloomberg will be 180 degrees away from where Donald Trump is on these issues because Donald Trump is a walking financial conflict of interest.

His Democratic campaign detailed how such a sale would happen, noting Bloomberg would place his company into a blind trust that would then handle the sale. The Associated Press reported any proceeds from the sale would go to the candidates charitable arm, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the company would not be sold to a foreign buyer or private equity fund.

The Wall Street Journal noted it could sell for as much as $60 billion , adding Bloomberg owns about 90% of the company, which he founded in 1981.

OBrien said that should Bloomberg be elected in November, he would also release his tax returns, reestablishing a tradition thats gone back to every president dating to Gerald Ford until Trump broke the protocol.

Bloomberg has used the massive wealth he built through Bloomberg LP to self-fund his campaign thus far. His campaign has purchased about $400 million in advertising over the last three months, which has helped propel Bloomberg in the polls.

He qualified for the next Democratic debate this week, which will be his first appearance on stage after many other candidates have already been through, and lost, that gantlet. His vast wealth is almost guaranteed to come up when he faces off against his fellow candidates in Las Vegas.

Its a shame Mike Bloomberg can buy his way into the debate. But at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on Donald Trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire. https://t.co/H02radEZcv

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Its a shame Mike Bloomberg can buy his way into the debate. But at least now primary voters curious about how each candidate will take on Donald Trump can get a live demonstration of how we each take on an egomaniac billionaire. https://t.co/H02radEZcv

Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 18, 2020

Bloombergs stature, particularly his ownership of a gargantuan media company, has prompted questions about how news organizations he owns would cover his bid for the White House. The company announced that its 2,700 journalists would not undertake any in-depth investigations of Bloomberg or any of his Democratic challengers.

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