America: My Time

Chapter 1271: Willing to Give Up
Chapter 1261 Willingness to Give

“To be honest, as long as he doesn’t cause trouble, I’m still quite humane. In the past ten years, have you ever seen me fire any of those sitting in the CEO position? As long as things are manageable, I won’t do anything ruthless. This time, Andrea Jung has gone too far. If she continues like this, not only will Forever Group be affected, but Victoria’s Secret will also be in crisis. I have no other choice!” John sighed as he said this.

Why did this happen? Frankly, it's all about self-interest. The splitting up of the Forever Group meant the loss of considerable profits, a fact John was well aware of. He just hadn't expected that Andrea Chung wouldn't stop; on the contrary, she continued. Perhaps this was the result of his continued indulgence, causing her to forget reverence.

At this point, John also began to understand a bit of Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's famous saying: intelligent people always have many ideas, and once they lose their sense of awe, the impact on the company will be even greater. Therefore, John needed to reorganize the Forever Group before anything major happened, and also give Christie Turlington a chance.

John couldn't see that Christie Turlington was too ambitious and selfish? With his intelligence, he could see it clearly, but he still gave Christie Turlington this chance. After all, he wasn't a heartless person and felt it was better to be more humane. As long as the other party didn't cross his bottom line, selfishness wasn't a big deal!
“You guys should also be prepared. If necessary, we need to make some arrangements. Even the previous splits haven’t put those guys at ease!” John shook his head as he spoke. No matter how much he split things up, those old guys in the US were still keeping a close eye on him, which forced John to be cautious.

“John, you don’t want to continue splitting up, do you? If you do, your company will be in trouble!” Smith’s expression turned serious. He was well aware of the impact of splitting up the group.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Even if we're going to split up, it won't be the manufacturing sector. The best way to test the waters is still media and entertainment. Originally, there were only two major groups, but now that we've split up like this, there are still people targeting me. If we complete another round of acquisitions, do you think people will continue to bring this up in the future? If I don't make comprehensive preparations now, I'm afraid the trouble in the future will be considerable."

“John, things have come to this point. How can you split it up again? You have so many people, and you should know how big the impact of splitting it up will be. If you’re not careful, the consequences will be unimaginable!”

"I know I plan to completely reorganize the sports group. If those old guys are really capable, it would be best to have a talent agency to support them. If necessary, I plan to have Legendary Entertainment spin off a television station. As for games, I plan to completely separate them and then spin off the game manufacturing from Taiwan to integrate with them. Back then, I started with games, and to be honest, I still have some lingering feelings for them. I will also integrate the internet cafe alliance and the retail support."

John's consolidation of the gaming group was aimed at Sony. This time, John had no intention of giving Sony another chance. Akio Morita had completely retired, so he didn't have as many reservations. After all, with Morita around, he couldn't be too ruthless, or he'd be seen as heartless, making the Japanese wary of him and affecting many collaborations—something John didn't want to see. Now that problem was finally gone, he'd be doing himself a disservice if he didn't seize the opportunity!

At this point, it's useless for anyone to say anything. This isn't John's problem; it's Sony's own doing. Everyone understood what Sony wanted to do during the previous acquisition of the film library. John's subsequent counterattack and reorganization of the new 'Games Group' is a normal business practice. Even if everyone knows it's aimed at Sony, there's no reason to criticize John, since Sony made the mistake first.

“John, this is insane. Are you sure this won’t throw the company into chaos? This is no small matter, especially the splitting up of the television station. You need to think carefully, and you should also listen to Robert Iger’s opinion!”

“I know, I will have a good talk with him. This is a decision I have no other choice but to make. You should know how influential NBC is. Even though it is listed, it still makes many people uneasy. So I need to cool things down! If I don’t act now, after the Asian financial crisis, those guys from Taiwan’s Pacific Capital and Soros, and even those guys from Italy, will make their move. Maybe even Donald will target Legendary Entertainment at that time!”

Smith agreed with John's assessment. After all, there was a long history of negative comments about Legendary Entertainment in the US, especially in Hollywood, where they were rampant. Although those people didn't dare to say it openly, they had been using all sorts of underhanded tactics. From artists and talent agencies to even Hollywood giants, everyone was targeting Legendary Entertainment.

"I also plan to wait for Jimmy to come over and have him go back and inform Morgan and the old guys that I intend to take back all the shares of 'United Press International' and reorganize it into a new media group, a media group focused on economics."

"That's impossible. Even if Morgan agrees, those old guys like Rockefeller won't. They won't give up the profits they've already made. They've been making a lot of money these past few years!" Smith didn't think much of it and immediately concluded that it was impossible to succeed. After all, he knew how terrifyingly focused those guys were on their profits!

"I know it will be difficult, but I can offer them assets that will entice them: Nvidia shares. I believe they won't refuse. And once the exchange is complete, the Nvidia shares will have even greater potential for appreciation!"

"Hiss!" Upon hearing this, everyone present was shocked. Nvidia was one of John's core assets, and to exchange its shares for it was insane, almost unbelievable!
“John, are you sure you’re not mistaken? That’s your core asset, and if you continue to sell shares, you’ll lose control of Nvidia. You need to think this through.” John smiled calmly and said, “I’ve thought it through. If I don’t offer some benefits, how could those old guys possibly accept it? Besides, Nvidia has already been split up. What do I have to worry about? Those old guys just want to control the chips. I’ll give them that opportunity and see if they have the ability.”

