South African Expat Billionaire Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong Buying LA Times
A South African expat billionaire is buying one of America’s most famous newspapers. It was reported Wednesday in the US that Tronc Inc. has agreed to sell the ‘Los Angeles Times’ to SA expat Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong… for a cool $500-million (which includes the LA Times’ sister paper, ‘San Diego Union-Tribune’). UPDATE May 2021: Dr […]
A South African expat billionaire is buying one of America’s most famous newspapers. It was reported Wednesday in the US that Tronc Inc. has agreed to sell the ‘Los Angeles Times’ to SA expat Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong… for a cool $500-million (which includes the LA Times’ sister paper, ‘San Diego Union-Tribune’). UPDATE May 2021: Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong donates R3-billion to South Africa for vaccine development.
The California-based doctor, biotech investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist – who is a major shareholder of the media firm – has an estimated fortune of $7.8-billion according to Forbes magazine.
Many Californians on Twitter are celebrating the news as it returns The LA Times to local ownership, after 18 years of its parent company being in Chicago.
Sixty-five year old Dr Soon-Shiong – who rates in the Top 50 of US billionaires – was born in South Africa to Chinese immigrants who had fled the Japanese invasion during World War II.
He matriculated at 16 and became a doctor at 23… but not just any doctor. He invented a hugely popular cancer drug called Abraxane, that works well against pancreatic cancer.
Amongst his many other accomplishments is selling drug companies Abraxis and American Pharmaceutical Partners for over $9 billion; listing his cancer drug maker Nantkwest in 2015, taking his start-up NantHealth public in 2016; owning Nantworks, a network of health startups, and having a stake in Tronc and the Los Angeles Lakers. He also has over 230 USA and international patents.
Dr Soon-Shiong grew up in Port Elizabeth, studied at the University of Witwatersrand (where he came 4th out of his class of 189), and did his medical internship at the Joburg General Hospital.
He then went on to study at the University of British Columbia in Canada, before moving to the United States to begin surgical training at the University of California.
He has remained in the US ever since… becoming the richest doctor in the country.
#SouthAfricanEntrepreneurs #GoSAExpats! #MakingSouthAfricansProud
#Breaking: Tronc Inc. agrees to sell the "Los Angeles Times" to California-based entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500 million.
— NPR (@NPR) February 7, 2018