America: My Time

Chapter 1466 You must give up something to gain something.

Chapter 1456 Only by Giving Can You Gain
"Impossible! Although John is keen on restructuring the assets, he would never do something so big without a profit. There must be a lot of profit involved. Let our think tank staff get moving and find out where his interests lie!" When Rockefeller saw John's crazy real estate development, especially since it was all done in residential communities, he immediately felt that something was wrong. If it was just for housing employees, there was no need to do it on such a large scale. Moreover, many of the communities were clearly designed for high-end individuals, and the security measures were astonishing.

Compared to the neighborhood John is preparing to build, Beverly Hills is nothing. After all, it's entirely managed by Jaguar Security, so you can imagine how strong their security is. Such a neighborhood is definitely incredibly tempting.

But was John only doing this to sell houses? Rockefeller didn't think John would do that; there were other benefits he hadn't discovered. He never imagined that John was using future property and other profit-making methods.

Many people think that John must be facing a tight cash flow, but they are all wrong. John is not short of funds. Moreover, the assets he obtained from this sale are so large that investing them in finance may not yield much return. In comparison, it would be much easier to use them to develop these real estate projects, with a small cost and amazing returns. After all, John's communities are not high-rise buildings. With enough manpower, they can be completed in a short period of time.

Of course, this situation wasn't unique to the Rockefeller family. Those old-timers who knew John all felt there were vested interests behind it, so they all wanted to find out more, and some even wanted to follow suit. However, they hadn't yet seen through John's scheme. Of course, even if they did, implementing it wouldn't be easy; it involved far too many aspects. John wasn't building high-end apartments; he was building a true community, a completely gated community.

Before everything is fully formed, no matter how much those guys think, they can't see through John's plan. Once John's plan succeeds, even if they want to follow suit, they won't have the same advantages as John. After all, this is a project that competes on service, and for those middle-class people, they prefer a safe and comfortable living environment.

High-end apartments weren't what John wanted to build; the cost would be too high, the return on investment would be even more difficult, and most importantly, the risks were enormous. With so much capital, he'd rather invest elsewhere. He wanted not only profit, but also reputation! The more John learned about the future situation in the United States, the less he dared to be careless or negligent, especially regarding security. Security wasn't just a matter of being cautious; it also required a suitable environment.

Why did John go to such great lengths to build everything in Oregon and to completely control it, even at the cost of confronting the Donkeys and relocating businesses? It was all because he knew how crazy and terrifying the United States would become in the future. The more he understood the future situation of the United States, the more he wanted to do his best to build a safe Oregon.

All of this requires money and reputation, so John can only make more calculations and preparations, directly launching a layout in major cities across the United States. This is the most important part of his plan, and he is also thinking about his employees, so such a good reputation is naturally indispensable.

At first glance, John's price seems high, but upon closer inspection, it's not that significant. With such a long period of planning, John had already made numerous arrangements and preparations. Otherwise, how could the car sales have been completed so smoothly, and what about his retail strategy in the United States? Do you really think John's previous preparations were all for nothing? Anyone who thinks that is a fool. Once everything is settled, everyone will understand!
What is John up to now? This earth-shattering move has shocked the entire United States, but is that all he's done? No, John has more plans; he can't neglect media and entertainment. The upheaval in Hollywood won't be easily erased, and other plans in this area also need to be arranged.

"Boss, are you sure we want to completely abandon the newspaper industry? Isn't that too crazy?" Although John was in New York, it didn't affect his plans to change the media and entertainment industry. Although the five major media groups were not present, John's think tank personnel were all in New York, discussing the next steps with him.

"I'm certain this is something we have to do, otherwise many people will be uneasy. You don't think those old guys, our adversaries, didn't have this idea after the Asian financial crisis, do you? Rather than waiting for them to make a move, we should sell it proactively. Besides, the donkey and the military have already made compromises, so we can't just go without paying any price. You have to give to receive. There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. For the sake of interests, they won't make any underhanded moves against us and won't affect our plans!"

"But we've paid a heavy price. We've paid a significant price in semiconductors and software, and the internet is sharing profits with them. There's no need to sell off this important media power at this time."

"If I could, I wouldn't want to sell either, but we need to make a statement, we need to make those guys think we're no longer a threat. The Hollywood situation seems to be over on the surface, but do you really think it's completely over? I can tell you definitively no, this is just the beginning, and those guys won't give up so easily. So we need to feign weakness, show enough sincerity, calm those guys down, and give the Big Three Hollywood studios time to recover. We can't let the situation spiral out of control. A public withdrawal from the newspaper industry, and even from some publications, is also necessary."

"I'm afraid they'll take advantage of us and think we're weak and easy to bully, then all our efforts will have been wasted!"