In the previous restructuring, Nvidia's other assets were stripped away, leaving only chip research and development. John believed that as long as he let go, Rockefeller would agree, and they would gradually erode the remaining shares in his hands, eventually driving him out of Nvidia and taking complete control of it!

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. John had long seen through the greed of those old guys. Since they had such ideas, why not grant them their wish? It wasn't just Nvidia that John wanted to do this; Dream World would do the same. Those old guys were the most aggressive in their attempts to erode these two companies, so if John had such an idea, they had no reason to refuse. Moreover, once the Asian financial crisis ended, these guys would have a large sum of money at their disposal—wasn't that a perfect opportunity for them to acquire them? They would go crazy for even the smallest suggestion from John!
Those old guys wanted to take advantage of John's working capital, but John was thinking about how to use the opportunity to gradually and safely exit the crisis of the internet storm. 'Nvidia' and 'Dream World' were the biggest problems, so it was necessary to let the winds out in advance, at least so that he could reap more benefits when those old guys became interested.

Those old guys like Rockefeller wanted to scheme against him, those guys at the Federal Reserve wanted to scheme against him, and John wanted to give them a good blow. He believed that as soon as he made a move, the entire United States would go crazy, the Europeans would go crazy, and at that point, how many people would still be watching him?

There is no gain without sacrifice. To reclaim assets that are useful to him, he had to make some sacrifices. Compared to Gulfstream Aerospace, energy groups, and mining groups, John preferred to use Dreamworld and Nvidia as bait to make a deal.

So what if it's a core asset? I'm not without other preparations. Once these old fogies get involved, I believe they'll soon have a headache and pay a heavy price for their greed. The bursting of the dot-com bubble will impact the entire semiconductor industry.

When the dot-com bubble burst, it was time for him to strike. John had already come up with more plans: to establish an e-commerce platform in advance, to integrate it with physical stores, and to seize and dominate the market.

Upon hearing John's words, Smith sighed, "If you were to offer shares of Nvidia and Dreamworld in a deal, I believe no one could refuse such a transaction. However, once the other party gains control of these two companies, it will be impossible for you to take them back. You must carefully consider the pros and cons of this deal. You cannot make such a decision rashly on impulse, or you will surely regret it later!"

“I know that since I’ve made this decision, I can accept the consequences. If I continue to hold onto ‘Dreamworld’ and ‘Nvidia,’ not only will those old guys be unhappy, but even the White House won’t be happy. Those old guys don’t want to see me control such assets; it will have a significant impact on them.”

John is right. With the increasing importance of chips, those old guys are unwilling to see Nvidia completely controlled by John and have been targeting Nvidia. Even Dream World is doing the same. Under these circumstances, John naturally has to make changes.

Nvidia and Dreamworld are not what they used to be, and I don't have many excuses anymore. If I keep getting entangled with these old guys, it will be a waste of my time and energy. However, I will take this opportunity to make a trade with them, get back what I want, and at the same time relinquish control over Nvidia and Dreamworld, so that I will no longer waste my time and energy.

“Are you sure they can accept it? 'Dream World' is a bit better, there aren't too many problems, but 'Nvidia' only has R&D capabilities right now, not production. If it's completely handed over, ASUS will be affected. This is a huge, far-reaching issue!” Smith reminded John. This wasn't just a problem with 'Nvidia,' but also with ASUS in Taiwan. If they lost control of 'Nvidia,' given the scheming of those old Rockefellers, they would definitely target ASUS, impacting John's semiconductor business in Taiwan!
"I've thought it through. As long as they agree, it's not a problem. Besides, I'm already prepared. As long as they agree, everything will be fine. And right now, it's just negotiation, not the time for a deal. I'm just giving those old guys a heads-up. To be honest, even if they agree now, it's impossible to start a deal. They wouldn't dare to do it, and I wouldn't trust them either. Everything will have to wait until the Asian financial crisis is over. By then, I'll have made full preparations, and everything will no longer be a problem!"

"John, if you want to give up 'Dream World' and 'Nvidia,' do you want to let go of everything, or keep a part of it? And if possible, you should also arrange for your family to participate, after all, such an opportunity is rare!"

“I’ve thought about it. I’ll only keep a small portion, at most 10%, of the shares. Part of it will be controlled by the family fund, and part by the charitable foundation. I personally will not hold any shares anymore. Only in this way can those old guys feel at ease and satisfied. As for the Tomb Clan, as long as the old man speaks up, everything will be fine. My only fear is that my complete withdrawal will cause fluctuations in the stock prices of ‘Dream World’ and ‘Nvidia’, and those guys will complain again in the future.”

John never overestimated human nature, especially among his family members. They had many factions, and their competition for interests was fierce. Even if he were to do this, he had to be upfront about it. He couldn't let them blame him later if problems arose. After all, the Asian financial crisis would trigger an internet bubble, potentially leading to a scenario he didn't want to see. John wouldn't tolerate being blamed by them, and he didn't want his good intentions to be met with ingratitude. Being open and honest would benefit everyone; whether they ultimately suffered losses was their own problem.

(End of this chapter)