Billionaire presidential long shot Michael Bloomberg is trying to poach staff from other campaigns with outsized salaries and fancy perks like three catered meals a day, an iPhone 11 and a MacBook Pro, according to sources.
Bloomberg is paying state press secretaries $10,000 a month, compared to the average going rate of $4,500 for other candidates and state political directors are making $12,000 a month, more than some senior campaign advisers earn, sources said.
National political director Carlos Sanchez pulls in $360,000 a year. Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s political director, made $240,000 in 2016.
Every Bloomberg staffer gets a MacBook Pro and an iPhone 11 on day one. They also enjoy three catered meals daily.
A communications staffer for another presidential contender was approached by a Bloomberg campaign employee within the last few weeks with an enticing offer.
“She let me know I was definitely going to get double digits per month,” the communications aide told The Post.
But she decided to stay put, calling the offer “aggressive and excessive.”
“Usually the process is you apply or someone approaches you because of a connection. This was very much how much they’re offering, this is the going rate, do you want this or not?
She also turned down the job because she doesn’t think Bloomberg can buy his way to victory.
“I think at the end of the day support is just not there and no matter how much money you have you can’t manufacture enthusiasm and excitement,” the communications aide said.
Experts say that Bloomberg, who is worth an estimated $50 billion, could spend as much as $1 billion on his 2020 run.
A second woman who interviewed with the Bloomberg campaign for an assistant level position that paid $70,000– nearly double her current salary as a Democratic staffer– said she was greeted with a “hotel-style buffet” at the interview.
“The salary would have been life-changing,” the recent college grad gushed to The Post.
“I would have my student loans paid off within this calendar year, I would have paid off my credit card debt, the three meals a day– it’s not something you think will ever be an option to you if you’re a young staffer,” she said.
She ultimately turned the job down.
“I’m declining it because Bloomberg isn’t my candidate at the end of the day. I’m an Elizabeth Warren supporter and really the reason I came so close to working for Bloomberg was the benefits and the salary and the perks that were evident from the moment you walk in,” she said.
Sheila Krumholz, executive director for the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, said Bloomberg’s tactics could be the death knell of some sputtering campaigns.
“It’s nothing new — good and/or underpaid staffers are poached in every cycle — but Bloomberg’s wealth puts this phenomenon on an entirely different level. Perks like these could pack an existential punch to struggling campaigns,” Krumholz said.
Stu Loeser, a Bloomberg spokesman, defended the pay and perks.
“We’ve put together an amazingly strong team that every day is getting closer to beating Donald Trump, and we are happy to pay staff well to do that,” Loeser said.