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Jeff Bezos in D.C.

He owns our newspaper. He bought our biggest house. He might bring his company here. Inside the surprising local life of the world’s wealthiest man

MAY 2018 ★ Washingtonian ★ May 2108 64 PAGE NUMBER

I N N O V A T O R . B I L L I O N A I R E . NEIGHBOR?

Amazon founder and PHOTO- Washington Post owner ILLUSTRATION BY Jef Bezos has quietly become a freewheeling DC Burton C.J. socialite—and soon he and his family will be spending more time here, in the mammoth Kalorama home they’re renovating. What brought the tech giant here in the frst place? And what does he do, exactly, while he’s around? The

BYord f Wo Ben story of how the world’s richest man is becoming a Washingtonian.

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MAY 2018 ★ WASHINGTONIAN 65 “Bezos is attracted— like a moth to light— to Washington.”

home in DC. In 2016, he bought the former to light—to Washington.” Textile Museum, a 27,000-square-foot man- Conversations with more than 40 peo- sion in Kalorama, and last year he began a ple in or around Bezos’s circle ofer some massive renovation and expansion—the insight into what brings his jet to town plans for which foretell the ambitiousness and what he does when he gets here—a of the life he intends to have here. All of this curiosity that Washingtonians (and Bezos’s prefigures the question of whether Amazon employees and politicians and HQ2 specu- will bring its new headquarters—HQ2, in lators) are all eager to unspool. Given our the parlance of the 20 municipalities vying city’s infamous weakness for celebrity, the to win it—to Washington, too. predictable scramble to receive him will “What he’s going to do is revive the legacy etch itself into the history of this town— of Kay Graham and her great socializing— perhaps as much as the man will himself. bringing smart, interesting people together in a social context,” says Jean Case, referring BEZOS’S JANUARY VISIT TO THE JEFFERSON to the late Washington Post publisher. Case came on the night that the Alfalfa Club, of and her husband, Steve, the cofounder of which he is a member, convened its annual AOL, have been friends with the Bezoses gathering. Formed in 1913, Alfalfa is Wash- since the mid-’90s. Over breakfast in front of ington’s private confab of the economic the fireplace at the Cases’ home earlier this and political elite. (An unofficial motto year, Bezos described his plans. “That’s how I heard while observing the promenade: Bezos was already jetting they see this house that they’re renovating “One long guest list, one-fourth our GDP.”) into DC to network with other in Kalorama,” Case says. “They’ll real ly use At this year’s dinner, Bezos was flanked by CEOs before he bought the it as a magnet of smart, interesting people Patty Stonesifer—who serves on Amazon’s Post in 2013, but the purchase from all walks.” board and directs the DC nonprofit Martha’s accelerated his trips. It makes sense that a billionaire with Table—and billionaire fashion designer numerous interests before the federal gov- Tory Burch. ernment might resurrect Graham’s fabled Bezos might have had his eye on a few LATE ONE DRIZZLY NIGHT THIS PAST JANUARY, the approximation of an Eddie Bauer lobby, would not pirouette as the couple town that, friends say, he views as an every- salons—to some, an artifact of a time when other dignitaries, too: At the foot of the Jef Bezos strode through the front door model, and across his cocked elbow, his sliced through their gaze. Actually, no one thing city—a delta of diplomats and techies, politics was supposedly less blood sport. Capital Hilton’s grand staircase, he ap- of the Jeferson hotel, burnished from an wife, MacKenzie, dangled two palms with ofered so much as a glance. When I alerted military engineers and journalists, power- Yet Bezos also owns homes in Beverly Hills, peared to exchange pleasantries with Chris evening spent consorting with the Wash- practiced ease. His security detail, for the concierge to the whif of celebrity in our brokers and problem solvers, a mélange West Texas, and New York. His infatuation Dodd—former head of the Motion Picture ington power set and smiling in plain view. which Amazon pays $1.6 million a year, midst, the young woman cocked a quizzical perfectly suited to the tinkerer’s heterodox with the nation’s capital provokes its own Association of America, a man who has This year, the Amazon founder, who is was nowhere in sight. The wealthiest man eye across the table: “Who’s Jef Bezos?” taste. Confidants report that Bezos spends riddle even among those who know him. no small insight into Amazon’s fortunes worth more than $110 billion, became the on earth appeared simply to have walked Soon we’ll all know him. You may even more time in Washington than in any other “It’s a bit of a mystery to me—whether he in movie streaming. Elsewhere mingled richest person alive. Here at the Jeferson, up 16th Street, untroubled by courtiers bump into the man. Just as Bezos has bus- city outside of Seattle—ten trips a year, give has political ambitions or thinks he needs Defense Secretary James Mattis, who, the around 11:30 pm on a Saturday, a flicker of and well-wishers (or the occasional pro- ied himself pushing his Seattle company to or take—and for good reason. Not content to be on the right side of Washington, for Pentagon has acknowledged, receives indi- his unstudied private life appeared. tester). A brood of ruddy-faced tourists, new feats, the inventor of the “everything merely to own the local newspaper, the re- Amazon,” one friend of the Bezos family vidual advice from Bezos from time to time.

