Amazon boss buys Washington Post

Jeff Bezos has agreed to purchase the Washington Post.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has bought the Washington Post for $250 million (£163 million).

Post chief executive Donald Graham explained the sale of the newspaper comes as the owners believed someone else might be in a better position to keep it running.

The Post had been owned by the Graham family for the last 80 years and Bezos has made the purchase in a personal capacity.

"Jeff Bezos' proven technology and business genius, his long-term approach and his personal decency make him a uniquely good new owner for the Post," said Mr Graham.

He added that familiar newspaper-industry challenges over the course of the last few years made it a good time for the family to sell up to the Amazon founder.

Horizon Media analyst Brad Adgate told the BBC that circulation figures for the Post have been steadily dropping, especially among younger readers.

"I always thought this would be a newspaper that would be able to withstand the digital tide because of the name and the prestige," he said, comparing it to the New York Times.

Amazon is one of the biggest online retailers in the world and also dominates the publishing industry.

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