The co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, is reportedly a candidate to purchase the New Republic. No deal has been reached as of yet.
The 28-year-old Hughes has made his money working in the technology world but he is also not a stranger to politics. During the 2008 campaign for Barack Obama, Hughes worked as the director of online organizing. Hughes’ work was praised by Senior Obama adviser David Plouffe in a 2009 Fast Company profile. Plouffe said that he “saw what was possible before anyone else.”
Hughes is reportedly worth roughly $700 million. He launched the social media nonprofit Jumo back in 2010 and last month it was announced that he would be backing a viral media start-up. The new venture is in conjunction with former executive director of MoveOn.org, Eli Pariser. The new platform has yet to be launched.
New Republic was founded back in 1914 and is very left-of-center. It has been an influential magazine in the political sector for decades. Marty Peretz, the former editor in chief and owner, sold it in 2007 but bought it back with other investors in 2009. The buyback purchase included former Lazard executive Laurence Grafstein.
It was reported on Wednesday that a couple of big players in the media world, such as Bloomberg News and New York Observer owner Jared Kushner, had no interest in purchasing the political magazine.