Bezos wore blue jeans and a teal vest, who collected and dispersed in the hotel store” has been quietly moonlighting in a IMAGES SOMODEVILLA/GETTY CHIP BY PHOTOGRAPH tail guru has become the owner of the largest admits. Yet “Bezos is attracted—like a moth Mattis’s regulatory sway over Bezos’s rocket L66 WASHINGTONIAN ★ MAY 2018 MAY 2018 ★ WASHINGTONIAN 67 The Bezoses’ Kalorama mansion will have At Cafe Milano with At the opening of the Post’s new At the White House for a . . . by which point Trump was fond a massive ballroom for entertaining, two MacKenzie Bezos building with and meeting of tech leaders of attacking Bezos’s “Amazon elevators, a whiskey cellar, and many, many for an Alfalfa Club Post journalist Jason Rezaian, in June 2017. . . Washington Post” on . more rooms. after-party. who had been in prison in Iran.

company, Blue Origin—which plans to pur- Leonsis, “no Bernie Madof, no Amazon.” particularly seemed to enjoy the repartee with our previous ownerships.” Graham sue national-security launch contracts—was Leonsis wasn’t the only large persona with the smorgasbord of speakers—execu- was famous for remembering reporters’ important enough for Bezos to host him from Washington who met with Bezos tives, philosophers, Supreme Court justices. names and personal details. When the Post’s in Seattle last year. A few tables away sat early on. Around 1995, David Rubenstein, “He’d say things that you wish you would legendary former editor, Ben Bradlee, died attorney general Jeff Sessions, who thus cofounder of the Carlyle Group, one of have thought of,” Colucci recalls. “He was in 2014, Bezos hadn’t initially planned to far has demonstrated a mercurial attitude the country’s largest private-equity firms, always seeing something others don’t see.” attend the funeral at Washington Nation- toward antitrust policy, a verboten notion read about Amazon in the newspaper and By then, Bezos had also forged a relation- al Cathedral. It took an e-mail from Bob at Amazon these days. booked a flight to Seattle. When he arrived, ship with Don Graham, whose family owned Woodward to change his mind, an oversight Currying favor, though, seems not to Rubenstein was struck by the rundown the Post. As early as 1999, the men would see viewed by some as a minor faux pas. (After have animated Bezos’s outings to date. To The blueprints reveal an headquarters, where doors were repur- each other at the annual Allen & Co. Confer- the service, Bezos approached Bradlee’s the surprise of most who work there, Bezos posed as work desks—and more startled ence in Sun Valley, Idaho, another exclusive widow, Sally Quinn, at a reception. “Now I hardly sets foot in Amazon’s Washington undertaking of pharaonic by Bezos himself, who greeted his guests convening of moguls from the worlds of get it,” he told her.) ofce. Instead, insiders say it’s the Post and proportions and the monumental just as he was preparing to drive a boxful tech, media, and finance. On a Monday in Other diferences between Bezos and Blue Origin that exert the most pull, as well of orders to the local FedEx. July of 2013, two days before that year’s his predecessor were evident in the early as a smattering of awards and public events. scope of Bezos’s DC ambitions. Still, a Carlyle-owned firm acquired retreat, Graham opened his e-mail to find a days of the transition. Bezos immediately Trips, generally by way of his G650 Gulf- Amazon stock worth about $4 million. note from Bezos. “Let’s get together during dove into the dynamics of user interface: stream jet, typically last one or two days; he Before he left, Rubenstein told Bezos, the week,” it read, as Graham recalled in how quickly the newspaper’s website stays in fashionable hotels—the Jeferson, “By my calculations, you’ll be worth $300 an interview with the journalism website loaded, graphic and photo displays, in- the St. Regis, the Four Seasons—and holds million at the IPO.” Bezos said he doubted NiemanLab. Graham had dispatched a firm corporating the Kindle. Recruiting talent court at the most popular Washington can- he’d ever be that rich. The firm eventually to discuss selling the Post to Bezos, but the became a preoccupation as Bezos set out teens: Cafe Milano, Le Diplomate, Minibar, sold its shares for about $65 million—a e-mail was the first he’d learned Bezos might to transform the Post into something of a Fiola Mare. Perhaps less predictably, he’s finding more reasons to visit. Amazon’s creation story. But before that stake that Rubenstein says would be worth be interested. Bezos was his first choice to small tech company. In one case, he was known to eschew his security detail at times. “That’s definitely a diferent Bezos from trip west, Bezos drove south, eventually about $2.5 billion today. “We were happy turn around the beleaguered newspaper. interested in developing custom