Until a few days before the new issue of the magazine was finalized, Malcolm Forbes, the second-generation head of Forbes magazine, was still discussing the new year's list of the 400 richest Americans with the editorial team.
Compared with previous years, one obvious difference on this year's local list is the exit of Sam Walton.
Due to the continued deterioration of his physical condition, Sam Walton has officially transferred the shares in his name to the family trust and the names of several children at the beginning of this year.
If Sam Walton had not transferred his shares, the retail tycoon's assets of more than US$8 billion would definitely remain at the top of the list in the United States. Now, although the Walton family will be counted as a whole in the "Forbes" global list released next month, the position of the richest man in the local list has become an issue that many people are paying close attention to.
During this period of time, Malcolm Forbes has received countless calls inquiring about this matter. Many wealthy people appear to be indifferent on the surface, but in their hearts they are very concerned about their wealth ranking. As the world's most authoritative wealth list, "Forbes" magazine is very cautious in determining the data of its own lists.
After careful investigation and multiple evidence collection and extensive discussions among the editorial team, the new list has finally been finalized. Malcolm Forbes also understands that this year’s list is destined to cause controversy.
Saturday, September 9th.
With the release of the new issue of "Forbes" magazine, early in the morning, the phone at Malcolm Forbes' home in the wealthy area of Fashills, a western suburb of New York, kept ringing. The first words many people said were, ' Mal, are you kidding us? '
The Forbes list is certainly not a joke.
However, the name of a certain young man who topped the list this time made too many people feel a little dazzled.
Beverly Hills.
In the villa of Trousdale Manor, just after five o'clock on the west coast, Simon began to receive calls from all parties, congratulating him on winning the top spot on this year's rich list, even Sofia from France and Janet from Australia. Everyone called.
I arranged to work overtime on the weekend, intending to complete the post-production of "Batman" in one go. However, the chaotic morning is doomed to make it difficult to work peacefully this weekend.
After breakfast, as soon as Simon left home in his car, some media reporters who were already squatting outside followed him and followed him until Simon's car entered Warner Bros. Studios. As soon as he arrived at the post-production center of Warner Studios, Terry Semel appeared in front of Simon. He also congratulated him and asked Simon if he was free to have dinner with him at noon.
There was nothing serious to do, and Simon was too lazy to have dinner with a grown man, so he naturally refused.
After some small talk, Terry Semel left, and Simon's driver handed him a copy of Forbes magazine before he entered the Bat-Lord studio at the Post Center.
Simon ordered the staff who looked at him with more strange eyes to prepare for today's work. He sat down on the office chair in the studio and opened the magazine in his hand. He was not interested in the long rankings, he just looked at the top ten that the magazine listed that took up a whole page.
No. 1: Simon Westeros, $6 billion, 21 years old.
Second place: John Krueger, $5.2 billion, 76 years old.
Third place: Warren Buffett, $4.2 billion, 59 years old.
Fourth place: Summer Redstone, $2.88 billion, 66 years old.
Fifth place: Ted Arison, $2.8 billion, 65 years old.
No. 6: Donald Newhouse, $2.7 billion, 60 years old.
No. 7: Samuel Newhouse, $2.7 billion, 61 years old.
No. 8: Anne-Cox Chambers, $2.55 billion, 69 years old.
Ninth place: Barbara-Cox Anthony, $25.50, 66 years old.
No. 10: Ross Perot, $2.4 billion, 59 years old.
A young man suddenly appeared in front of a group of top rich people with an average age of over 60 years old. He looked really blinking.
It would be hypocritical to say that we are unhappy about achieving such an initiative in just three years.
However, Simon did not continue to read more information, but quickly devoted himself to the day's work. US$6 billion is indeed not much different from Simon’s current net worth, but it is still far from Simon’s expected goal. At least, on the list of the world's richest people, it is estimated that it will still be difficult for him to enter the top ten this year. His goal is not just to enter the top ten in the global list, or even to get the first place.
