This worked , and as the Journal 's had 150,000 people subscribe to it , Pulitzer cut his price to a penny , hoping to make Hearst ( who was subsidized by his family 's fortune ) run out of money . The approach worked , and as the Journal 's circulation jumped to 150,000 , Pulitzer cut his price to a penny , hoping to drive his young competitor ( who was subsidized by his family 's fortune ) into bankruptcy .