America: My Time

Chapter 329 Avoid its edge
Chapter 329 Avoiding the Edge

Compromise? It's impossible for the White House to get Rockefeller and his ilk to compromise. They'll only compromise for their own interests, just like Morgan. They're still secretly hindering John's expansion. They don't want a new conglomerate to emerge and compete with them for profits. Although John's focus is on high technology and media, not finance, this still makes them uneasy, especially since John has already made progress in automobile and aircraft manufacturing.

Do they regret it? Rockefeller and his ilk certainly do, because their miscalculations allowed John to expand even faster. Their calculations in aviation not only failed to hinder John's development, but instead became an asset to him. This was unacceptable to many of the older guys, leading to their underhanded attempts to sabotage his progress.

“John, your idea is good, but it won’t be easy to implement. Those people are more capable than you think. If they are determined to hinder your development, they will have many more ways to do so!”

“I know that no matter how many tricks they have, I’m not afraid. They can set obstacles for me domestically, but they don’t have that ability globally. I can completely abandon the domestic market and turn overseas. The quantum mining business I’m developing in Canada is doing quite well, and Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong won’t be affected by them.”

“John, your idea is good, but the United States is the largest sales market. If you give up the United States, you will give up most of the market. Most importantly, you will give more people an excuse to attack you.”

"I know, but I'm not afraid, at least not now. Those old guys don't have enough funds to fight me, and if they really piss me off, it's not like I can't expand in finance. I believe they'll make a choice!"

"I'm afraid they won't make the right choice. They might let go where they should, but secretly still make things difficult for you. Don't underestimate those guys. The Phoenix Group's development might not be a problem, but your development in high technology will definitely not be smooth sailing. This time, you just caught them off guard. By the time they react, everything will be different!"

"I know that when the network system of Dream World and professional big data software appear, these old guys won't give up easily, but that doesn't matter. They have their ideas, and I have my choices. Besides, both Dream World and Nvidia will go public. Even if they try to block me, I'm not afraid. Technology requires strength, and right now Dream World and Nvidia have an absolute advantage!"

"John, what do you want to get from those old guys? And in which sector of the US do you want to expand? It's not still retail, is it? If it's retail, you don't need to have so many reservations!"

"My target is indeed the retail industry, which is also the most labor-intensive industry. Moreover, such an industry can drive the development of the Bentley Motors Group. I have no reason to give up. In fact, the most suitable industries in the United States are high-tech and retail services. If those old guys can compromise, I want to acquire Best Buy and dominate the channels for selling electronic products."

"It's good that you have your own ideas. I believe that if the benefits to you are significant enough, they will compromise. You can see their thinking from the compromises made in the aviation industry. However, your real estate acquisition plan is a bit too crazy. It requires a huge investment of funds. You already have a considerable investment on Lanai Island, and now there's Western Energy. You need to be careful with your cash flow. Don't let any problems arise, or you'll be in big trouble!"

"I know, so I allocated 200 million of the funds from the IPO to Hurricane Investment and Chengxin Bank respectively, to put some pressure on those guys and prevent them from making any rash moves. However, I don't understand what those bastards Lehman Brothers are trying to do. They're still relentless. Could it be that they have some other scheme in mind?"

“John, don’t underestimate any Wall Street giant. Although Lehman Brothers failed once before, their foundation has not been affected. They have enough strength to fight against you, and there are many more greedy people behind them. After all, you control a huge amount of assets, which makes them very tempted!”

"Yes, those bastards will do anything for profit. That's why I've been increasing security to deter them and make them think twice. If it's just a business transaction, I'm not afraid. I'm just worried they might do something crazy out of desperation. But their setup is clearly an attempt to lure me in. Unfortunately, I have no intention of engaging in another major battle with them right now. Hurricane Investment needs to change its strategy. I'm putting the newly injected $100 million into venture capital in Silicon Valley, instead of choosing to have a financial showdown with them on Wall Street!" John sighed as he said this. He realized his strength wasn't enough; otherwise, he wouldn't have had so many reservations and could have fought again directly.

“Avoiding their sharp edge is the right thing to do. You're still young, you have plenty of time. There's no need to rush. Time is on your side; time is your greatest advantage. No matter how many people or how much power Lehman Brothers has behind them, they can't keep going forever, they can't hold onto their funds indefinitely. In the end, they'll just give up!” Hearing this, John nodded slightly. He thought the same thing, and his think tank shared the same view. John had no intention of fighting Lehman Brothers head-on. Now was the perfect time for expansion. Putting time and energy into Lehman Brothers would be a waste. Even if they could defeat them, they would suffer heavy losses, only letting others benefit.

"Father, if you have time, could you help me manage my charity foundation? Although the funds aren't much right now, they're still very important to me. I've put four percent of the game world's shares into the foundation!"

John is now taking his public image seriously. The existence of the charitable foundation is to build a good reputation for himself. Those tech giants in the United States all have good reputations, but they are all fabricated. The reality is not like that.

John knew he was still far from adequate in philanthropy, and it would be better to leave the foundation to his parents to manage, so that at least the same amount of money could bring him greater prestige!
“John, you should settle down. You control too many companies. Even with a secretarial team and think tank assistance, it's still too chaotic, especially your acquisitions of wineries and estates. There's no need for this rush. It's best to put the acquisitions in Paris on hold, and don't rush into acquiring wineries in the US either. Wait until the situation becomes clearer before making a decision. Otherwise, how will you manage and control them? You don't expect me to do it, do you? I don't have that much energy and time!”

"Don't worry, I've already thought it through. My grandfather will be looking after things in France, so there shouldn't be any problems. I can manage things in the US myself for now. After all, this is my hobby, and you can't possibly control my hobbies too!"

"You have too many hobbies. One or two wineries would be enough. There's no need to have so many!"

"I don't see any problem. Although it won't bring me much profit in the short term, it still has good development potential in the long run. According to my research, the demand for high-end wines in the United States is huge and is constantly increasing. Even though the current economic climate is not ideal, it hasn't had a significant impact on the sales of high-end wines. Now, with the promotion from Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group, the sales of my two wineries have skyrocketed!"

John's parents were fully aware of the situation at his two wineries in Bordeaux. Although the current economic climate was unfavorable, sales at both wineries in the United States were steadily increasing, making the investment sound. However, they had some concerns about continuing this investment.

John had offered to acquire two major wineries in Napa Valley, Holland Winery and Stag's Leap. Although this personal hobby didn't attract much attention, as parents, they had to take it seriously. Such an acquisition would require a considerable amount of money, and doing it at this time seemed somewhat irrational, at least in their eyes!
Is John under a lot of financial pressure right now? No, not at all. Although he has billions of dollars in debt, he is not under much pressure. Especially after the listing of Game World, John has a lot of cash on hand and is not short of money. Most importantly, it won't be long before John lists Dream World again, so he will not lack funds.

It was precisely because of this plan that John didn't feel as much pressure in terms of expansion, which allowed him to directly pressure Morgan, Rockefeller, and others to make a choice—all because he had the power to do so.

The impact of the game world's listing is clear to many. Just look at the reaction of those guys in Japan. If it weren't for Morgan's strong control and unwillingness to release too many shares, those guys in Japan could probably have swallowed up all the shares invested in the stock market if they had joined forces.

The frenzy in Japan emboldened John, so he felt no pressure about listing Dream World. He even believed he could quickly repay the enormous loan burden from the Japanese bank if he so desired. John was now capable of doing so because he not only held substantial cash reserves, but also had significant gains from Integrity Bank and East West Bank—gains obtained through suppressing British financial groups!

(End of this chapter)