He has never forgotten the somewhat frivolous words he and Janet had on the outskirts of Phoenix on his 19th birthday.
Since reviving his life, just doing his best doesn't meet Simon's expectations. He hopes to reach a height that everyone can look up to.
Simon started his day's work calmly, but the media in North America and around the world were abuzz with the news that he topped the 400 richest people in the United States.
The first one always gets the most attention.
Just like the Forbes rich list for many years, the whole world knows that Bill Gates has long occupied the first place, but if asked who is second or third, most people cannot blurt it out.
As Simon reached the summit, the first reaction from the major media was almost one-sided skepticism.
Simon Westeros is very rich. This is a concept that has been established in most people's minds. However, the 21-year-old has become the richest man in the United States in just three years without inheritance, with a personal net worth of US$6 billion. ,How can this be
However, compared to last year, the data provided by Forbes this year are more detailed. Even some assets that Simon thought he had hidden well were revealed by Forbes.
Among the personal assets under Simon's name, the most obvious ones are still those technology stocks.
After the large-scale reduction of holdings in the first half of the year, although among the remaining 19 technology stocks, there are stocks such as AMD that have brought losses to Simon, but the stocks of Microsoft and Intel, which are heavily held by Westeros Company, have been declining in the past six months. All are continuing to rise.
Compared with the statistics after the reduction of holdings at the beginning of the year, the overall value of the technology stocks held by Westeros Company increased by 13% in half a year, with a total value of US$1.77 billion.
The second asset is Cersei Capital.
In recent months, the Japanese have released more news intentionally or unintentionally, and the operating conditions of Cersei Capital have gradually become known to more people.
According to Cersei Capital's net worth of more than $3 billion, "Forbes" determines that Simon holds at least one-third of it, which is another $1 billion.
The third asset is a large number of properties in Simon's name.
This is what surprised Simon.
"Forbes" magazine discovered the buildings and corresponding land that Simon bought east of Madison Avenue in Manhattan. At the same time, the real estate investments in Europe were also counted, including Simon's large number of properties in cities such as Los Angeles and New York. Luxury homes, "Forbes" estimates that the total value of Simon's properties is $400 million.
The fourth asset is a collection of unlisted companies in which the Westeros Corporation holds shares.
Cisco, AOL and even Igret, which was founded only a few months ago, are all included, as is Gucci, a luxury goods company.
Cisco has begun to stand out recently, and Gucci's recovery in the past six months is obvious to all.
"Forbes" assessed the value of these unlisted companies at US$300 million.
The total value of these four assets is close to US$3.5 billion.
Next, the fifth asset, naturally the most important one, is Daenerys Entertainment. '
"Forbes" magazine specifically lists the assets currently owned by Daenerys Entertainment:
The three film labels Daenerys, The New World and The High Gate, which have a large number of blockbuster films;
Daenerys Television, which owns several lucrative reality shows;
Marvel Entertainment;
30% stake in BesTV, which owns more than 750 video rental and sales chain stores;
Pixar Animation Studios;
Daenerys Special Effects Company;
Blizzard Studios;
The Daenerys Studios in Malibu and the New York headquarters building are under construction;
a toy factory in Rhode Island;
Then, there is the comparison with the list of assets of Columbia Pictures, which Sony has just completed its acquisition.
Sony paid a total price of US$5 billion and acquired only Columbia Pictures' two major labels, Columbia and Samsung, a film and television library including more than 4,000 film and television copyrights, a Loews theater chain with 820 screens, and five local television stations.
The two major labels of Columbia and Samsung are obviously far inferior to the three labels of Daenerys, New World and High Gate under the dynamic Daenerys Entertainment.
The copyright of more than 4,000 film and television works may be Columbia Pictures' greatest advantage, but the income that these more than 4,000 film and television works bring to Columbia Pictures through annual video tapes, TV broadcasts and other home entertainment operations may not be as much as Danielle's. Revenue from one or two blockbuster movies under Silk Entertainment.
