than half of that the next day. A year later, the Times unloaded the
content farm for $300 million, 25 percent less than what it had paid
for it. I’d venture that “angering” About.com’s parent, the Times
Company, wasn’t a factor in Google’s decision to do what was best for
Google shareholders long term.
God can give advice, influence, and, when needed, control. But, as
Greek mythology teaches us over and over, sleeping with gods never
ends well.
My tenure at the Times Company was not a success
(understatement). My suggestions changed little. The company did sell
noncore assets and decided to cancel the dividend in 2009. However,
in September 2013, it reinstated the dividend—signaling that the
board was firmly controlled by the family. As the Great Recession
pulverized the company’s ad revenue and the stock dropped, Phil
Falcone decided to limit his losses by selling stock. His ownership
stake was the only thing keeping me on the board. And when that
started to shrink, I got the word from a couple directors that I was
gone. After Arthur left me a voicemail, asking me to call him, I
resigned.
I had turned $600 million, of other people’s money, into $350
million. As part of our board compensation, we were granted options.
Mine were worth around $10,000 or $15,000. I just needed to fill out
some paperwork. I decided not to; I didn’t deserve it.
Enter the New God
But God is much more: omniscient, omnipotent, and immortal. And of
those three, Google is only the first—kinda. If Apple has managed to
achieve a degree of immortality by converting itself into a luxury goods
company, Google has accomplished the opposite: it has made itself
into a public utility. It is ubiquitous, increasingly invisible in everyday
use, and like Coke, Xerox, and Wite-Out before, it increasingly needs
to reinforce the legality of its brand name for fear it will become a
verb. Its market dominance is so great that it’s in perpetual risk of
antitrust suits at home and abroad. The EU seems to have a particular
animus toward the company, filing four formal charges since 2015.