A tale of two businesses for Mr. Bezos
Jeff Bezos surprised many when he expressed his hopes for President-elect Donald Trump's return to power at last month's Dealbook Summit. The duo's reset took a new turn with Amazon's announcement that it would release a documentary about Melania Trump shot by the ousted filmmaker and more turmoil in the Washington Post.
But like other business leaders, Bezos is moving closer to becoming the next president, and his decisions will inevitably be analyzed in that context.
Amazon called it a “behind-the-scenes” look at President Trump, but she will have a big say. The documentary will be released on the Prime Video service and in theaters this year. Filming began after the election. Melania is serving as an executive producer and has hinted that she will be able to shape the story.
The documentary was directed by Brett Ratner, who has been accused of sexual misconduct. Ratner is a renowned director and producer of films such as “Rush Hour'' and “The Revenant.'' However, following accusations from six women that Ratner denied, he disappeared from Hollywood. He entered Trump's orbit before resurfacing. It's another example of the career-restoring power of President Trump's MAGA movement, and an example of how tech platforms seek to reject “progressive judgment of people and content,” says Semafor's Ben.・Mr. Smith writes.
The fallout from the Post's refusal to endorse presidential candidates continues to linger. Last week, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Ternas claimed that the paper had scrapped a cartoon depicting Bezos and other tech CEOs kneeling at a statue of President Trump. , resigned. She called the decision a “game changer” and “dangerous for press freedom.” (The Post declined to report Mr. Ternes, saying the cartoon was rejected for editorial reasons.)
Further disruption may occur soon. On Sunday, Oliver Darcy reported in his Status Newsletter that Josh Dorsey, the Post's popular political reporter, is joining the group in leaving the paper and is expected to be fired this week. The paper is already struggling to hire a new editor-in-chief, as many of the leading candidates have reportedly withdrawn their candidacies.
Still, Bezos weighed in even more with his decision in the post. He told Andrew at the Dealbook Summit that he was “proud” of the move and “optimistic” about Trump's second term. This view upset many postal workers. But there is little sign that he or other business leaders will stop courting Trump any time soon. Since his election, Trump has raised $200 million from large corporations and other sources to fund his inauguration.
what's happening here
U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel have sued the U.S. government for blocking their merger. The companies accused President Biden and other officials of corrupting the review process and harming the U.S. steel industry and its workers. U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel also sued their CEO, Cleveland Cliffs, president of the Steelworkers International Union, for illegally violating the proposed agreement. Biden moved last week to block the deal, a move that has caused diplomatic tensions between Japan and Washington.
New York City is facing its first major challenge with congestion pricing. The city will be the first in the nation to impose a toll on motorists entering certain parts of Manhattan on Sunday, with some drivers having to pay $9. The first day was largely uneventful, but traffic jams were expected Monday morning, and President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to revoke federal approval for the program.
“The Brutalist” and “Emilia Perez” are big winners at the Golden Globe Awards. These films won a series of awards, making the films and their stars strong contenders for the Academy Awards. “The Brutalist'' won Best Drama, Adrien Brody won Best Actor and Best Director, “Emilia Perez'' won Best Comedy or Musical, and Zoe Saldaña won Best Supporting Actress. Demi Moore also won her first Golden Globe in her 50-year career for her role in “The Substance.”
Labor dispute changes Big Ski forever
The economics of skiing have long felt doomed, with slopes crowded and daily lift tickets sometimes costing more than $325 in the United States.
The dissatisfaction has reached a climax in Park City, Utah, where a strike by ski patrol has shut down about two-thirds of the nation's largest ski resort.
The standoff reignites criticism of a wave of consolidation that has upended an industry grappling with climate change, a decline in skiable real estate and a collision between mountain communities and Wall Street-funded expansion.
What's happening: On Dec. 27, the Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association announced that Vail Resorts, which owns Park City Mountain and 41 other resorts in Australia, Europe and North America, will be offering wages ranging from $21 to $23 an hour. They went on strike to demand higher wages. .
The move has led to massive lift waits and complaints of ruined holidays. Vail Resorts' stock price has fallen more than 6% since the strike began.
Negotiations are expected to resume on Monday. Vail said it had “made significant progress in resolving 24 of the 27 contract items.” Ski patrollers and other union members say they are being priced out of the booming local real estate market. They are represented by the Communications Workers of America, which has strong infiltration among workers in Hollywood and the high-tech industry.
