Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsExposing the Real Politics of Jeff Bezos: Privatization, Big Business, Lower Taxes on the Rich—
http://www.alternet.org/media/what-will-washington-post-be-under-jeff-bezosAmazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the new Kindle Fire HD at a press conference in Santa Monica, California in September 2012.
News broke on Monday that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would be purchasing the Washington Post. ( Previous owner Donald Graham is now free to focus on Kaplan, the for-profit education empire specializing in gobbling up taxpayer dollars.)
For many, Bezos is an enigmatic businessman and a gifted entrepreneur who represents all that is great about American industry. In some ways, this description does have merit. While he studied to be a physicist and had a brief stint on Wall Street, his passion was was Amazon.com, which he set up in the garage of his two-bedroom home using tables he made out of doors purchased at Home Depot for around $60 each. As Amazon grew to the titan it is today, so did Bezoss fame and fortune. By 2011, he was the 13th richest person in the United States, with a net worth of $19.1 billion.
But as Bezos wealth has growth, so has his ability to impact politics. While his spending on shaping society has been relatively modest compared to, say, Walmart heirs the Waltons, or New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, he has poured a sizeable amount of money into promoting his views.
What are those views? Like so many tech billionaires, Bezos has been attracted to right-libertarian politicsmeaning socially liberal, but in favor of business and privatization. He's a libertarian, Nick Hanauer, a colleague who was an early Amazon investor, told the Seattle Times.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 815 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Exposing the Real Politics of Jeff Bezos: Privatization, Big Business, Lower Taxes on the Rich— (Original Post)
xchrom
Aug 2013
OP
mucifer
(23,550 posts)1. Problem is he donates to dems and expects something in return.
TBF
(32,067 posts)2. All these tech leaders are libertarians -
it is in their financial interest. They are also attracting young followers (especially males) who work in this arena and have dreams of being these types of leaders themselves. By and large they are socially liberal (anyone under 40 with the internet is probably more socially liberal than the past generation) but don't let that fool you. Great article.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)3. Recommend!