Bill Gates felt that today's meeting with Simon was a complete mistake.
If it weren't for this young man's sudden emergence, he felt that he should be the richest man in the Federation now. It's a pity that his wealth of US$10.5 billion on this year's Forbes list can only be compared with the US$120 billion of the young people in front of him.
The feeling the two got together now reminded Gates of his contact with Jobs in the early days of Microsoft's development.
At that time, Jobs was already a rising business star with a net worth of over 100 million, and Microsoft was still just an office software supplier to Apple. Due to various differences between Apple and Microsoft, he and Jobs had quarrels more than once.
Or, to be more precise, he was being scolded by Jobs.
Now Steve Jobs has long lost his former glory, and the rise of Microsoft is unstoppable.
However, Gates found that a guy even more disgusting than Jobs had appeared above him.
This young man doesn't yell like Jobs once did, and he doesn't even bother to show a trace of emotion in the face of his anger. For Gates, this was an even more serious slight.
It seemed that the other person was standing on another level entirely, looking down at all living beings.
This may be true, but Bill Gates is unwilling to admit it anyway.
This meeting ended on bad terms.
Regarding the two matters of Linux and IE, the conditions given by Simon were basically the plans that the other party had already decided on. This meeting did not give him any room for change.
Bill Gates already had some concerns when he left.
After all, IE has to run on the Windows platform, so it’s actually not difficult to figure it out.
Simon doesn't care what his classmates think. His current attitude is to watch with a cold eye. The specific game is run by the executives of his companies.
This is actually like raising gu.
No matter which side wins in the end, the Westeros system will have a large share of interests in it.
Moreover, Simon can probably think of some tricks that Gates will play. However, if push comes to shove, the Yigrit team may really launch a free Linux desktop operating system.
The rise of Windows has been advanced due to the rise of the Internet wave, but there is still a certain gap between it and complete monopoly.
Now launching a free Linux desktop operating system does not mean that there is no opportunity to redefine the operating system market structure. In the past, Android was a latecomer after Apple's iOS was launched. The key operating system software ecological issue is that Microsoft at this stage also does not have an absolute advantage. Yigret happens to have the corresponding strength to coordinate the development of various software manufacturers for Linux. software.
Of course, doing so is definitely a lose-lose strategy.
The Yigrit team would not do this unless absolutely necessary.
It severely damaged Microsoft, and Simon, the second largest shareholder, also suffered serious losses.
Returning to Los Angeles on Monday, the biggest news was that Canada's Seagram Group officially announced its acquisition of Paramount Communications.
Prior to this, the two companies had been negotiating in secret for more than three months.
In fact, it is no longer a secret.
In recent months, rumors about Seagram Group’s upcoming acquisition of Paramount Communications have continued to appear in the newspapers. Paramount Communications’ stock price has increased by more than 25% since the end of May, and its market value recently reached US$5.9 billion.
Now that the news is public, the two parties have basically reached an agreement.
Seagram Group will acquire Paramount Communications for $66 per share, with a total value of approximately $8 billion, all cash. At the same time, Seagram Group will also assume US$1.2 billion in debt from Paramount Communications, bringing the total transaction value to US$9.2 billion.
On the day the news was announced, Paramount's stock price rose another 11%.
In the next period of time, as long as no other bidders emerge, the deal will be officially concluded after a vote of Paramount's board of directors and approval by federal authorities.
In the eyes of many, the likelihood of a bidder emerging is already low.
Compared with the initial negotiation, Seagram Group's offer of US$66 per share is already equivalent to a 70% premium. The most critical point is that this transaction is completely cash payment, such as Barry Diller's QVC or Sam Redstone Viacom, even if it intends to acquire Paramount, simply cannot offer such a price.
With the announcement of the news, the hot topic of discussion in the federal media once again focused on the issue of whether the media industry should be deregulated as soon as possible.
Because of the ban on public television networks from merging with large content producers, in recent years, the three old federal television networks, which are strong enough to integrate with major Hollywood studios, have not been able to participate in the acquisition of Hollywood studios. This has led to the collapse of Columbia and MGM has fallen into the hands of foreign investors, and Universal Pictures was almost acquired by Panasonic.
Now, another established Hollywood studio, Paramount Communications, will also become a subsidiary of overseas capital.
The New York Times believes that similar acquisitions have threatened the cultural industry in the United States, and the federal government should ban Seagram from acquiring Paramount.
Such appeals are actually very difficult to achieve.
Now that Sony can complete the acquisition of Columbia Pictures and Australian capital has acquired MGM, according to existing laws, the federal government has no reason to prevent Seagram Group from merging with Paramount Communications.