Their appeal has gained some traction, with a GoFundMe account raising more than $250,000.
The U.S. ski industry is dominated by a few giant companies. The industry began in the 1980s, when President Jimmy Carter ordered the U.S. Forest Service to stop regulating lift ticket prices, Colorado State University professor Michael Childers told Dealbook. Most resorts are on federal land, and operators pay lease fees to the government that are “well below the market value of the land they operate on,” he added. He noted that the Forest Service and other agencies take a hands-off approach to regulating this area.
Will antitrust scrutiny of the industry continue to increase? Last year, the Justice Department began investigating another industry giant, Alterra Mountain, Inc.'s bid to buy Colorado's Arapahoe Basin. This is the first investigation in decades. That led analysts to question Vail Resorts CEO Kirsten Lynch on an earnings call about whether the company would face increased regulatory scrutiny.
Despite the tensions, industry insiders are skeptical that the Trump administration, which has promised more deregulation, will stand in Big Ski's way.
In memory of top corporate advisor Sam Butler
A company long involved in some of the most innovative deals of the 20th century, including Time's acquisition of Warner Communications and Disney's acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC, as reported by DealBook's Michael de la Merced. Lawyer Samuel Butler died Saturday in New York. He was 94 years old.
Butler, who counts Warren Buffett as a friend, is one of the longest-serving leaders at the blue-chip law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He was also prominent in civic institutions such as the New York Public Library.
Butler became a reliable M.&A advisor. During the deal boom of the 1980s and 1990s. The Indiana native joined the firm in 1956 after graduating from Harvard University and Harvard Law School and clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sherman Minton.
He became its managing partner in 1980, during which time he advised on the sale of Squibb to Bristol-Myers, CBS to Westinghouse, and Salomon Smith Barney to Travelers Group. I did it. He became Cravath's third-longest serving leader before resigning in 1998.
“Sam was an outstanding lawyer whose judgment was constantly called upon by his clients in their most difficult and important moments,” Faiza Saeed, Cravath's managing partner, said in a statement to Dealbook.
Butler developed a decades-long friendship with Buffett. The two first met in the mid-1970s, when Mr. Buffett began investing in auto insurance companies, when Mr. Butler was a director at Geico. Oracle of Omaha credits Butler with rescuing the struggling insurance company by bringing in Jack Byrne as CEO (Berkshire eventually acquired Geico in 1996). and Mr. Butler advised on the transaction).
One Thursday in July 1995, Buffett called Butler and told him he needed help with a complex deal that was to be announced on Monday: Disney's acquisition of Capital City/ABC, in which Buffett was a majority shareholder. I told him this because the bond between the two was very strong. Butler later recalled that the deal had to be done on that timeline, or Disney might try to renegotiate the deal. The sale was announced as planned.
“During Sam's time at Cravath, everyone wanted Sam as their attorney,” Buffett said in a statement to DealBook. “Berkshire was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”
He has three children, nine grandchildren (including investor Nick Brown) and eight great-grandchildren.
next week
Jobs, the Federal Reserve, the future of TikTok, and the ruling in President-elect Donald Trump's hush money trial are expected to dominate this week's agenda. Here's what to look out for:
Monday: Jensen Huang, CEO of chipmaker Nvidia, is scheduled to give a keynote speech at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. Artificial intelligence is expected to take center stage at the annual luxury technology trade show.
Wednesday: The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release minutes from its December policy meeting, which could reveal more details about the trajectory of interest rates during the first months of the Trump administration.
Thursday: Major U.S. stock markets will be closed as part of a national day of remembrance for Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States.
Friday: Today is Employment Day, and economists expect hiring activity to slow slightly.
Elsewhere, the future of TikTok, which could be banned in the US this month, will be the subject of a landmark Supreme Court hearing. And in New York, Trump is scheduled to be sentenced in a criminal case over hush money.
speed reading
Great deals
Italy is reportedly negotiating with SpaceX over a $1.6 billion contract to provide secure communications to the government via Starlink. (Bloomberg)
Centerview Partners is considering selling a stake in its business for the first time or an initial public offering. (WSJ)
politics and policy
the best of the rest
Here's the latest information on the winter storm that's rolling into mid-Atlantic states this morning after causing widespread disruption in parts of the Midwest. (New York Times)
“Sam Altman talks ChatGPT's first two years, Elon Musk and AI under Trump” (Bloomberg)
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