Brian Roberts, Comcast.

• Author: Aaron, Craig
• Position: Brief article

You can't be a true robber baron without a monopoly--and that's exactly what Comcast's Brian Roberts is after. He's trying to turn what was once a regional cable company into the gatekeeper over all things in the future of media. When Roberts isn't golfing with President Obama or meeting him for cocktails on Martha's Vineyard, he's pocketing $34 million in grants from Pennsylvania's Republican governor to build a new giant headquarters in Philadelphia (even as the city shutters dozens of public schools). Roberts already runs the nation's largest cable company and Internet service provider, which last year made more than $13 billion in profits. Now, just two years after winning approval for Comcast's takeover of NBC Universal, Comcast is trying to swallow up Time Warner Cable, the No. 2 cable company. If Roberts succeeds, the newly merged...