New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who regularly presents himself as a man of the people, spent $102 million of his own multi-billion dollar fortune to narrowly win re-election on November 3rd. He didn’t take donations and was permitted by law to spend as much as he saw fit.

Bloomberg, whose fortune is estimated to be around $17.5 billion, is the richest man in New York. His third term will begin in January 2010.

Challenger William Thompson Jr., a Democrat, is believed to have spent somewhere in the area of $9 million throughout the entire campaign. That appears to have been about what Bloomberg spent on last minute ads in the run-up to election day alone.

Bloomberg was expected to easily win re-election but the result turned out closer than previously thought. When all was said and done, the billionaire won by about five percent or $20 million for each percentage point.