Seattle Tycoons' Woes in NYT
Somewhat buried in this weekend's New York Times business stories are two of Seattle's tech moguls. First is the smaller of the pair, RealNetworks' Rob Glaser. The NYT piece questions whether Glaser's latest update on RealPlayer isn't locking the company to a '90s technology that's fast becoming outmoded in the smartphone era. Business analysts quoted in the story also question Glaser's penchant for lawsuits. The logic being: Instead of paying all those attorneys, shouldn't you be paying software designers to come up with a new product? In the second NYT story, Glaser's old boss, Bill Gates, is one of the two investors who bought a now struggling brand, Four Seasons hotels, for $3.8 billion. That was two years ago, with Saudi Arabian prince Walid bin Talal as his partner, when the market for luxury lodgings and real estate was a lot stronger. Now the two are reportedly unhappy with the underperforming company--which runs the swank new Four Seasons hotel on First Avenue, opposite SAM. (In the condos above, Bill Gates Sr. happens to be one of the well-heeled owners.) In this recession, even Seattle billionaires and millionaires are feeling the heat.
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