American Gossip King

Chapter 214 Make the most of every opportunity

After hearing the list of people who attended the party, Ian understood somewhat.

This matter is probably related to Pixar Animation Studios.

At the beginning of the year, Ian discussed many collaborations with various companies, and most of them were successfully completed, including Pirates of the Caribbean.

The only deal that wasn't reached was with Pixar, which meant that the money originally intended for acquiring Pixar was used first for the expansion of Linuo Bank.

Steve Jobs had already accepted Ian's offer, but the renewed success of "Monsters, Inc." made Jobs feel there was still room to raise the price.

In particular, Pixar's Finding Nemo is scheduled for release next year.

This is an animated film that Steve Jobs highly regards.

Disney may also be a candidate for success.

Simply put, Disney might be trying to steal the deal.

No one values ​​animated films more than Disney. Box office revenue for animated films is nothing to them; the real money is in the merchandise.

For example, Cars only grossed $2 million at the box office, but it generated over a billion dollars in related revenue. Crucially, the profits from related merchandise far exceeded the box office revenue.

Box office revenue is typically only one-third, but the profits from peripheral products can reach over 60%, and this effect is long-lasting.

Therefore, Cars doesn't rank high in Disney's box office rankings, but it can still release sequels. Some animated films gross 700-800 million at the box office, but if the merchandise doesn't sell well, there won't be any sequels.

Finding Nemo is also an IP with huge potential for peripheral development, which Disney certainly doesn't want to miss out on.

But Steve Jobs wouldn't agree easily because Ian's promise of "permanent ownership of 15% of the shares" was too tempting.

No one can understand Steve Jobs' feelings for Apple. In order to reclaim the throne, he promised far too much, including minimal fees and shares, and even the sale of Pixar.

In this situation, Jobs remained calm and didn't rush to reach an agreement with Ian. Ian was busy with various reports, mergers and acquisitions, and fulfilling promises... and indeed didn't have the time or energy to take care of this as well.

When Ivanka mentioned it, Ian understood.

Either his return to Hollywood has alarmed the bigwigs, or it's something to do with Pixar...

With so many people involved, it's more likely that there are multiple conflicting interests at play.

So the Jewish man arranged for Natalie Portman to get close to him as a corporate spy, which is why Natalie Portman used Ivanka to give him hints.

The problem was that she hadn't expected Ian to be so alert, completely ignoring the hypnotic bullet and immediately realizing something was wrong.

Oh.

Pixar...

Ian wasn't actually that concerned about Pixar.

After all, with the money to buy Pixar, wouldn't it be better to buy more Apple shares?

However, Ian adheres to the principle of mutual benefit and will not allow one company to take too much for him. At the same time, he also needs an excuse to target Apple—buying stocks directly might cause unease among Apple's top management, prompting them to launch countermeasures and causing the acquisition price to soar.

Steve Jobs, in particular, placed great importance on Apple!

Ian Carr is not from the film industry. His ultimate goal in buying Pixar was to sell it. Even with Apple, he couldn't wait until the market value reached three trillion before selling. He could sell it for one trillion. In terms of ratio, going from one trillion to three trillion is only a three-fold increase, while going from five billion to one trillion is a two-hundred-fold increase!

Apple grew from $5 billion to $1 trillion in just a few years, much faster than it grew from $1 trillion to $3 trillion!

Therefore, as long as there are still enough excellent investment targets, Ian will not wait for the peak.

Knowing that Natalie Portman "hopes to have an affair with him," Ian knew that it wouldn't be long before the beauty came knocking on his door and contacted him.

Natalie Portman is a notorious scheming woman.

She even stole her best friend's script and took her best friend's role.

But who cares?

I only want your body; I don't care about your heart.

To be honest, Ivanka's heart isn't entirely pure either, but she's been reformed by herself. Even so, she's only devoted to Ian, and may not be kind to others.

Rather than simply taking Natalie Portman, Ian was more interested in how to make the most of this opportunity...

………………

In the afternoon, Ian went to see Gaskell and Lena and told Gaskell about the matter.

When Lena heard that Natalie Portman was going to offer herself to him, her eyes widened in disbelief.

That bastard Ian!

Don't you have enough women these days? I have to wait several days just to get a date with you!

You've changed your mind. You said I was the one you loved most!

Fortunately, Ian quickly explained: "I don't like Jews. I can't guarantee I won't sleep with her, but she will definitely not be my lover. She's like a company with hidden value; after the acquisition, it's hollowed out and sold off, not held for the long term."

These were despicable words, yet they made Lena feel much better—I don't care who you sleep with, but you must love me the most!

After all, I am the mother of your eldest son!

Gaskell chuckled. "I can't give you advice on how to use this woman until you make contact with her. But I do have a plan for Afghanistan."

Ok?

Ian was overjoyed.

During this period, Ian did several more business deals with Afghanistan. They weren't very big, but they have become Ian's most profitable business so far.

He also urgently needs more funds to address his "cash hunger".

Gaskell didn't waste any words and handed him a copy of the Wall Street Journal.

The latest novel is first published here!

Madoff's beaming face made it onto the front page of the daily newspaper.

He looked closely:

"Madoff's investment in Anxin Company yielded substantial profits, once again proving his excellent foresight."

"Huh?" Ian looked at Gaskell in surprise: "Medoff?"

Gaskell nodded: "Yes, I think we can use Madoff to our advantage in this."

Unlike Madoff in his previous life, Madoff in this timeline, in addition to operating in the financial markets, also makes some investments.

The significance of these investments is not actually to make money, but to further confirm his foresight.

Investment companies operate like this: most of their investments may lose money, but as long as one investment makes a profit, it can make up for a lot of the losses.

This is especially true for earlier-stage investments.

It carries a gambling connotation to some extent.

But Madoff's approach was different.

What he actually needs is not to make money through investment, but to use his investments to gain a reputation as an investment guru similar to Buffett, so that more people will be willing to lend him money—otherwise, how do you explain the interest rate of up to 20%?

Over the past year, Ian has sent people to investigate him quite a bit, and he himself has even gone to find out about Madoff's background.

Despite Madoff's caution, Ian still managed to uncover some things.

He knew that Madoff and the companies he invested in usually had some private connections.

For example, during his investment period, the company should try to generate high returns, which Madoff can use to promote his investment acumen and, if necessary, sell at a high price.

In short, it doesn't matter whether the companies Madoff invests in make money or not; what matters is that they have to look like they're making a lot of money!

Madoff could even secretly subsidize some of the profits to cover this.

"How do we use it?" Ian asked.

Gaskell said, "Let him invest in Redstone."

Redstone is a business Ian set up through the Cripples Gang, used for trading arms and medicines with Afghanistan.

According to Gaskell, if Madoff invests in Redstone, and then Madoff collapses, Redstone will then conveniently go bankrupt and default on its debts.

Even if a company goes bankrupt and defaults on its debts, it still needs to undergo liquidation and valuation. It's impossible for a company to simply declare bankruptcy and refuse to pay a single penny.

But if the creditor goes to jail, then it will be difficult for you to collect the debt!

Thinking about it that way, Ian was amused.

Is this a scheme to swindle money from both Afghanistan and Madoff?

good idea!

Ian looked at Gaskell: "The question is, how do we get him to accept it?"

(End of this chapter)