Bono and Bloomberg Could Harmonize on Helping the Poor

By GRACE RAUH, Staff Reporter of the Sun | November 2, 2007

A rock star known globally for his humanitarian work may be teaming up with Mayor Bloomberg.

Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, met with Mr. Bloomberg for 30 minutes yesterday afternoon to discuss areas where they could work together, philanthropy, and ways Bono could help the city, a spokesman for the mayor, Jason Post, said.

After the meeting in the mayor's newsroom-style office at City Hall, known as the bullpen, Bono said Mr. Bloomberg "could do an awful lot of good inside or outside the White House," the Associated Press reported.

"I think our paths are going to cross," Bono said. "What I'm interested in is not just his cash, but his intellect, and how his business acumen could be used to work for the world's poor."

Mr. Bloomberg is building a foundation that has given $9 million to the World Health Organization and $125 million to combat tobacco use around the world.

In 2006, Mr. Bloomberg gave $165 million in charitable contributions.

Bono is a co-founder of DATA, an advocacy organization that works to eradicate extreme poverty and AIDS in Africa.

The group created a campaign to raise awareness of and funding for Africa and Product(RED), in which it partnered with companies to sell products and allocate a portion of the profits to fund AIDS programs in Africa.