Bloomberg Equality: Where the Billionaire Class Lives

The 1% versus the working class. Men versus women. Police versus people of color. Candidates in the Democratic presidential debate Wednesday night turned to powerful issues of financial, gender and racial inequality to set themselves apart at a critical moment in the 2020 primary season.

The five returning contenders all took swings at the newcomer, Michael Bloomberg (founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News). Critiques by frontrunner Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden, included attacks on billionaires, workplace gender bias and racially discriminatory practices by the New York City Police Department. Bloomberg, having previously apologized for the NYPD’s profligate use of “stop-and-frisk” in minority neighborhoods, defended capitalism and said his company deals with employee misconduct claims swiftly. Bloomberg also argued that he’s the only candidate who can beat President Donald Trump in November.