You seem to be desperately seeking a market top, it's a common denominator in most of your subjects. Careful with strong biases, they can lead a man to insanity.
He might have a plan or the pricing might be compelling. The Washington post is one of the top 5 newspapers. This is probably an ego purchase for him. There's nothing wrong with that.
Jeff is worth, what, almost reaching 30 billion? He likes to invest in these quirky things, space : ), 200-foot clocks in Texas etc. What's 250 million to him? It's not Amazon that's buying it. I think WPO just has a cool, human interest factor to it. Maybe a little bit of throw-back Citizen Kane newspaper baron. some clues: Bezos is the latest in a long line of entrepreneurs, from Howard Hughes to Richard Branson, to use his millions to indulge in more offbeat personal interests. The giant clock for instance? Bezos tells Journal reporter Stu Woo the 200-foot tall clock will last for ages. Currently being built in the mountains near his home in Texas, "The 10,000 Year Clock" will play a distinct sound every year for the next 10 millennia when completed. Bezos, who is worth an estimated $20 billion, has already spent $42 million on the the project. As crazy as that may sound, the reason behind building the clock is not that far-fetched. "The reason I'm doing it is that it is a symbol of long-term thinking, and the idea of long-term responsibility," Bezos tells Woo. "We humans have become so technologically sophisticated that in certain ways we're dangerous to ourselves. It's going to be increasingly important over time for humanity to take a longer-term view of its future." Bezos is also investing in Blue Origin, a private space-travel project, to recover Apollo 11 wreckage from the ocean, as well as a company that produces handmade glass cups. http://mashable.com/2012/06/21/jeff-bezoss-bizarre-investment-portfolio-video/
I like Bezos, Google shut out all the supplement manufacturers, Amazon sells them. Who wouldn't like to own the venerated Washington Post? Former owners include central bankers and Phillip Graham.
You're right. Kaplan. He could shut down everything else and auction off the physical assets and the remainder still might be worth $250mm if he has a good plan for expansion. Maybe he can offload the newspaper division to John Henry.
Overpay? The Globe may be overpriced at $71 million -- frankly, I think it might be dead and buried in five years -- but The Post is a screaming buy at $250 mil. We all know that newspapers are headed south at a rapaid rate but there are four or five that transcend the numbers given their influence. I bet Bloomberg is pissed he didn't make the buy. For him the fit is incredible.
He overpaid: http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-bought-the-washington-post-for-four-times-its-worth-2013-8 I love that phrase ".. the usual financial metrics don't apply..". It really is my favourite BTW he's only a "multi-billionaire" as long as AMZN remains as high as it is now. Remember the Brazilian dude who was worth multi billions and now, er, isn't? AMZN has serious debt and sales margin problems. Worth keeping an eye on.
I would wager he has a family office with billions in cash. Unlike Batista, amzn is not in as volatile of a market (at least not anymore) This is the equivalent of buying an iPhone for most of us. Seriously, I think you should look at anti depressants.