Multi-billionaires like to buy extravagant things. Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, owns a space exploration company. Lawrence J. Ellison, chairman of the Oracle Corporation, has his own private Hawaiian island. And last year, Jeff Bezos, who as chief executive of Amazon has made billions turning the book publishing business on its head, decided to buy one of the country’s oldest newspapers, The Washington Post. But, according to Mr. Bezos, it was never something he thought he wanted to own.
