Updated Feb 7, 2018 - Economy

Tronc sells LA Times to world's richest doctor

Khorri Atkinson

The Los Angeles Times in a newspaper vending machine. Photo: Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images

Newspaper owner Tronc sold the Los Angeles Times to Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500 million, according to the AP. Soon-Shiong is also buying the publication's sister newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The backdrop: The deal comes on the heels of ongoing tensions between the paper’s top ranks and journalists that has spilled into public view in recent weeks.

Who is Patrick Soon-Shiong:

Per Axios' Bob Herman, Soon-Shiong is the world's richest doctor and chief executive of NantHealth, and he's reportedly known to hype his own products and steer business back to his own companies.
An investigation by the health news website STAT, last year found that Soon-Shiong’s plan to eradicate cancer under his “Cancer MoonShot 2020” has made “very little scientific progress.” The publication said it appears to be a marketing ploy for the doctor to promote his expensive new cancer diagnostic tool.
STAT reported Soon-Shiong declined repeated requests for comment, but spokeswoman Jen Hodson sent in statements attributed to him said there has been “remarkable progress.”

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Tronc sells LA Times to world's richest doctor

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