NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Michael R. Bloomberg, one of the richest men in the United States, has set a new record in U.S. history in the pursuit of public office in terms of money poured into the elections, according to a report available Saturday on New York Times website.

    Bloomberg, the Wall Street mogul and currently mayor of New York, had spent 85 million dollars on his latest re-election campaign as of Friday, and is on pace to spend between 110 million dollars and 140 million dollars before the election on Nov. 3.

    That means Bloomberg, in his three bids for mayor, will have easily "burned through more than 250 million dollars -- the equivalent of what Warner Brothers spent on the latest Harry Potter movie," says the report.

    The sum "easily surpasses what other titans of business have spent to seek state or federal office," according to the report.

    Statistics show that New Jersey's Jon S. Corzine has spent a total of 130 million dollars in two races for governor and one for United States Senate. Steve Forbes poured 114 million dollars into his two bids for president. And Ross Perot spent 65 million dollars in his quest for the White House in 1992 and 10 million dollars four years later.

    Bloomberg, born February 14, 1942, was listed as the eighth-richest American, with a net worth of 16 billion dollars, in the Forbes 400 on September 17, 2008, making him the richest resident of New York City. He is the founder and 88 percent owner of Bloomberg L.P., a financial software services company.

    A lifelong Democrat before seeking elective office, Bloomberg switched his registration in 2001 and ran for mayor as a Republican, winning the election that year and a second term in 2005. He was frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the 2008 presidential election and fueled that speculation when he left the Republican Party in June 2007 to become an independent.

    In the fall of 2008, Bloomberg successfully campaigned for an amendment to New York City's term limits law, in order to allow him to run for a third term in 2009.