If you’ve spent any time in Southern California lately, you know the vibe at the "Old Lady of 1st Street" is, well, complicated. People keep asking who the owner of los angeles times is these days because the headlines haven't just been about local news—they’ve been about the paper’s very survival.
The short answer is Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. He's a billionaire surgeon who made a fortune in biotech and decided to buy a legacy newspaper in 2018 for $500 million. But "owning" it has turned out to be a lot harder than performing a transplant.
Right now, in 2026, the situation is shifting fast. Soon-Shiong is currently in the middle of a massive plan to take the paper public. He says he wants to "democratize" it, but if you look at the balance sheets, it looks a lot more like a desperate attempt to stop losing $50 million a year.
Who is the Owner of Los Angeles Times?
Patrick Soon-Shiong isn't your typical media mogul. He was born in South Africa, parents fled from China during WWII, and he eventually became a star surgeon at UCLA. He’s the guy who invented the cancer drug Abraxane. Basically, he’s incredibly smart and incredibly wealthy—his net worth has hovered between $6 billion and $21 billion depending on how his biotech stocks are doing.
When he bought the paper from Tronc (the company formerly known as Tribune Publishing), the city let out a collective sigh of relief. Finally, a local owner! Someone who cared about L.A.! He even moved the headquarters to El Segundo to a building he actually owned.
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But owning a newspaper is a brutal business. Honestly, it’s a money pit. Since taking over, he’s poured nearly $1 billion of his own cash into the operation.
The Transition to Public Ownership in 2026
Last year, Soon-Shiong dropped a bombshell on The Daily Show. He told Jon Stewart he’s taking the owner of los angeles times title and splitting it up among the public.
- The Packers Model: He’s comparing it to the Green Bay Packers. He wants fans (readers) to own shares.
- The "Next Network": The plan involves rebranding the business operation into something called the "LA Times Next Network."
- Regulation A: He’s using a specific SEC exemption to raise up to $75 million from smaller investors.
Is this a brilliant move to save local journalism? Maybe. Or it’s a way for a guy who’s tired of losing $50 million annually to find an exit strategy that doesn't look like a total surrender.
Why the Ownership Change Matters Right Now
The paper is bleeding. There’s no other way to put it. In 2024, the Times laid off over 115 newsroom employees—about 20% of the staff. Print circulation is reportedly dropping below 70,000.
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Then things got political. In late 2024, Soon-Shiong stepped in and blocked the editorial board from endorsing Kamala Harris for president. That caused a literal revolt. Editors resigned. Thousands of people canceled their subscriptions in a week.
Suddenly, the "hands-off" owner became a very "hands-on" owner.
He recently hired Scott Jennings, a conservative commentator, to join the editorial board. He also introduced an "AI bias meter" to make the paper feel more "balanced." To some, he’s a savior trying to find a middle ground in a polarized country. To others, he’s "red-pilled" and trying to please a new administration to protect his other business interests.
The Realities of the 2026 Media Landscape
The owner of los angeles times has to deal with the fact that the old model of selling ads and subscriptions is basically dead. Soon-Shiong's "Next Network" idea is to turn the paper into a creator platform.
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- Gaming and Creators: He wants to integrate gaming and influencer content into the news feed.
- AI Integration: Using LLMs (Large Language Models) to summarize news and check for bias.
- Event Revenue: Moving toward high-end local events to supplement the lack of digital ad revenue.
It's a gamble. A huge one. Most industry experts, like Gabriel Kahn at USC, think Soon-Shiong might be "lowballing" the paper's value or overestimating how much the public wants to buy stock in a shrinking company.
What This Ownership Shift Means for You
If you're a reader or a local business owner, this matters because the Los Angeles Times is still the biggest megaphone on the West Coast. If the "public ownership" model fails, the paper could end up in the hands of a hedge fund like Alden Global Capital—the same guys who bought the San Diego Union-Tribune from Soon-Shiong in 2023.
Hedge funds are notorious for "strip-mining" papers. They sell the real estate, cut the staff to the bone, and let the brand die a slow death. Soon-Shiong might be controversial, but he’s at least invested his own blood and treasure into the thing.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you want to stay informed about what’s happening with the paper, keep an eye on the SEC filings for the LA Times Next Network.
- Watch the Stock: If you’re considering buying in, look at the "Regulation A" filings. These are required to show the real debt and revenue of the paper.
- Monitor Editorial Independence: Pay attention to the "bias meter" and the new hires. If the paper loses its local watchdog voice, it loses its value.
- Support Local: If you want a local owner to succeed, the only way is through paid subscriptions—though, understandably, many are hesitant after the recent endorsement scandals.
The owner of los angeles times is essentially trying to perform a high-stakes surgery on a 144-year-old patient. Whether the public wants to help pay for the procedure remains to be seen.
Next Steps for Readers:
- Check the official LA Times investor relations page for the specific date of the 2026 public offering.
- Review the Transparency Reports the paper has started issuing regarding their AI bias tools to see if the reporting remains objective.
- Compare the Times' local coverage against smaller competitors like LAist to see if the newsroom cuts are affecting the quality of city hall reporting.