Bezos Spent $500 Million On A Yacht, How Much Could It Cost Him To Buy CNBC?

Could the man who transformed online shopping be setting his sights on transforming how we consume financial news? Jeff Bezos, known for his audacious investments, might just be eyeing a new media venture that could shake up the industry.

Billionaire and Amazon.com founder Bezos has spent millions of dollars on items like a large superyacht and his recent wedding to Lauren Sanchez.

Retired from Amazon and building a portfolio of private companies like Blue Origin and The Washington Post, could Bezos have his eyes on financial media outlet CNBC next?

What Happened: Media giant Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) owns the CNBC network along with several other cable channels and is undergoing a process to spin off some of the assets into a separate company.

That spinoff process and future of assets like CNBC could come into the spotlight with a report that Bezos is interested in acquiring the financial media network.

Sources tell the New York Post that Bezos has been weighing an acquisition of CNBC. The report stated that Bezos would look to acquire CNBC after the spinoff from Comcast is completed later this year.

An acquisition of CNBC would "align well with his interests," a source close to Bezos told the New York Post. The acquisition would give Bezos another media asset to add to his portfolio, which already includes the Washington Post newspaper he purchased in 2013.

Benzinga reached out to Comcast for comment on a potential acquisition and the future of CNBC, but did not receive a response.

Comcast currently plans to spin off MSNBC, USA Network, CNBC and other assets into a publicly traded company named Versant. The new company will be run by former NBCUniversal executive Mark Lazarus.

The spinoff of Versant could make an acquisition of CNBC as a standalone asset difficult without incurring tax implications from the spinoff.

The report said Bezos has not approached CNBC yet, and Versant doesn't currently plan to sell CNBC, instead opting to push for the growth of the financial media network.

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Bezos Billions Put to Work?: Bezos is currently ranked as the fourth richest person in the world, worth $249 billion according to Bloomberg.

The report does not name a price for CNBC, but it could be one of his more costly deals. Comcast does not break out individual unit financials, but said that the assets making up Versant had revenue of around $7 billion last year.

Even if he doesn't acquire CNBC, Bezos seems to be targeting other media assets—perhaps as a play for his new wife, Sanchez, a former TV reporter. Reports link him to an interest in Vogue or its parent company, Condé Nast.

Bezos paid $250 million for the Washington Post.

The billionaire also shelled out $500 million for the superyacht Koru, which comes with annual expenses of $25 million for staff and upkeep.

Bezos has also been listed as a potential future NFL franchise owner, previously linked to bidding on the Washington Commanders. Bezos is also in the mix as a potential bidder for the Seattle Seahawks, which are set to hit the market soon.

The acquisition of the Washington Post hasn't been a home run for Bezos, with reports that the paper has faced losses with a declining subscriber base.

In October 2024, the Washington Post ended its 30-plus-year tradition of endorsing a presidential candidate. According to reports, it was Bezos who squashed the paper running an endorsement of Kamala Harris for president.

Several employees, including editor-at-large Robert Kagan, left over the decision and the newspaper saw a reported 300,000 readers cancel their subscriptions.

For now, the report that Bezos has his eyes on CNBC is just a rumor, and based on the current plan to spin off assets from Comcast, a move could be unlikely for a couple of years. But with Bezos’ considerable net worth and past big spending, it's hard to rule anything out for a man who spent $500 million on a boat.

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