This asset is more about potential secondary development copyright value and a long-term foundation.
Although the Loews theater chain is wholly owned by Columbia, its 820 screens are nothing compared to the total number of more than 23,000 screens in North America. In comparison, Blockbuster has rapidly expanded its market share to 10% in the past six months.
As for local TV stations, in an industry merger and acquisition in March this year, Ron Perelman, who was ambitious to enter the media field, bought 12 local TV stations for only US$100 million, including the liabilities of these TV stations. , the total transaction value does not exceed US$200 million.
The national television networks of North American mainstream television networks are actually mainly built on these television stations. Each of the three old television networks ABC, NBC and CBS has more than 200 franchised television stations.
It is not difficult to see that the value of the TV stations in Colombia’s hands is definitely not too high.
In addition, Daenerys Entertainment has started building Daenerys Studios, but Columbia Pictures doesn't even have its own studio. If Sony wants to revive the operation of this old film company, it must continue to spend money to purchase movie studios.
In comparison, Sonic paid a price of US$5 billion for such a film company. The value of Daenerys Entertainment, which is still in a state of rapid expansion and full of vitality, will naturally not be too low, and may even exceed that of Columbia Pictures.
Considering that Sony paid almost double the premium to acquire Columbia Pictures, Forbes magazine valued Daenerys Entertainment at no less than $3 billion.
Finally, after repaying some of its maturing debt in the first half of the year, the amount of debt under Simon's name has dropped to less than US$800 million.
Based on the above data, "Forbes" magazine rounded up and gave Simon Westeros' personal net worth as $6 billion.
The statistics made by Forbes magazine are well-founded, but the controversy in the media has not diminished at all. In addition to a group of publicly held technology stocks in Westeros that are easy to count, Forbes magazine's assessment of the value of several other Simon assets has become the focus of media discussion.
In the following days, various media discussions and newspaper articles about the "Forbes" magazine wealth list flooded in, filling countless TV screens and newspaper pages of various categories. Simon's attention was already very high, and now it was even more is to become a man of the hour again in North America, and some media have begun to predict whether Simon Westeros will be on the list of this year's "Time" magazine's Person of the Year.
"Is Daenerys Entertainment really worth $3 billion?"
“What is Simon Westeros going to do when he buys the Manhattan lot?”
"Is Daenerys Entertainment only worth $3 billion?"
"Media mogul John Krueger accuses Forbes of inflating personal net worth figures in Westeros to gain attention."
“The Secret of Cersei’s Capital Benefit Distribution Revealed.”
“Former Motorola chairman Robert Galvin: Selling Motorola stock was Simon Westeros’ biggest mistake.”
“Analysis of the Technology Stock Investment Landscape of Westeros Corporation.”
"The Australian Qintex Group issued an acquisition invitation to MGM, offering a price of US$1 billion."
“Best time to buy the dip: Westeros bullish on global real estate market.”
"Chicago police uncovered a 'psychic study class' fraud case with weekly tuition of US$10,000 and the suspect's illegal profit of more than 2 million."
“…”
“…”
The world has never lacked followers who blindly follow the herd.
No matter how many media platforms discuss and argue, no matter what discussions and events occur around Simon's personal net worth, it is an established fact that Simon Westeros has taken the top spot on the list of the richest people in the United States with a personal net worth of US$6 billion.
As the discussion about Simon's personal net worth continues to spread, a large number of investors have poured into the technology stock sector of the North American stock market and the Japanese stock market, which continues to rise, in a short period of time.
As the foundation of Simon's fortune, Hollywood has once again become the object of close attention by capital.
After the 1987 stock market crash, Hollywood has indeed gone through a period of difficulty. Mainstream second-tier companies such as De Laurentiis Entertainment and Canon Pictures have experienced failures. However, with the exposure of the new year's "Forbes" rich list, because of Simon's A large number of capitals with fantasies about the film and television industry are starting to make moves again.