After get off work, Simon returned to Malibu on time today because he had a party to hold.
This matter has to go back to the purchase of Cape Dume Park. After several months of operation, George Norman has secured the state government, but if Simon wants to get Cape Dume Park, he still needs to solve the problems of the local residents of Malibu. question.
Although local residents of Malibu seldom pay attention to Cape Dume Park on weekdays, more tourists who only visit Malibu like to climb up to the sharp angle of the cliff to overlook the sea view. But Point Dume Park is, after all, a public space in Malibu. Only with the approval of community residents can Simon completely transform it into private ownership.
Tonight's party is mainly to entertain community committee representatives and some important residents.
Because of Simon's personal habits, the party was held at Jenny's villa on the east side of Dumei Point Park.
As soon as they entered the door, Janet, who was directing the party company staff to prepare for the scene, came over and whispered to Simon: "I've got it done. Our foundation will donate 1 million US dollars to fund the construction of Dumei Point Primary School and Middle School. , will also participate in lobbying for Malibu to become an independent city. Then, they will vote for us to buy Dume Point Park. Tonight you just need to eat, drink and chat with them."
The North American real estate bubble of the 1980s promoted a peak period of construction in Malibu, but Malibu really became hot only in the 1990s, especially after Larry Ellison hyped up Malibu real estate.
Today's Malibu is not an independent city, it is just a district under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County, and it is far less crowded with celebrities than it was later.
In recent years, Malibu residents have been seeking to establish their own city. According to California law, after obtaining municipal status, Malibu will no longer need to be under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County government and can make independent laws and reject various project plans from the Los Angeles County government.
In recent years, with the rapid development of the urban area, the Los Angeles County government has been trying to extend many engineering projects to Malibu. Malibu residents have also continued to resist the county government's plans to block highways, sewer pipes and even nuclear power plants. .
It is conceivable that if any of the above projects settles in Malibu, it will be difficult for Malibu to become a livable land.
therefore.
If Simon, a super rich man with strong financial resources, can settle in Malibu, it will definitely promote the development of this area. A state park that's basically just bushland pales in comparison, and it's easy to see what choices residents will make.
After the party in the evening, there was no suspense anymore.
Inside the mansion in the west of Cape Dume.
In the bedroom, after taking a shower, Simon walked to the bedside, kissed Janet on the face who was leaning on the bedside and reading a magazine, and asked: "In the evening, you said you would donate 1 million US dollars to the primary and secondary schools in Malibu. ?”
"Yes," Janet nodded, but added: "It's not a donation. There are no such schools in Malibu yet. Residents have always wanted to build them, but it's a pity that the county government doesn't give money."
Simon picked up Janet's light body and threw it to the other side of the big bed. He sat down on the bed and asked, "This is a good thing. Why don't you give me money?"
Janet was abandoned by Simon and pretended to be angry and took a picture of him with a magazine before saying: "Two years ago, the county government wanted to build a sewage pipe extending from Santa Monica, but it was rejected by the city. , and many other things have been blocked. It’s strange that the residents here are so disobedient and are willing to pay.”
"In this case, let's donate more and build a better school. Our little ones will have to go to school here in the future."
"One million dollars is already a lot. Besides, our little guy won't go to school here. He will definitely go to the best private school."
"Okay," Simon nodded with a smile and said, "Mom decides about school."
Janet giggled, and was about to turn off the light when she saw Simon, and added: "One more thing, the shell company Bingshan helped us set up has recently negotiated for another building, and all property rights including the land are added to the $30 million together.”
With that said, Janet came over and opened the bedside table drawer, took out a document, opened it, found a flat map on it and showed it to Simon.
To replicate Avengers Tower in Manhattan, Simon would need to buy six buildings east of Madison Avenue between 59th and 60th Streets.