Unless media controls are immediately deregulated and the three powerful public television network groups are allowed to join the acquisition.
Various media giants have been lobbying to lift the ban on industry regulations, and this matter has become a consensus among high-level federal officials. However, repealing the original bill will not happen overnight.
At least this time, Seagram Group's acquisition of Paramount Communications is inevitable.
Dume Point Estate.
The time is Wednesday, September 29th.
Simon was invited by Paramount Pictures President Robert Rehm to attend a cocktail party at his home in Beverly Hills tonight, and left early at around nine o'clock in the evening.
Back home, Janet had not rested yet and was discussing something with Girl A in a living room of the villa.
Simon sat down next to Janet and asked about the little guy. Janet said that the child was already asleep and that Lady B was taking care of it herself, so he looked curiously at the document in the woman's hand.
Janet handed the folder to Simon directly and said, "Here's the list we just compiled. What do you think?"
Simon took the folder. There was a thick stack of resume information on it. He flipped through it casually. They were all college girls aged 18 to 22. They were from North America, Australia and Europe, and they were all top celebrities from all over the world. Campus student.
ABCD, the most convenient person around her, is gradually leaving her position, and Janet has recently begun to look for a new batch of personal maid candidates.
Simon originally thought that there was no need to look for girls who were too smart. However, judging from the fact that there were always 'accidents' among the girls brought out by the housekeeper Alice, smarter girls were more reliable. Smart people often know what to do and what not to do. What to do.
Looking through it casually, Simon said: "I think we can choose younger ones to train from scratch. These are a bit old."
Janet moved and leaned next to Simon to read the resume on the document together: "I also know that it is better to train her from a young age. However, how do you plan to find a little girl? You can't just buy it directly, right? It's easy to get into trouble."
Simon raised his arms and put his arms around Janet, making her lean more comfortably. He flipped through the documents on his lap with one hand, thought about it, and said, "This is easy. Choose from Latin America or Eastern Europe."
Janet was still a little confused: "Huh?"
Simon said: "You know, in Latin America and Eastern Europe, there are model scouts everywhere who select girls with excellent conditions and provide them to major agencies. We only need to select the ones we want from this channel."
Janet's head touched Simon's shoulder: "Is this what you want?"
Simon smiled and said: "Yeah, you don't need it."
Janet pretended to be dissatisfied and hummed a few times, and said to Girl A who had been sitting quietly next to her: "A, well, let B do this. It can be regarded as her last job before leaving."
Alison nodded to take note.
Janet turned around again, gestured to the folders on Simon's lap, and said, "What about these?"
"Pick a few and try to cultivate them."
Simon said, and continued to flip through a few pages, when his attention was suddenly attracted by a piece of information.
This is a girl named Marissa Mayer who just entered the computer science department of Stanford University this year. I took another look at the photo in the upper right corner of my resume. Yes, it was the Marissa Mayer I remembered.
Now that the information can be delivered to Simon and his wife, the work intention has been negotiated in advance.
Simon had no idea that the famous Silicon Valley female executive he remembered would want the job.
However, in this case, Simon was not polite and directly pulled out Mayer's information and said: "This is good."
Simon didn't hide his preference in front of Janet, and Janet didn't care. He took the information and looked at it curiously, and said: "She's only a freshman, but giving her two years is enough. In fact, she can't get it." It doesn’t matter if I get a degree from Stanford.”
Simon nodded and continued to look through, but couldn't find any other familiar names, so he discussed with Janet and selected seven from a total of more than sixty resumes. Counting Marissa Mayer, they picked two again. After targeted training, half of the group of four may be filtered out in the future, leaving four.
This is how A, B, C, and D were originally selected.
In addition to the already dispersed ABCD, the current maid team of the Westeros family also includes the Indian girl Aaliyah and Zoe Parks and Isabel Dunn from the housekeeper Alice's team. These are the most personal ones. Several maids. In addition, there are some girls in North America and Europe who are responsible for managing many properties under Simon's name, and these girls will basically not appear around the Simons.
According to the frequency of ABCD's departure, when these girls retire, Marissa Mayer and others will be enough to take over the former's position.
After that, it’s probably girls from Latin America and Eastern Europe.
In fact, there is also a little fairy hidden in Stanford, Simon's third Jenny, Jennifer Bray. However, little Jenny is positioned as another female assistant of Simon, and she has to wait for another two years.
After discussing this matter, they sent Girl A to rest. The couple took a look at the sleeping little guy before going upstairs to rest.
