Earlier this week reports circulated that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was considering selling the Washington Post in order to buy NFL football team the Washington Commanders, but a new report says he’s not selling the newspaper.
Jeff Bezos selling the Washington Post to buy the Commanders?
Back in November 2022, reports emerged that Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos may pursue a bid with rapper and music industry giant Jay-Z to purchase the Washington Commanders, CNBC reported at the time. The rumors came a day after current Commanders’ ownership hired Bank of America to explore a sale of the team.
“It [football] is my favorite sport,” Bezos said at the time. “So, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Two days ago, chatter began that Bezos is looking to sell the Washington Post, which he owns, to clear the way for purchasing the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Reportedly, the speculation was stirred after a leaked video of the Post publisher Fred Ryan disclosing layoff plans at an unruly town hall meeting, the New York Post reported.
Speculation also goes back to a December 23 report by Axios that said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was interested in buying either the Wall Street Journal or Washington Post. But a Bloomberg spokesman refuted the report, saying there was no interest in either.
Bezos is anything but strapped for cash. So the question arises…
Does Jeff Bezos really need to sell the Washington Post to raise money?
With an estimated asking price for the Washington Commanders “north of $7 billion,” it hardly seems necessary that multi-billionaire Bezos would need to sell Washington Post in order to raise the money to buy the football team.
As of January 4, 2023, Jeff Bezos, 58, was listed as the 5th-richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $109 billion, with $85.2 billion of that attributed to his 10% ownership stake in Amazon, according to Investopedia. The Washington Post is listed as a private asset worth $250 million, the price he paid for the newspaper in 2013. Bezos reportedly also has $14.2 billion in cash. His aerospace company, Blue Origin, is a private asset valued at $9.15 billion.
New report says Bezos not selling the Washington Post
This week, a source close to Bezos told People that the Amazon founder is not selling the Washington Post in an effort to buy the Commanders.
Sources say that Bezos has not hired an investment banker to sell the Washington Post, nor has he made it perfectly clear it is actually for sale.
A spokesperson for Bezos said the Washington Post is not for sale.
What’s the obstacle to Bezos buying the Commanders?
If money isn’t the obstacle to Bezos buying the Washington Commanders – what is?
Sources say the real obstacle is the Washington Commanders’ current owner Dan Snyder who simply does not want to sell the team to Jeff Bezos.
Last week, reports surfaced that the Commanders were taking first-round bids from prospective buyers and Bezos wasn’t among them.
