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In a Deal ‘Reeking With Irony,’ Al Gore May Come Away With $70 Million From Current TV Sale

Jan 4, 2013  •  Post A Comment

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.

2 Comments

  1. Well maybe it makes up for all the money he should have received for inventing the internet.

  2. What I don’t understand is why the FCC can’t stop the sale? Hopefully the carriers will reject it.

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