Huffington Magazine Issue 61 | Page 31

PATRICK FALLON/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES Voices I PETER S. GOODMAN HUFFINGTON 08.11.13 In Search of the Holy Graıl N THE INSTA-ANALYSIS of the stunning deal that put the Washington Post in the hands of a billionaire whose company didn’t even exist two decades ago, the transaction tends to get dismissed as something other than a business deal. ¶ In some accounts, Jeff Bezos is just another unfathomably rich guy loading up on a vanity toy that’s landed in the bargain bin. “Some billionaires like cars, yachts and private jets,” sniffed Andrew Ross Sorkin. “Others like newspapers.” ¶ Others treat the deal like an act of charity, likening Bezos to the robber barons of the late 19th century who plowed their mo- Amazon. com founder Jeff Bezos (above) acquired the Washington Post on Monday for $250 million.