“Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, is the lead investor who funded the buyout of News Corp’s money losing digital education business Amplify earlier this year,” Liana B. Baker reports for Reuters. “A representative for Powell Jobs’ organization, the Emerson Collective, confirmed the investment in Amplify but would not specify how much of the company Powell Jobs would own or the amount paid for it.”
“Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp said Sept. 30 that it had sold Amplify to a management team backed by a group of private investors for an undisclosed sum,” Baker reports. “Murdoch, News Corp’s chairman, has been an outspoken critic of weaknesses at U.S. public schools. News Corp poured hundreds of millions of dollars building the educational technology unit. As part of News Corp, Amplify introduced a digital curriculum program for middle school students in 2014.”
“Powell Jobs is the president and founder of the Emerson Collective, which focuses on making investments in education, immigration reform and social issues,” Baker reports. “She was tied for 23rd on Forbes’ list of the richest Americans with a net worth of $19.1 billion last year. The Emerson Collective said in a statement that it shares a belief with Amplify that technology and innovation can transform classrooms and looks forward to the company growing and expanding its services.”
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MacDailyNews Note: The Emerson Collective focuses on “improving education, championing common sense immigration reform, and fostering innovative solutions to social issues,” according to the group’s website. More info here.
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