That became much easier after the housing bubble burst last year with the stock market crash. The selected land was not of the 'center of the universe' level next to Fifth Avenue. The shell company established by Janet's aunt had already purchased two buildings for US$20 million and US$35 million respectively. Including the current building, Simon has obtained half of the land he needs.
Simon looked at the information on the other three buildings marked on the map, including a 16-story apartment building. This is the tallest building among the six buildings, and is obviously the hardest nut to crack: "I want to continue next. Isn’t it a bit difficult to acquire?”
Janet also reached out and clicked on the apartment building, and said: "It is difficult to persuade the residents in this building to sell their houses together. There are two options. For those residents who are unwilling to sell their houses, one is We buy equivalent apartments nearby and let them move there, or replace them with properties in our future building.”
Simon said: "Choose the first option if possible. It is not convenient to reveal our building plans right now."
"I think so too," Janet nodded and said, "But Simon, you have to pay attention to your financial situation recently."
The original two buildings have cost 55 million US dollars, and including the next 30 million US dollars that need to be spent, this is already 85 million US dollars.
The US$300 million that Simon had previously cashed out from selling Motorola shares was running low after several months of spending. Moreover, James Raybould has been investing in new technology companies according to Simon's instructions, and now there is little left. The money is no longer enough to pay for the next $30 million to buy a house.
"Death" and "When Harry Met Sally" have successively generated revenue, and the financial situation of Daenerys Pictures has been eased. But if Simon were to find a location for the company, it would certainly be a significant investment.
Everywhere costs money.
Moreover, because of the public commitment in the process of reducing Motorola stock, Simon will need next year to continue to cash out funds from the stock market.
"Raybould will come over from New York tomorrow, I'll talk to him first," Simon said after thinking for a moment: "Besides, compared to the assets in my name, my current personal debt ratio is still very low, and the bank will definitely be very happy to do so." Lend me money?"
Janet said: "Of course, but you actually don't like borrowing money at all, right?"
"Yes," Simon nodded and said, "Speaking of which, where did you hide those IOUs I wrote back then? I should be able to get them back now, right?"
"I don't plan to give it to you anymore. I want you to owe me my whole life."
"Too cruel."
"uh-huh."
The next day, James Raybould came to Los Angeles and brought Simon the news that he still needed to spend money.
Fortunately, this is all good news that Simon likes to hear.
“The valuation of Cisco’s new round of financing was finally confirmed to be US$120 million. We invested US$18 million to obtain 15% of the company’s shares. In addition, Quantum-Link, this small company recently wanted to break away from Apple. The cooperation operates independently. After negotiation, we invested US$5 million to obtain 25% of the shares of this company. At the same time, I got the priority for Quantum-Link’s next round of financing. Next is... "
James Raybould has recently negotiated equity investments in five companies.
However, Simon actually only cares about two of them.
Needless to say, Cisco, a super giant whose market value once exceeded US$600 billion during the new technology wave in the late 1990s, has already been targeted by Simon.
US$18 million is used to acquire 15% of Cisco's shares. Even if it will be diluted in many years to come, even if only 10% is left, at the top of Cisco's stock price, the value of this share will reach US$60 billion, with a return rate of more than Three thousand times.
What's more, Simon will naturally not be satisfied with the current shareholding ratio, and will definitely continue to increase his holdings in the future.
It took Simon a careful search to find the other Quantum-Link.
The Chinese transliteration of Quantum is 'Quantum', and the original English meaning is 'quantum', so many technology companies like to use the word Quantum. As for Quantum-Link, the company is still unknown now, but its later name became a household name, America Online (AOL).
What Simon remembers most vividly is the collapse that followed the merger of AOL and Time Warner around the turn of the new millennium.
At its peak, the combined market value of AOL-Time Warner exceeded US$300 billion. However, just a few years later, with the bursting of the Internet bubble, AOL's market value fell by more than 90%, and Time Warner was also severely damaged.
