It seems he had a mix of reasons, he says. No doubt now that it's a functioning entity he has an added bonus. I remember at the time though most people thought he was throwing good money after bad.
I wasn't defending Bezos - just putting forward the situation at the time. I feel the idea that this is some brilliant forward plan of domination isn't correct, sure it was a possibility but the element of risk was one that everyone else walked away from. Respect to him for that, having said that, I disagree with a lot of his business practices, but that seems to be the current business environment - he's just working within the rules. The rules need to change.
The reasons he gives for buying it don't tell us anything. His net worth is in the 12 figures. Everything he says publicly is crafted by a well paid and highly competent PR team.
If he bought it to gain political influence, which seems to me the only reason that makes any sense whatsoever, or for any other reason that would put him in a bad light, he would not in a million years come out and say that openly.
No idea why you're getting downvoted. This is the guy who refuses to pay his shareholders a dividend, or his employees more than he absolutely has to. He didn't buy a newspaper because he loves giving money away on good causes.
> This is the guy who refuses to pay his shareholders a dividend
Amazons share price has grown 136,000% in the past 23 years or 36.8% per year. That is far above S&P 500 returns and the exact case for when you want a company reinvesting in themself instead of paying out dividends.