The chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC), the company that holds the largest share in MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), expressed dissatisfaction with The Washington Post’s recent decision to forego endorsing a presidential candidate this year. Barry Diller, IAC Chairman and a significant donor to the Democratic Party, was particularly displeased with the timing of the announcement, which came on October 25, less than two weeks before Election Day.
Diller, speaking in a Monday interview with CNBC, criticized the decision, emphasizing that it should have been made months earlier if it were to be made at all. “They made a blunder — it should’ve happened months before, and it didn’t, and that’s the issue with it,” he said.
The Washington Post had a longstanding tradition of endorsing presidential candidates, a streak spanning 36 years. This time, the paper was set to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, but the endorsement was reportedly halted by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who owns the publication. Bezos described the decision as a “principled” move, arguing that presidential endorsements do little to influence voter decisions and primarily serve to create a perception of bias. “No undecided voters in Pennsylvania are going to say, ‘I’m going with Newspaper A’s endorsement.’ None. What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias,” Bezos stated.
Following the announcement, the publication saw significant fallout. Reporters at The Post publicly expressed their frustration, and an estimated 250,000 subscribers canceled their subscriptions. This controversy added to The Post’s challenges, as the newspaper has been struggling with subscriber attrition for some time. In December 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that The Post lost 500,000 subscribers during President Biden’s first two years in office, a period during which the paper also endured financial losses and staff layoffs.
Diller’s connection to MGM Resorts International through IAC remains substantial. IAC began investing in MGM in August 2020, purchasing $1 billion worth of shares. The conglomerate, which has various media interests, added another $1 billion over subsequent months. In February 2022, IAC collaborated with MGM to acquire $405 million worth of shares from Keith Meister’s Corvex Management. Since its initial investment in 2020, IAC has maintained its position in the company.
IAC’s sustained investment and MGM’s strategy of reducing its outstanding shares through buybacks have cemented IAC’s status as the largest investor, owning just over 20% of the casino operator as of May. Despite this significant share, Diller’s firm has remained a passive investor, refraining from pushing for any asset sales or changes in leadership at MGM.