However, before the dot-com bubble burst, AOL was definitely a company worth investing in. What's more, acquiring 25% of AOL's shares for US$5 million, considering AOL's market value of more than US$160 billion at its peak, is a complete bargain.
After taking the equity of these two companies, even if the investment in the other three companies is completely lost, it is completely worth it.
"As for the Qualcomm company in San Diego, they currently have no financing plan, but the other party also said that if there is such intention, they will contact us. Simon, the total amount of these five investments is US$65 million, but Westeros There is only US$28.55 million left on the company's books now. If you are sure there is no problem, we may need to take out a loan."
In order to cash out Motorola's more than 300 million U.S. dollars, in addition to part of the reserved tax, Simon spent more than half of it to increase his holdings in companies such as Microsoft, and spent a large amount to buy the copyrights of "The Lord of the Rings" and other series, as well as the two buildings in Manhattan. building expenses.
Now there are 28.55 million left, which is already a lot.
After doing some mental calculations, Simon remembered the Gulfstream IV business jet he had ordered previously. The bare metal price was US$16 million. Including decoration costs, it would cost about US$18 million.
At first, Simon only paid part of the deposit, and the plane would be delivered next month, which would allow Simon to fly to Europe to attend the Cannes Film Festival in France. But Simon also needs to pay the remaining balance, which is another expense.
The budget for the Manhattan building, the investment budget for five technology companies, and the budget for private jets, these three items alone require about 100 million US dollars.
There is no way Simon is selling his stake in the Westeros companies. Because of the nature of the Westeros company, it is also very difficult to issue bonds publicly. So a loan was basically Simon's only option.
Although he doesn't like borrowing money in his heart, Simon also knows that borrowing money is a must if he wants his business to expand rapidly.
Moreover, compared to Simon's current net worth, which is just a loan from Daenerys Pictures, his personal debt ratio is less than 10%, which is definitely very low among the rich, and banks are definitely willing to lend him money. .
After careful discussion with James Raybould, Simon made the decision to continue the loan of $100 million.
After dealing with personal financial issues, April is coming to an end unknowingly.
After two weeks of continuous release, the North American box office of "When Harry Met Sally" exceeded US$70 million, which was already the top ten in the North American box office rankings last year. Although the single-week box office dropped below 8 million US dollars, as the movie continues to be released, there is no suspense that the local box office of "When Harry Met Sally" will exceed 100 million US dollars.
The selection of male protagonists in "Batman" has been ongoing, and this matter has inevitably become the focus of heated discussions in the media. The five-film contract and the fifteen-year contract period have made many people think that Simon Westeros has already crazy. The contract was also called 'Hollywood's slavery contract' by one newspaper.
No matter what the outside world says, Daenerys Pictures has no intention of giving in and is still advancing its plans step by step.
While taking care of the casting of "Batman", Simon is also arranging to move the two special effects software companies to Los Angeles.
Wavefront-Technologies in San Francisco is relatively easy to handle. Americans don't have the habit of relocating. Hollywood movies and TV shows are rife with plots triggered by relocation.
Simon selected an office building in Santa Monica, and most of the employees quickly moved there. Alias-Research in Toronto has some troubles because it is a Canadian company and involves overseas labor issues, but it will basically be resolved within the next month or two.
Things on set.
Simon could see that Amy was obviously looking forward to him buying the MGM studio in Culver City, because in the past, when Simon wanted to spend a lot of money to invest in some projects, Amy would always persuade him, but not this time.
But after careful consideration, Simon decided to postpone the matter.
He really didn't have much feeling for the MGM set. Even compared to Fox's Century City studio, Paramount's Hollywood studio and Universal and Warner's studios in Burbank, the MGM studio in Culver City is just a piece of real estate, with not much value-added potential.
Moreover, Simon is also looking forward to establishing a brand new shooting base.
So busy, in May, the Gulfstream IV business jet purchased by Simon was successfully delivered, and the Cannes Film Festival also arrived.