Jeff Bezos Pays $250 Million for The Washington Post

In an ironic twist for a tycoon whose company has always kept its distance from the press, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has agreed to pay $250 million cash for The Washington Post. 

The purchase takes the newspaper out of the hands of the Graham family, one of the most storied media dynasties in U.S. history, and puts it under the control of one of the 21st century’s most media-shy tech moguls. 

Though Amazon has been making content deals left and right, both as a book publisher and as a streaming video service through Amazon Prime, this is something different. Amazon was not officially involved in the purchase, suggesting that Bezos has something else in mind. It would appear that Bezos is simply interested in owning a newspaper — and perhaps in boosting the health of the traditionally liberal Post. 

In a letter to Post employees, Bezos says that he won’t be leading the paper directly day-to-day. “I am happily living in ‘the other Washington’ where I have a day job that I love,” he writes, referring to his role as CEO at Seattle-based Amazon.