Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business forum in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is giving $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University for student financial aid at his alma mater, Bloomberg said in an opinion piece published on Sunday in The New York Times.

Bloomberg, the founder and chief executive of global media company Bloomberg LP, said the money will used for aid for qualified low and middle-income students and will make the Baltimore, Maryland university’s admissions permanently “need-blind.”

“I want to be sure that the school that gave me a chance will be able to permanently open that same door of opportunity for others,” he wrote in the Times.

Bloomberg rejoined the Democratic Party last month ahead of the Nov. 6 congressional elections, amid speculation he might run for the White House in 2020.