metrics, About three years ago, Bezos began pre- what we saw here,” says Leslie Helm, editor parking his car in a lot along Waxpool Road to get the cash. And obviously,” he recalls, Less than four weeks after their meeting at and the one he fixated on was, as he put siding over small gatherings—typically over of Seattle Business magazine, to some con- in Sterling: the headquarters of AOL. “had we held on for 20 years, we’d probably Sun Valley, Graham announced the sale, for it, “riveting.” dinner, and something of a hybrid between sternation. “He’s not been a society person After some time sitting alone in an empty be happier.” $250 million. “ ‘Who has the most riveting story? We cocktail-hour chatter and a TED Talk col- here. He doesn’t do keynote speeches, he conference room, Bezos was greeted by Ted In 2003, Bezos got an invitation that Those familiar with his decision-making want the most riveting story.’ That’s the loquy. Attendees saw a lesser-known side doesn’t show up at openings.” Helm goes Leonsis, then the company’s president. would establish a permanent connection say Bezos bought the Post largely on the word he kept using,” says one person present of the tech mogul: Jef Bezos the host, the on: “I suspect you see more of him in DC “They said, ‘This is Jef Bezos,’ and I didn’t to Washington. Michael Dell, CEO of Dell basis of his friendship with and trust in for the discussions. “To try to measure that cocktail enthusiast, the busy father. than we see of him here.” really know who he was,” recalls Leonsis, computer company, served on the nomi- Graham. “He has immense affection and with something—that was a smart thought.” Friends suggest it was through these who now owns the Washington Capitals nating committee of the Business Council, respect for Don,” says a friend of Bezos’s. The transition period doubled as a two- encounters that Bezos grew to think of IN ONE SENSE, WASHINGTON HELPED SHAPE and the Wizards. “He told me he wanted to a private club in DC for top executives. He “He’s very conscious of the Graham family way charm ofensive. After the sale closed, the city as an enthralling crossroads. Amazon from its beginning. In 1994, Bezos launch the largest bookseller in the world.” wanted Bezos to join. history and the role Kay Graham played in senior leadership hosted Bezos for a catered “Part of the appeal to DC in general to Jef decided to leave D.E. Shaw, the rock-star The men chewed over Bezos’s idea and dis- Bezos was never particularly fond of her heyday.” celebration at then-publisher Katharine is that it’s much more vibrant and diverse hedge fund in New York where he’d cut cussed ways the start-up and the internet politics. At D.E. Shaw, he reportedly once Weymouth’s home. (Bezos later installed than it used to be,” says one person famil- a reputation as a fierce businessman, in giant might collaborate. skipped out early on a fundraiser for Bill THE POST NEWSROOM GREETED THE PURCHASE a new publisher—Fred Ryan, formerly at iar with his thinking. “It’s not just a gov- order to open an online bookstore that Leonsis would go on to become a sound- Clinton to play volleyball with colleagues. with a sense of relief about the newspaper’s —whom he had met through Jean ernment/journalist town anymore.” As might, one day, sell virtually anything. He ing board for Bezos, who later relayed one But he accepted Dell’s nomination and finances—but a degree of uncertainty about Case.) Twice in that first year, Post leaders the region began to exude the trappings of and MacKenzie packed up their place in of the reasons he’d left Wall Street: “He said, began flying to Washington once a year to the new boss himself. “A lot of people at the flew to Washington state to discuss strategy. concentrated wealth—higher rents, flash- New York and set out on a cross-country ‘I had a competitor who was kicking my attend the meetings. “I think he enjoyed Post desire and crave the attention of the On the first morning at the Bezos estate ier restaurants, tech arrivistes content to journey that would land them somewhere ass,’ ” Leonsis remembers. The prodigious the mental stimulation,” says Marlene Co- owner,” says a reporter at the paper, “in part during one trip, some of his four children shout their success—Amazon’s CEO kept in Seattle. The now-famous trek is part of rival: Bernie Madof. “So,” Bezos cracked to lucci, who directs the Business Council. He because we’ve had that attention for so long padded into the kitchen and helped make ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING BY BARNES VANZE, PURVEYED BY DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS; AFFAIRS; REGULATORY AND CONSUMER OF DEPARTMENT BY PURVEYED VANZE, BARNES BY DRAWING ARCHITECTURAL MAGES EVY BY HOUSE OF PHOTOGRAPH IMAGES SOMODEVILLA/GETTY CHIP BY RIGHT SWARTZ; DAN BY PHOTOGRAPHS CENTER AND LEFT

