Michael Dell: ‘I Am Not Running for President’

With the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primaries almost upon us, it shouldn’t have been too surprising that politics found its way into a discussion about the changing business world Jan. 27 between Michael Dell and Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg in 2013 wrapped up 12 years as mayor of New York City, a tenure that had its own share of controversy—see his ban in the city of “big gulp” servings of soda to combat childhood obesity. He also has been active in trying to push stronger gun control laws throughout the country.

Now there is speculation that Bloomberg—who founded his namesake company in the early 1980s—is pondering a run for president of the United States as an independent candidate, reportedly as a response to the rise in the Republican party of Donald Trump, the struggles in Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the surprising strength of Bernie Sanders’ campaign.

It’s not the first time that he’s considered a third-party run, but in the past, he has eventually decided against it. However, given the volatile and unexpected turns in the current presidential races, the billionaire is thinking about it again.

Bloomberg and Dell were interviewed onstage by Vonnie Quinn, an anchor with Bloomberg Television, as part of a larger event at the Bloomberg headquarters in New York City to discuss the rapid changes in the business world and tech industry brought on by such trends as mobile computing, big data analytics and the cloud, and how companies and IT professionals must be prepared to quickly adapt and evolve to meet new challenges.

At one point during a standing-room-only portion of the event, Quinn asked both Bloomberg and Dell what was next for both of them. There was a pause, with neither business leader saying anything. Then Michael Dell broke in.