Al Gore, who has made dozens of investments since he lost the 2000 presidential race, might gross about $70 million from the sale of his Current TV to the pan-Arab, Qatar-backed cable channel Al Jazeera, reports Bloomberg.
Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change, will be reaping multiples of the $1.7 million reported as his maximum net worth while running for president in 1999, according to the report. Gore is also a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, serves on the board of Apple Inc. and is an adviser to Google.
The sale of Gore’s Current TV to a company with roots in oil-rich Qatar is “reeking with irony," Jeff Sonnenfield, senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management, told Bloomberg. “It seems to be at least a paradox in terms of his positions on sustainability and geopolitics."
Gore’s other investments include holdings in Amazon.com, eBay and Procter & Gamble. His stake in Current TV was 20%, the piece notes, adding that it’s difficult to pinpoint his profit from the sale because the cable network had $41.4 million in debt, as well as preferred stock entitled to $99.5 million in case of a sale.
"The green of money knows no political boundaries,” said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at University of Delaware.
Well maybe it makes up for all the money he should have received for inventing the internet.
What I don’t understand is why the FCC can’t stop the sale? Hopefully the carriers will reject it.