NEW YORK, NY December 27, 2007 —WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this update on the mayor's plans.

Mayor Bloomberg has consistently told reporters his next job would be in philanthropy. Now, he's won an important thumbs up from the city's Conflict of Interest Board to diversify his multi-billion dollar holdings to earn more for his Bloomberg Family Foundation that will focus on issues like improving public health.

Baruch College political science professor Doug Muzio says this will only help burnish the mayor's image as being above the partisan fray.

MUZIO: He has chosen, I believe, to do it the philanthropic way.

Under the terms of the panel's opinion, the mayor's fortune can be invested in real estate outside of New York, commodities and currency trading or hedge funds, as long as he's kept some distance from the day-to-day management of his investments.

For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.

OUTRO: Published reports put Mayor Bloomberg's current fortune at over $10 billion. When he came into office, his major holdings included his majority stake in Bloomberg LP, a large portfolio of tax-free bonds and publicly traded stocks held in a managed account.