Mayor Bloomberg Defends Foundation’s Offshore Investments

Michael Bloomberg, New York’s mayor, said Thursday that he has no control over how his charitable foundation’s assets are invested but he sees nothing wrong with money managers shifting hundreds of millions of dollars into foreign tax havens, The Associated Press writes.

The New York Observer reported this week that Bloomberg Family Foundation assets are invested in funds based in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Mauritius, and other countries that have a reputation as tax shelters for Americans. Mr. Bloomberg’s money is invested through a blind trust.

“I don’t have any control over where my investments go,” Mr. Bloomberg said, but he added that the offshore investments are “perfectly legal” and “appropriate to maximize the assets which I’m giving away to charities.”

The practice of investing in offshore hedge funds is relatively common among large nonprofit institutions, according to the Managed Funds Association, a trade organization.