Democrats primary: Staggering amount already spent by Bloomberg on presidential campaign revealed

'We’ve never seen spending like this in a presidential race,' says political strategist

(Getty Images)

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has reportedly poured about $120m (£92m) into campaign advertising since joining the presidential race in November.

Mr Bloomberg, co-founder and CEO of the Bloomberg media company, is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election.

According to Politico, the amount spent by Mr Bloomberg is double the combined advertising spending of every non-billionaire candidate from the same party this year.

Jim Mclaughlin, a political strategist, said he had “never seen spending like this” and remarked that Mr Bloomberg “has a limitless budget”.

So far, he has spent over $13m on advertising each in California, Texas, and Florida - states with large numbers of delegates that could determine the success of his campaign.

In late November, over the course of one week, Mr Bloomberg spent $33m airing ads on broadcast, cable, and digital formats - surpassing the previous record of $24.9m spent by former President Barack Obama in the final week of his 2012 campaign.

President Donald Trump, who does not have a primary opponent, has spent about $34m so far, reported Bloomberg Quint.

Mr Bloomberg is the ninth richest person in the US and the 14th richest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $58bn.

He is one of two billionaires currently vying for a presidential nomination.

The other is Tom Steyer, a hedge fund manager from Manhattan whose net worth is $1.5bn.

Together, both billionaires have spent almost $200m into television and digital advertising. Mr Steyer has so far spent $83m in ad buys - no where close to Mr Bloomberg’s, but significantly more than the third highest spender, Pete Buttigieg, who has shelled out $19m.

Mr Steyer has spent double the combined ad spending of Mr Buttigieg, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren since he joined the race in July.

Whether the enormous expenditure will pay off remains to be seen, with both billionaires still polling in the single digits.