What'll Bloomberg Do with Bloomberg?

As Michael R. Bloomberg entered a midtown hotel elevator on the night of his victory in the New York mayoral race, former Governor Hugh L. Carey pulled him aside and recounted a bit of history for the 59-year-old billionaire. Back in 1880, the city elected as mayor William Russell Grace, a shipping magnate with no political experience. Grace would spend mornings in City Hall, Carey told the mayor-elect, and afternoons down the street tending to his business, W.R. Grace & Co. Bloomberg, who remains CEO of the privately held company he founded 20 years ago, laughed at Carey's story, then vowed that, as the Big Apple's 108th mayor, he wouldn't be pursuing dual careers.

Still, extracting himself from Bloomberg LP, in which he holds a 72% stake, could become Bloomberg's first messy challenge even before he's sworn in on Jan. 1. Speculation is already rife that he is considering selling his company, perhaps for an asking price of more than $10 billion. A Bloomberg spokeswoman denies the company is for sale, but either way, Bloomberg's departure could mean turmoil for the $2.5 billion-a- year financial-data-and-media empire.