"No, if you think that way, you're sorely mistaken. As a member of the conglomerate, we need to share profits with everyone and make it clear that we're not as belligerent as we seem, nor will we constantly control speech. If we abandon the newspaper business now, will the oil giants still dare to target us? Will those guys in Hollywood still dare to cause trouble? And will those bastards in New York still dare to disrupt our plans? There's a saying that goes, 'Take a step back and the sea and sky will broaden,' which couldn't be more fitting now. We've even given up the internet company, so what's a mere newspaper business? As long as we preserve our Hollywood, television network, and sports holdings, that's enough. Let's get moving. You all take action tomorrow and get them moving. I can't be in the spotlight now, after all, I've moved from the public eye to behind the scenes." Upon hearing John's words, the think tank personnel suddenly understood their boss's intentions. Although an agreement had been reached before, and their boss had made some 'compensation,' that only temporarily put those guys on hold. If their boss took another step back, everything would be completely different—this was a strategic retreat.

At this juncture, considering the stability of the United States, the boss proactively backed down, selling off most of the newspapers and periodicals, retaining only a few specialized businesses to stabilize his core operations. This would gain the approval of all the conglomerates and high society. Anyone who dared to cause trouble would be irrelevant to the boss; those individuals would be courting disaster. The beneficiaries would even eliminate them without the boss's intervention!

Brilliant! This is all incredibly brilliant. Although it might reduce the boss's influence to some extent, it's well worth it compared to the ample time he can recover. Besides, the newspaper and magazine industry isn't making much profit, as the boom in this sector is nearing its end. Within the entire media and entertainment industry, the newspaper and magazine sector's revenue is pitifully low; some publications are barely profitable at all.

"What? John has really gone mad and wants to sell part of his newspaper business?" When the news broke, the entire American media industry was in shock, and even Morgan couldn't believe his ears when he heard it.

Jimmy smiled wryly and said, "Boss, it's true. I've confirmed it. Except for a few professional newspapers and two other newspapers, the rest will be sold. Several major media and entertainment companies have already issued announcements, and Youtai Capital is already eager to discuss acquisition matters with those major media companies!"

"What is he trying to do? Is he trying to buy time with his influence? With his current power and strength, there is absolutely no need for that. Moreover, he has already made concessions and given his opponents enough face. Not to mention that he has other assets to sell. Unless he wants to go back on his word and doesn't want to sell the internet company, or even doesn't want to sell Dreamworld and Nvidia?"

Morgan's first thought was about this change, after all, the interest rate difference was too big. With the changes in the Asian financial crisis, the development of the Internet was even more crazy, and the market value was rising too fast. He felt sorry for the shares that John had sold before, so his first thought was that John was going to go back on his word!
"No, we haven't received any such news. Judging from John's plans, everything is still the same. The internet companies he retained have all moved to Oregon, while those he sold are still in California. It seems he has no intention of backing out. Perhaps, as you said, he's just using his influence to buy time. After all, he's gone too far this time, and he's reached a consensus with all parties to complete the transition as quickly as possible. If he misses the window of opportunity, it might have repercussions later. Giving up this part of the influence will satisfy everyone."

“Unfortunately, we can’t sit down and talk with John now. The situation is quite awkward, and it would be going too far to ask him to discuss things further. We’ve already invited him several times, and each time it’s been detrimental to his interests. If we continue like this, we might just squander the last bit of goodwill we have left.” Morgan sighed as he spoke. He didn’t want to see things turn out this way either, but he had no choice but to compromise under the pressure from everyone.

“Boss, it’s not like we’re without a chance. We can’t invite John, but we have other options. John is in New York for another reason: the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. We can take the initiative.”

"Are you sure John wants to participate in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show? With his current status and position, there's absolutely no need for him to do so. Besides, while Victoria's Secret's market value is not bad, it's negligible compared to the internet industry. Is it necessary for him to waste his time and energy on this? He has a lot of things to deal with right now!"

"Perhaps this is what makes John so unfathomable to us. In our view, he should indeed be focusing his time and energy on important matters. This series of asset consolidations has a significant impact. There's absolutely no need to care about the media and entertainment sector, but he did just that. Instead of focusing on important matters, he's been putting his energy into things we look down on! If he's after a voice, then he shouldn't have sold off the newspapers and magazines. So I can't figure out what John is trying to do!"

"Could it be related to his previous real estate investments?" Before Jimmy could answer, Morgan shook his head and said, "That's impossible. Although his plans are large-scale, they all seem to be preparing for his employees. Even if someone wanted to stop him, it wouldn't work, or even be possible. Does he have any other plans? Could it be that we've overlooked something? After all, John's hidden power is considerable!"

"As for other aspects, it's hard to say. His crazy moves, restructuring the entire asset, nobody knows what's hidden behind all this. If there's a problem, it's understandable." Just then, Jimmy's expression changed, as if he had thought of something. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Boss, could it be related to John's changes to the think tank personnel? I heard he integrated the accounting firm, law firm, and crisis management department. I heard that after the integration, they will oversee the asset restructuring process, and the US, Europe, and Asia are all doing the same thing. However, the previous actions weren't significant; now it's a complete transformation. This is just what's on the surface. There are also arrangements being made by the bank itself, but we can't find out the details, since it involves the bank's core secrets!"

(End of this chapter)