Given Arianna Huffington’s status as a cultural icon, it’s easy to forget that she’s one of the most successful media and technology entrepreneurs of the last decade. Her eponymous website, The Huffington Post, has become one of the most influential news websites on the Internet. Its Web traffic rivals, and in some cases surpasses, that of traditional print and broadcast giants.
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In addition to entertainment and lifestyle content, Huffington has assembled a formidable roster of hard news talent. In 2012, Huffington Post reporter David Wood was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. It was only the second time that an Internet-only news outlet had won journalism’s top honor. But The Huffington Post is more than just a news website, it’s a technology platform that allows hundreds of bloggers to reach a vast audience. In 2011, Web giant AOL purchased The Huffington Post for $315 million, generating a financial windfall for its Greek-born cofounder.