68 WASHINGTONIAN ★ MAY 2018 MAY 2018 ★ WASHINGTONIAN 69 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ STEVE AND PATTY JAY TED DAVID ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ MARLENE DON KATHARINE FRED MARTY ANKIE JEAN CASE STONESIFER CARNEY LEONSIS RUBENSTEIN ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ COLUCCI GRAHAM WEYMOUTH RYAN BARON, FRED BARNES HIATT, AND SHAILESH JEFF The AOL cofound- The head of the The Time mag- The Caps and Wiz- The billionaire Bezos began The two be- The Post’s former The Post’s current PRAKASH The VIP architect BEZOS’S er and his wife DC nonproft azine journalist ards owner was an cofounder of the coming to came friends publisher helped publisher, previ- is overseeing reno- have been friends Martha’s Table, an turned press AOL executive in Carlyle Group town in 2003 through tech and close the deal ously at Politico, vations on Bezos’s WASHINGTON The executive SOLAR with the Bezoses alum of Microsoft, secretary for Joe 1994 when Bezos private-equity for meetings media-mogul with Bezos. was introduced 27,000-square- for two decades. sits on Amazon’s Biden and Barack visited right before frm invested in of the Business circles before to Bezos by Jean editor, editori- foot Kalorama SYSTEM board. Obama now heads starting Amazon. Amazon around Council, a net- Bezos bought the Case. al-page editor, and mansion. THE VIPS IN Amazon’s DC 1995 (and regrets working group Graham family’s chief information THE AMAZON team. cashing out early). for CEOs that Washington Post ofcer at the Post FOUNDER’S Colucci leads. in 2013. are among the few LOCAL ORBIT execs at the paper Bezos speaks to regularly.

pancakes with blackberry sauce for every- other in the elevator lobby. Bezos pumped business. He was about the people.” reporters in earshot. “I had never thought Given the array of issues Amazon has one. “Jef likes to make breakfast for guests,” his hand, and before Kunkle could plead The next Monday, Bezos held a town about that.” Afterward, a guest turned to a before the federal government (drone says a source. his case, an assistant intervened—“That’s hall with Post staf. He answered questions colleague as they stepped out for air: “That delivery, online taxes), not to mention the Since then, Bezos’s involvement with the all!”—and Bezos and two plainclothes about his commitment to the newspaper, “What guy is obviously a genius.” country’s building backlash against the Post has been consistent in its dedication bodyguards slipped into the elevator. describing a 10-to-20-year timeline of After the election of Donald Trump—who tech industry at large, it would seem odd and narrow in aperture. He devotes sev- In short, it might be said Bezos was more investment in the print edition. Then, he’s has long used Twitter to antagonize Bezos that Bezos doesn’t have a permanent work-

