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Davy Jones Locker Room
17 days
Melinda French Gates Becomes Minority Owner of the Seattle Kraken
Melinda French Gates is becoming a minority owner of the Seattle Kraken, the team’s parent company said Monday, pending approval from the NHL. The size of her stake and the terms were not disclosed. French Gates, 61, the philanthropist and ex-wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is buying into One Roof Sports and Entertainment, the company that owns the Kraken. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan first reported the deal. French Gates is worth about $30 billion, according to Forbes, and the investment is her first ownership stake in a major professional sports team. She joins a group led by majority owner Samantha Holloway that includes minority investors David Wright, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Holloway became majority owner in December 2024 after the death of her father, David Bonderman, the TPG co-founder whose group, Seattle Hockey Partners, won the expansion franchise. “As a longtime Seattle resident, it means a lot to me to have the chance to make this investment in our city and its future,” French Gates said in a statement. “I’m a big believer in the power of sports, and after many years of cheering on Seattle from the sidelines, I’m excited to have an even deeper connection to the Seattle sports community. Seattle is an engine of innovation in so many ways, and Samantha Holloway’s leadership of the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena reflects that.” Holloway said in the statement, “Melinda is an impressive business leader, philanthropist and importantly, a Seattle sports fan. We share many of the same values, including a deep commitment to Seattle and a belief in building organizations that create lasting impact.” “It’s just time,” French Gates told ESPN. “What you’re seeing is a generation of women coming into their full power. I’ve walked into tough rooms, and being one of the few is very hard. Once we can create enough that we’re one of many, it just gets easier.” Though originally from Dallas, French Gates has lived in the Seattle area for nearly 40 years. She joined Microsoft in 1987, where she met Bill Gates, and worked on multimedia products before leaving in 1996. She co-chaired the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from 2000 until 2024 and now runs Pivotal, a Kirkland-based organization she founded in 2015 to support women and young people in the United States and abroad. One Roof Sports and Entertainment, created in March, owns the Kraken and controls Climate Pledge Arena, along with the Kraken Community Iceplex, the rebuilt Memorial Stadium, and the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds. The group is pursuing an NBA expansion team for Seattle. What this means for the Kraken Nothing changes from a hockey operations standpoint. Jason Botterill will continue to be the GM, they are conducting an audit, they will pursue free agents and make draft picks and attempt trades and it will be business as usual there. The addition brings financial security. Though the NHL has a hard salary cap, Scouting, front office salaries, player development, analytics, facilities, and support staff are not subject to an NHL salary cap and can vary from organization to organization, depending on the owners’ willingness and ability to spend money. A group with French Gates’s money can cover all of that through a rebuild without needing the team to turn a profit, and won’t be forced to cut costs or tear the team down in a bad year. There is also a very expensive NBA bid going on. In March, the NBA’s Board of Governors voted to explore expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas, and Holloway’s group, advised by JPMorgan Chase and Moelis, is the only public Seattle bidder. The NBA hired PJT Partners to evaluate the markets, ownership groups, and arenas and the expansion fees is projected to be somewhere in the $6 to $10 billion range. French Gates is now an owner in One Roof, the group pursuing the NBA team, so her money is already behind that effort. Though we don’t know the extent of her stake, her fortune is several times the projected fee, and because the NBA weighs the strength of each ownership group, her name helps the Seattle bid. Her most visible impact will probably be in the community. The One Roof Foundation has focused on getting more kids into sports, and French Gates has spent her career working on opportunities for women and families. Holloway said, “We’re really aligned on that.” For the Kraken, the deal leaves them with a richer, steadier ownership group. For One Roof, it adds another prominent name as it tries to bring the NBA back to Seattle.
GeekWire
17 days
Code.org rebrands as CodeAI, solidifying its shift to AI education
"Nobody knows the jobs of the future, but a sure bet is that every job will involve AI," said Hadi Partovi, who co-founded the nonprofit in 2013. "We have a responsibility to prepare the next generation for the biggest change in society since the invention of public education." Read More
Seattle Weekly
18 days
Local businesses urged to apply for federal flood funds by June 10
In the wake of the damage caused by the Dec. 2026 atmospheric rivers and flooding, it is important to remember that June 10 is the deadline for those impacted by these events to apply for federal assistance programs, including the Small Business Administration, which are loans that can by applied to personal or business-related losses not covered by insurance or FEMA funding.
Seattle Weekly
18 days
What does it cost to attend the World Cup?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup may end up being one of the most expensive in history for fans to see all of their team’s matches.
GeekWire
18 days
Melinda French Gates takes minority stake in Seattle Kraken hockey team
French Gates called herself "a big believer in the power of sports" and said that after many years of "cheering on Seattle from the sidelines," she's excited "to have an even deeper connection to the Seattle sports community." Read More
GeekWire
18 days
Medical technology giant plans to put its longtime Seattle-area campus up for sale
Philips plans to put its Bothell, Wash., campus up for sale, marking a significant moment for Washington state’s medical device industry and for a site that helped establish the region as a global center for ultrasound innovation. Read More
GeekWire
18 days
Zuckerberg’s yacht leaves Seattle’s Lake Union, anchors in Elliott Bay
After several days docked on Lake Union, drawing crowds and hecklers, Mark Zuckerberg's superyacht slipped back through the Ballard Locks and is now anchored in Elliott Bay. Why it's in Seattle remains unclear. Read More
GeekWire
18 days
Rec Room’s final day: Fans say goodbye as social gaming platform comes to an end
The Seattle social gaming platform, once valued at $3.5 billion, shuts down at noon Pacific today after a decade and 150 million players. Fans are marking the end with tribute videos, yearbook-style goodbyes, and final virtual gatherings. Read More
GeekWire
19 days
Week in Review: Most popular stories on GeekWire for the week of May 24, 2026
See the technology stories that people were reading on GeekWire for the week of May 24, 2026. Read More
GeekWire
19 days
Etzioni on AI: Wall Street is quietly betting on AI to beat inflation
The U.S. bond market is keeping long-term inflation expectations remarkably low, begging a massive macro question: is the smart money right to bet that an AI productivity miracle will save us from a $36 trillion national debt? Read More
GeekWire
20 days
Zuckerberg’s yacht, Meta’s layoffs, a robot pizza flameout, and a reality check on AI expenses
On this week's GeekWire Podcast: Mark Zuckerberg's superyacht arrives in Seattle the same day Meta discloses nearly 1,400 local layoffs, robot pizza startup Picnic shuts down and sells its assets to a mystery buyer, and companies grapple with the rising cost of corporate AI. Read More
GeekWire
21 days
Blue Origin’s rocket blowup could cause big problems for NASA — and a satellite slowdown for Amazon Leo
With New Glenn rocket and its pad sidelined, NASA faces added complications in its moon exploration plans, while Amazon must turn to other launch providers to get satellites in orbit. Read More
