Denver billionaire Phil Anschutz’s Washington Examiner has been taking advantage of the recent shake-up at The Washington Times by tapping into the Times’ beleaguered talent to bolster his free tabloid’s “already large stable of conservative opinion writers,” picking up personalities such as columnist Cal Thomas.

Politico quotes Examiner Editor Stephen Smith: “We want to be a place where people who are center-right in their views can come and find almost all of the leading commentators working that territory, with the exception of The Wall Street Journal.”

Anschutz, a generous supporter of Republican causes, has expanded Examiner and his Examiner.com citizen-journalist network, while other media organizations across the country struggle.

The owner of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo is also sitting on the committee that could bring World Cup matches to Denver in 2018, according to the Denver Business Journal.

It’s no wonder Anschutz ranks number 12 on The 5280 Fifty, a list of the most influential people in Denver.