eral hours a month to the paper, typically abided than beloved. But that would change apropos of nothing, he ofered an insight VIA GETTY IMAGES, THIERRY MONASSE/ and “the Amazon Washington Post”—Bezos space in the Washington ofce and hardly in calls with executives including editor after the Rezaian affair—one of the more into his visits. “I like Washington, DC, but going held another intimate gathering, this time shows up there. As a former Amazon stafer Marty Baron, chief information officer dramatic episodes in the Post’s history. I live in Seattle,” he said. “I’m not sure I’ve for the senior politics team, in publisher explains, “There’s not a lot of value in him Shailesh Prakash, and editorial-page ed- Jason Rezaian, the paper’s correspon- done a good job of inculcating myself in the to do is Fred Ryan’s conference room. The group spending time in that ofce. If he’s dealing WASHINGTON POST itor Fred Hiatt. Anything in the weeds is dent in Iran, was taken prisoner by the community here.” In a deadpan, he added: was eating sandwiches and discussing the with Amazon stuff, why fly six hours to handled by Bezos’s “family ofce,” a small government in July 2014 and later was “I found some good restaurants here.” revive implications of the incoming administra- go to an ofce when you could just talk to staf who manage his investments and en- charged with a half dozen crimes amounting Bezos made other small gestures to earn tion when a reporter asked Bezos if he was people in the next room [in Seattle]?” deavors outside of Amazon. “He wants to to espionage. After 18 months in prison, the accolades of staff, taking a dozen of the worried that Trump might follow through Amazonians say Bezos isn’t involved in be involved at a high level,” says a person Rezaian was released in January 2016, and them to one of his favorites, the sceney Cafe CHUNG/ ANDRE MAGAZINE, on his Twitter threats to come after Ama- the Washington team’s day-to-day policy familiar with the arrangement. “They fol- Bezos flew his private jet to an American Milano, a few months later, to celebrate the legacy zon or the Post. “Don’t worry about that,” strategy. They also say they’ve never heard low up on the details.” base in Germany to retrieve him personally. paper’s Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on Bezos replied, according to accounts of the particular policy goals described as Bezos CAPITOL FILE CAPITOL To some, Bezos’s hands-of style engen- Rezaian boarded the jet alongside his wife, police shootings. “He seemed genuinely of Kay exchange. “You do your job, and I’ll worry priorities—“He’s too in the clouds for that dered gratitude, with reporters liberated Yegi, and Post foreign editor Doug Jehl interested in our coverage and how we did about me.” He added, “Never worry about stuf,” says one—although Bezos has met from their early fears of a meddling, self- to find the plane’s cabin festooned with it,” a reporter recalls. “He has the humility Graham whether you’ll have my full support.” with lawmakers in a few instances. styled disrupter; for others, his distance streamers and signs that read #freejason. to know when he doesn’t know what you’re and her Bezos’s next-biggest priority in Washing- engendered something closer to indifer- Bezos then ordered his pilot to fly Rezaian talking about.” At one point, Bezos ofered THE POST WASN’T THE ONLY ONE OF BEZOS’S ton after the Post is Blue Origin, which the ence. More than a few employees were and his wife anywhere in the world. (They an insight about police shootings: He won- great Washington endeavors to pick up pace Star Trek aficionado launched in 2000. His disgruntled after Bezos announced in 2014 chose Key West.) dered if the process could mirror medical in the waning years of the Obama admin- eforts to certify the company’s New Glenn that he would slash retirement benefits Days later, Bezos swaggered into the Post licensing, in which disciplinary incidents NAROD BOB IMAGES, GETTY VIA BLOOMBERG IMAGES, BURTON/GETTY ANDREW IMAGES, GETTY VIA socializing.” istration. In 2014, Amazon, which runs rockets require a multifaceted push with for those with pensions and scale back the for a christening of its new building and are deliberated before a certified board of multiple server farms in Northern Virginia NASA, the Air Force, and the National Space company’s contributions to 401(k) plans. received a standing ovation. “For 36 hours, investigators and the ultimate imperative for its cloud-storage business, upgraded its Council—an effort based at Blue Origin’s One stafer, Fred Kunkle—who leads union this was all about Jason, not a bit about Jef,” is truth-telling, not punishment. If some DC ofce, moving into sleek new quarters small government-afairs ofce in Arling- WASHINGTON POST activities at the Post—confronted Bezos Jehl says. “To know that he had flown to Ger- of the liability could be collectivized, around the corner from Union Station. ton. Bezos’s first and last love, according to about the cuts at an employee town hall. many to pick him up, I think that crystallized Bezos wondered aloud, it might reduce un- And between 2012 and 2017, the company friends, is spaceflight. (If you’re looking for CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES, CHERISS MAY/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES, SIPA USA VIA AP VIA USA SIPA IMAGES, GETTY VIA MAY/NURPHOTO CHERISS IMAGES, GETTY VIA CORBIS IMAGES, WILSON/GETTY MARK IMAGES, GETTY VIA KIRKPATRICK/BLOOMBERG T.J. IMAGES, OLSON/GETTY SCOTT CALL, ROLL CLARK/CQ BILL BY LEFT, FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, CARIOTI/ RICKY Later, Kunkle and Bezos bumped into each for everyone that Jef wasn’t just about the truths. “It was fascinating,” says one of the FOR IMAGES FRENCH/GETTY LARRY SWARTZ, DAN BY LEFT, FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, increased its lobbying by 400 percent. the best Smithsonian museum in which to

