As you may be aware, Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the millionaire, subway-riding Mayor of New York. A native of Medford, Mass. (hence the accent), Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins and Harvard Business School before joining the rat race on Wall Street and climbing the corporate ladder at Salomon Bros.

Bloomberg's political aspirations emerged in the late 1990s. With Rudy Giuliani unable to run again for mayor because of term limits, and after switching parties to avoid the morass of Democratic candidates, he threw his hat into the ring; several months—and some $73 million—later, he became the 108th Mayor of the City of New York.

When Bloomberg took office just a few months after the Sept. 11th attacks, many wondered how someone with so little political experience would steer the city through what promised to be a difficult recovery. He quickly proved himself up the task; he was pragmatic and focused while tackling an ambitious agenda, and wasted little time making grand speeches. Most importantly, he managed to revive a city that had been reeling from the effects of 9/11 when he first arrived on the job. Bloomberg won re-election in 2005.

Bloomberg's net worth has always been difficult to calculate. Forbes, which had long underestimated the number, now suggests he's worth $11.5 billion, making him the fourth-richest New Yorker. From the standpoint of a taxpayer, though, Bloomberg's a deal: he takes a salary of just $1 a year. He has said he intends to donate all his money to charity before he dies.

Bloomberg met British-born Susan Brown in 1973 and the couple married in 1976. They had two daughters—Georgina and Emma—before divorcing amicably in 1993. Since 2001, Bloomberg has been dating Diana Taylor, a former state banking superintendent. (They were introduced by Diana Fortuna.)

Bloomberg doesn't live in Gracie Mansion, saving it for official events and to house visiting dignitaries. (That didn't stop him from having his interior designer Jamie Drake re-do the mansion at a cost of $7 million in 2002.) The mayor lives in a 7,500-square foot townhouse on East 79th Street.

[Image via Getty]