Billionaires have long had a strong interest in media ownership, investing heavily in newspapers, magazines, and even social media platforms in recent years. This trend, however, is far from new.
Wealthy families and individuals, including the Bloombergs, Hearsts, Newhouses, Murdochs, and Ochs-Sulzbergers, have controlled significant portions of the media landscape for more than a century.
Today, a new wave of affluent investors is acquiring media companies, suggesting that, for them, there is value—be it financial, influential, or otherwise—in media ownership.
Key Highlights
Billionaires have increasingly acquired publishing outlets.
Media ownership among the wealthy spans back centuries.
Notable recent acquisitions include The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Time, and Fortune.
These investors are often praised for preserving historic news outlets facing financial decline, though critics question their true motives.
Billionaires Who Own Newspapers/Magazines
Here’s a look at some recent high-profile acquisitions:
Jeff Bezos
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos surprised many when he bought The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013. Critics speculated that his motivation was to influence public opinion, but Bezos soon quieted these concerns. Leveraging his tech background, he revitalized The Post by expanding its digital reach, ultimately attracting over 58 million unique visitors as of December 2022.
John Henry
Around the same time, sports mogul John Henry acquired The Boston Globe for $70 million from The New York Times. Henry, who had gained wealth through commodity trading and owned sports franchises like the Red Sox and Liverpool FC, invested substantially in the newspaper to help it recover financially.
Glen Taylor
Glen Taylor purchased The Minnesota Star Tribune for nearly $100 million. Taylor, a former state senator and owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, aimed to restore the paper’s prominence in Minnesota.
Patrick Soon-Shiong
Biotech entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong, known for creating the cancer treatment Abraxane, acquired The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune from Tronc in 2018 for $500 million. Soon-Shiong was welcomed as a local hero, determined to restore The Times as a credible news source rivaling The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Sheldon Adelson
Sheldon Adelson’s acquisition of The Las Vegas Review-Journal in late 2015 stirred controversy. The casino mogul purchased the newspaper discreetly, raising concerns about potential editorial influence. Some senior staff departed, fearing his involvement might impact journalistic freedom.
Joe Mansueto
Joe Mansueto, founder of investment firm Morningstar, bought Inc. and Fast Company shortly after Morningstar went public in 2005. He explained that his passion for these brands led him to purchase the publications, promising to uphold their value and integrity.
Laurene Powell Jobs
Laurene Powell Jobs, through her Emerson Collective, bought a majority stake in The Atlantic in 2017 for over $100 million. She recognized the magazine’s important role in American journalism and pledged to strengthen it, though she faced criticism in 2020 for layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff and his wife purchased Time magazine for $190 million in 2018, hoping to uphold journalistic standards and support trustworthy reporting. Benioff saw his role as a steward for quality journalism during a period of growing misinformation.
Chatchaval Jiaravanon
In 2018, Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon bought Fortune for $150 million as a personal investment. Fortune’s president assured the public that Jiaravanon’s focus was on growth, promising minimal interference in editorial matters.
Elon Musk
In 2022, Elon Musk finalized a $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, rebranding it as X in 2023. Musk aimed to broaden free speech on the platform and remove the ban on former President Donald Trump. Despite challenges, including legal disputes before the purchase, Musk made Twitter private, with big plans for its future.
Who Is the Biggest Media Mogul?
Rupert Murdoch: Arguably the World’s Most Powerful Media Mogul Today, Rupert Murdoch stands as one of the most influential figures in media, controlling assets like Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and numerous other prominent media outlets worldwide.