70 WASHINGTONIAN ★ MAY 2018 MAY 2018 ★ WASHINGTONIAN 71 The Amazon find him, Air and Space is a family favorite.) HQ2 Bake-Of Other occasions for Bezos’s visits are the numerous society afairs that a CEO If the retail behemoth plants its second headquar- must attend: the White House Correspon- ters in Washington, it will have a highly educat- dents weekend, the Gridiron, the Human “That’s ed workforce at its disposal—not to mention Rights Campaign National Dinner. (He defnitely next-door-neighborliness with federal regulators. was also chair of the Business Council in But the regional pitches submitted difer in signif- 2015–16.) a diferent cant ways. An abbreviated look: At one such event, the Smithsonian’s American Ingenuity Awards, attendees Bezos from Montgomery County flocked to the cocktail reception to try and THE LOCATION: Near the bur- meet stars like Aziz Ansari and Kyle Mac- what we geoning Pike & Rose development in Lachlan. As the cocktail party was winding North Bethesda’s White Flint area. saw here.” down, Bezos remained, snapping photos THE SELL: A suburban refuge with great schools and spacious and taking all comers with a disarming neighborhoods, it’s also in the early stages of an ambitious rede- greeting—“Hi, I’m Jef.” Touring the Post with MacKenzie velopment plan calling for new jobs and denser neighborhoods— and publisher Fred Ryan (far left). exactly what Amazon would bring. These affairs can bring about bonding with employees who might not see him When Post execs have visited THE SNAG: Trafc around Rockville Pike is a mess. Plus, the the Bezos estate outside Seattle, otherwise. Last year, after speaking at state’s steep income tax, labor costs, and regulations make it Bezos has made breakfast. less business-friendly than Virginia, without DC’s urban allure. an awards ceremony, Bezos summoned a group of DC-based Amazonians to his Northern Virginia hotel for drinks. “A lot of these folks had never met Jeff and suddenly got to hang teasable,” Quinn says. “Nobody wanted to to give a brief presentation on renovations Barnes replied, “but they won’t take money THE LOCATIONS: Ballston, Rosslyn, Crystal City, Potomac Yard, out with him and have cocktails,” a stafer go home. It was a blast.” slated for 2320–2330 S Street, Northwest. for it.” Eisenhower Avenue, Herndon. recalls. Outside on the patio, the group The enormous property dates to the early Then Goldstein inquired about whether THE SELL: Virginia is a right-to-work state with cheaper con- discussed policy, traded recommendations KALORAMA IS ONE OF THE MORE STORIED 1900s and actually consists of two buildings, the owners would host any events. “Proba- struction costs and lower taxes than its local competitors, and of obscure books, and chewed on a frequent neighborhoods in DC. FDR and Woodrow designed separately by Waddy Wood and bly two or three sizable parties per year and there’s a convenience factor: Crystal City abuts the Pentagon, an topic with Bezos—raising children—late Wilson once lived there; so did Bob Mc- John Russell Pope, the architect responsible some smaller functions—but it won’t be an Amazon client, and the Herndon site is neighbors with Amazon into the night. Namara and . The area’s for the Jefferson Memorial. In the 1970s, institutional use but residential,” Barnes server farms. Crystal City also ofers a blank canvas: Much like Seattle’s South Lake Union before the mega-retailer came in, it’s How is it that the man who once need- most recent star turn came in the form of large tracts of its interior were gutted. At replied. He added, “Maybe they’ll ask you urban but still has large, contiguous swaths of underused land, all ed to be instructed about the importance its newer residents, the Obamas and Jared the meeting, according to ANC minutes to come.” mostly owned by one infuential real-estate company, JBG Smith. of Ben Bradlee’s funeral has become a Kushner and Ivanka Trump. “We have a and accounts in the Northwest Current, Assuaged that the home wouldn’t have THE SNAG: Neither Herndon nor the Eisenhower Avenue site freewheeling socialite in the capital? very . . . cosmopolitan neighborhood, and Barnes said his client would soon begin an a commercial use—or, presumably, bring has great public transit—a pitfall for car-free millennial workers. “The Jason Rezaian experience really was some very eclectic neighbors,” says Ellen expensive renovation. But he didn’t give new trafc headaches—the ANC expressed an inflection point for him,” an acquain- Goldstein, herself a kind of local power away the mysterious purchaser’s identity. its support. DC tance says. “At the beginning, he was player, albeit in more mundane fashion. “They’re a really nice family,” he said, “and Once more, Jeff Bezos had managed THE LOCATIONS: U Street, more reticent about being in Washington, Goldstein is vice chair of Kalorama’s Ad- they absolutely love it.” to hide in plain sight. Three days later, NoMa/Union Station, Anacostia about being involved in these kinds of visory Neighborhood Commission, or ANC, On the winding bureaucratic track that his newspaper reported that the mystery Riverfront/Navy Yard, Hill East/RFK. things, and wasn’t really that interested the local body that convenes residents to all building proposals travel in the District, buyer—that “really nice family”—was THE SELL: A walkable, transit-rich in injecting himself in it. Since then, that discuss issues such as neighborhood events, the ANC stop is often a necessity. No mat- none other than the Post owner. (The city catering to the kinds of workers has really shifted.” dog poop, and, unavoidably, parking. Of the ter who your titan-of-industry neighbor $23-million transaction, all cash, was

