For the token price of 1 U.S. dollar, business tycoon Sydney Harman and his wife bought Newsweek, assuming all the company’s obligations.

Sydney Harman amassed a fortune as manufacturer of high-fidelity equipment and chairman of Haman International Industries. He was President Carter’s Under-Secretary of Commerce in 1977 and 1978. At present, he is chairman of the Business Executives for National Security (BENS), chairman of the Aspen Institute, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He is married to Jane Harman, California Representative (the third richest member of Congress in the country). This ultra-conservative Democrat is the appointed spokesperson for the military-industrial complex and an all-out supporter of Israel. She used her influence to inhibit an investigation into espionnage activities attributed to the American Israeili Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Ultimately, the Bush Administration failed to press charges against her to obtain her support during the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy.