WPIX NEWSROOM

5:09 p.m. EST, November 27, 2009
NEW YORK (WPIX)—
Records reveal Mayor Michael Bloomberg shelled out $102 million of his own cash while pursuing a third term as the city's mayor - breaking his own campaign spending record.

The mayor's aides released his campaign finance data Friday afternoon, the day after Thanksgiving.

In his initial run for mayor, Bloomberg spent $76 million. In 2005, he spent $85 million to defeat Democratic rival Freddie Ferrer.

The record's findings mean the mayor is the single biggest spender in U.S. history in self-financed campaign for public office.

The mayor has a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine to be $17.5 billion.

During the campaign, he didn't take donations and was allowed to legally spend whatever he wanted as long as he filed expense reports.