Amazon already attracts (more than VIA GETTY IMAGES Sally Quinn, host of a thousand Washing- unpaid position’s perks, Goldstein—a 38- may be, city ofcials still seek the blessing handled by TTR Sotheby’s.) 20 percent of the company’s Seattle employees walk to work). Bezos’s Kalorama mansion wouldn’t be a bad commute to any of ton dinner parties, calls an invitation from year veteran of the neighborhood—wrinkles of neighborhood residents before they sign The plans for the Bezos home are closely these sites, either. Bezos “one of the most fun evenings I’ve her nose. “It’s a lot of work,” she says. “I still off on certain projects. So Goldstein and held. ANC commissioners Goldstein and

THE SNAG: Pricey real estate, scarce unused land, the Height spent in Washington in a long time.” It was WASHINGTON POST have yet to meet the Obamas.” her neighbors had a few questions about Bender eventually toured the property for Act + multiple landowners = a zoning and development morass. 2016, shortly after Rezaian’s release, and One day in January 2017, Goldstein con- this anonymous buyer. an up-close look at its gutting—but before —JACKSON KNAPP Bezos had gathered a dozen people for a vened the ANC meeting that would welcome David Bender, the ANC chair, required as- doing so, the commissioners say, Barnes celebration in a private room at Fiola Mare. another celebrity, though they didn’t know it surance that the new owner would promise Vanze had them sign nondisclosure agree- The dinner went on for four hours. “He at the time. That night, Ankie Barnes, princi- not to run a bed-and-breakfast. “I imagine ments forbidding them to discuss details of had a great sense of humor. Teasing—and pal architect of the firm Barnes Vanze, rose they’ll have beds and serve breakfast,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 172 PHOTOGRAPH BY BILL O’LEARY/ BILL BY PHOTOGRAPH

