Sprint takes majority control of Clearwire, buys Craig McCaw’s holdings

Craig McCaw

What a long strange trip it’s been. Sprint Nextel announced today in a SEC filing that it plans to acquire the Clearwire shares owned by Craig McCaw, a move that comes just days after Sprint agreed to sell a 70 percent stake in itself to Softbank. Sprint’s ownership stake of Clearwire had dropped in recent… Read More…

Craig McCaw pays $35M for classic Ferrari — most expensive car ever sold

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If you’ve ever driven off a car lot feeling like you spent more than you should have, you can take comfort in knowing that at least you didn’t spend as much as Craig McCaw. The Seattle-area wireless pioneer and classic car collector has been identified as the buyer of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, pictured… Read More…

Live like Craig McCaw: Telecom mogul selling posh private island for $75M

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Wireless pioneer Craig McCaw has long been one of the key figures in the Seattle region’s technology industry, from the early days of McCaw Cellular to the formation of Clearwire decades later. He normally keeps a low profile, but a new real estate listing provides a rare glimpse into his private life. As reported by… Read More…

Pendrell stock falls 45% after court overturns $603 million verdict in Boeing case

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Pendrell Corp., the Kirkland patent holding firm led by former executives of Clearwire, said it was disappointed after the Court of Appeal of the State of California overturned a 2008 verdict involving its ICO Global Communications unit and The Boeing Co. In 2008, ICO was awarded $603 million after a jury found that Boeing’s subsidiaries had… Read More…

Craig McCaw-backed Pendrell makes a big patent buy

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Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures may be the best known of the patent holding firms in the Seattle area. But another player with ties to a different wealthy Seattle techie is starting to stake its claim. Pendrell, a Kirkland company formerly known as ICO Global Communications and led by telecommunications billionaire Craig McCaw, announced today that… Read More…

Bill Gates still richest in U.S., but Jeff Bezos is climbing the charts

Jeff Bezos

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates held on to his title as richest American with a net worth of $59 billion, marking the 18th year in a row that the software pioneer and philanthropist has led the Forbes list. But Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos continues to climb the charts, finishing in 13th place with an estimated net… Read More…