72 WASHINGTONIAN ★ MAY 2018 MAY 2018 ★ WASHINGTONIAN 73 JEFF BEZOS stone will weave amid the canopies of new- says. “He makes a mean Negroni.” ly planted trees and around two fountains, Practically everyone who has broken a pergola, and a garden pavilion—a small, bread with Bezos calls out one word: “Very chapel-like structure of stucco and copper, curious.” “The most curious person I’ve adorned with gas lighting. On the south ever met.” “That’s the one thing about edge sits a carriage house and a garage. Jef—he’s intensely curious about every- Bezos plans to preserve much of the body, not just heads of state or other CEOs property’s original designs, according to but anyone he talks to,” says the Business the documents. “All historic fabric is to be Council’s Marlene Colucci. “You really feel protected and left intact where possible,” like he’s curious about you.” reads an architectural note. Pope’s marble The advice most often proffered from CONTINUED FROM PAGE 73 flooring will remain, too. Bezos’s dinner partners: Arrive well read. “It certainly won’t be a bad place to en- Of course, any chatter of Bezos these days the renovations. The blueprints aren’t se- tertain,” says Goldstein, with her flair for is accompanied by a new Washington parlor cret, though. Washingtonian obtained them understatement, during a recent walking game: Will Amazon choose the region for through a Freedom of Information Act tour of the neighborhood. its HQ2? The sweepstakes for the second request. Rendered in inch-by-inch detail, Nor does the location afford much headquarters has taken on the flavor of a they reveal an undertaking of pharaonic privacy. The home is wedged between the Mark Twain literary invention, with mayors proportions and show the monumental Embassy of Myanmar and the Woodrow and governors—including in DC, Virginia, scope of Bezos’s Washington ambitions. Wilson House. Down the street lies the and Maryland—prostrate in their fealty. The $12-million project encompasses Mitchell Dog Park (where Jared and Ivanka One could see how 50,000 Amazon em- 191 doors (some of them custom mahogany have been spotted with their children). The ployees living alongside those who regulate or bronze), 25 bathrooms, 11 bedrooms, property’s back entrance lies on Decatur them could be a promising arrangement for five living rooms or lounges, five staircases, Street, trafcked by tourists and wedding the boss. But those in Bezos’s circle warn three kitchens, two library/studies, two guests snapping pictures on the nearby against seeing the CEO’s travels here as a exercise rooms, two elevators—and one Spanish Steps. Back here, there are still thumb on the scales in Washington’s favor. very large ballroom. more embassies. “This was a very public They also say that whatever happens, the The estate is split into two—the “Pope” choice,” Goldstein says. Then she cracks, invitation lists at 2320 S Street will extend house and the “Wood,” after the original “His back yard will have a great view into beyond Capitol Hill. architects—and the blueprints for each the Pakistanis.” “This question, whether he’s going to use suggest the parallel DC lives the Bezoses Washington in any way politically—any- hope to achieve. The Pope will serve as HOW MIGHT BEZOS THE ENTERTAINER HOLD one who has seen him in social settings in the Bezos family quarters, according to the court once the estate is finished? (The Washington, we don’t see him peeling of documents. Plans call for a large kitchen target is December of this year.) with the politicians,” Case says. and pantry, a wine room and a whiskey cel- “He usually peels of into a corner with “What will be interesting about Jef is lar (complete with drying racks), a lounge some creative, intellectual conversation,” that he’s not partisan,” says someone fa- with decoratively painted plaster ceilings, says Jean Case. “Usually, he’ll pull aside miliar with his thinking. “He cares about a south-facing dining room with views of private-sector people, but because of his in- policy, but he’s really interested in ideas the greenery outdoors, two dressing rooms tellectual curiosity, he’s equally interested in from all corners.” (each with its own fireplace), bedrooms people of all walks.” Bezos has been spotted Bezos’s Washington is the new Wash- dubbed “Ottoman,” “Garden,” and “Bunk,” at gatherings that have included Washing- ington—of tech and commerce and cy- and many—many—more rooms. tonians such as Mark Ein, the serial entre- ber-intelligence. “It’s the people who make The Wood building coronates the Bezos preneur and now owner of Washington City extraordinary things happen on behalf of mansion as a veritable Star of Wash- Paper; Mike Allen, the raconteur of Axios the country—in defense and intelligence ington entertaining. The main vestibule and Politico Playbook fame; deans of tech and elsewhere,” says the source, “because opens onto a magnificent staircase of slab like Tom Davidson, CEO of the local educa- of their combination of real skills and marble. It’s flanked on the left by a 36-foot- tion-tech company Everfi (in which Bezos is intelligence and a willingness to take a rel- long gallery and on the right by a nearly an investor); and Amazon confederates such atively small paycheck to do big things.” It’s 1,500-square-foot ballroom with floor- as Stonesifer and Jay Carney, director of the a universe of vaster proportions than Kay to-ceiling, ionic fluted columns and a new company’s Washington ofce. Graham’s, rife with upstarts and climbers limestone fireplace. Glance up and you’ll Dinner conversations tend to home in who ofer, perhaps, a faint recognition of find partygoers smiling down through the on a single discussion, not several break- the man who once sat in AOL’s conference iron guardrails of the balconied prome- outs. “He’s not going to work the room, but room on Waxpool Road, coursing with nade. Below, the basement bathrooms are he’s not going to be opposed to the room ambition, ready to launch a new life. W gala-ready with six guest stalls in total. working him,” says an acquaintance. In (How will Bezos heat this gargantuan Seattle, Bezos is known to enjoy cooking Ben Woford (benjamin.d.woford@ property? Geothermal energy.) for guests, and he has a flair for specialty gmail.com) is a contributing editor at Politi- Outside, meandering paths of crushed cocktails. “He likes to tend bar,” one guest co Magazine and writes for .

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