The next morning I was hugged by Janet and refused to leave, and I didn't get up until after eight o'clock.
Instead, the little guy had woken up early and was playing in the manor accompanied by Girl B. He looked very independent.
The family of three had breakfast together. Simon accompanied Janet to the Westeros Family Hospital for a routine pregnancy check-up. They also attended a maternity class and returned to Dume Point Manor for lunch at noon.
The two Jenny's pregnancy schedules are actually so simple and boring. After all, it is not a real vacation. With a baby in the belly, many things cannot be done at all. The female assistant is even more restricted and cannot even appear in public.
After lunch, Janet and the little guy went to take a nap, but Simon was not sleepy.
Taking advantage of the warm sunshine in the afternoon, I went to the villa's open-air swimming pool by the sea and swam for a while. After leaving the pool, Girl B handed over the towel. Simon wiped it briefly, walked to the lounge chair by the pool and sat down, taking it with him. He picked up the juice on the table next to him, motioned for Girl B to come over, and asked, "How are you preparing your financial information platform?"
Girl B sat down on the recliner to the left of Simon. She subconsciously looked at her boss's strong and muscular body. She narrowed her eyes and said, "The software development team has been formed. Goldman Sachs, Morgan and other... Cersei Capital has agreed to cooperate, and Yahoo Finance has also agreed to provide us with news content. I have recently been in contact with some traditional financial media to negotiate cooperation."
Simon smiled and said, "Is this going to be troublesome?"
Girl B nodded.
The 58list website launched by Igret has just offended traditional print media. It will definitely not be easy to reach an agreement with established financial media such as Thomson Company, Reuters, "Wall Street Journal" and "Business Week". What's more, these companies themselves also have their own partners and interests in financial information.
"Let's do it step by step," Simon continued: "Actually, your idea of 'bad money drives out good money' is very good. It doesn't mean that we want to provide inferior services, but that we understand the gap between ourselves and the established financial information platforms. This is very important. Many people fail because they don’t understand their position.”
Girl B wants to create a financial information company similar to Bloomberg. This is a very promising idea.
In the next two decades, the financial industry in the United States will become more developed, and the demand for professional financial information will also increase significantly.
Take Bloomberg as an example. Currently, the total global sales of Bloomberg terminals are only about 15,000 units, with annual revenue of around US$200 million.
In Simon's memory, the annual sales volume of Bloomberg's Bloomberg terminal at its peak reached 300,000 units, which is 20 times the current market size. Michael Bloomberg gained a net worth of more than 50 billion US dollars just relying on Bloomberg. , so it can be seen that the professional financial information platform has great potential.
Relying on the resources of the Westeros system, even if B Girl's financial information platform cannot completely defeat Bloomberg, as long as it can gain a firm foothold in this industry and share a certain market share, the future scale of the company will definitely reach tens of billions of dollars. .
Bloomberg was founded in 1981 and has accumulated ten years of experience. If Lady B’s company wants to catch up with this company, it will definitely not be achieved overnight.
So Betsy devised a plan codenamed 'Bad Money Drives Out Good Coin'.
Specifically, a primary financial information platform will be created first, and the customer positioning will also be aimed at a wider range of entry-level users. Then it gradually catches up with the Bloomberg terminal and improves it. At the same time, it uses the low price advantage to gradually encroach on the market share of Bloomberg terminal and other existing stock market equipment, and finally achieves the effect of 'bad money drives out good money'. Moreover, after continuous accumulation, the company itself will evolve from a 'bad currency' to a 'good currency'.
The new wave of technology will trigger a wave of comprehensive stock speculation in the next few years.
By then, not only professional users on Wall Street, but also many ordinary people will have demand for financial information platforms, and the high price of Bloomberg terminals is not something that just anyone can afford. This also gives the company created by Girl B the most Good development opportunities.
With this in mind, Simon asked, "By the way, have you decided on a company name yet?"
Girl B nodded and said, "Alphabeta."
Simon was stunned for a moment, as if he had heard this name somewhere.
Um.
Google parent company!
"How come you have such a name?"
"This is a company between A and I. Ellie gave me a lot of advice during the project planning stage. Her $10 million Vase Fund also plans to invest in it, and she will continue to help me with ideas privately."
A, B, Alphabeta, that’s right.
After thinking for a moment, Simon asked: "How to spell it specifically?"
Girl B spelled it out quickly.
Only then did Simon realize that there was a difference between the two names.
The name of Google's parent company is Alphabet, with a missing letter 'a' at the end, but the company of girls A and B is Alphabeta, a very complete spelling.
Confirming that this was just a small coincidence, Simon nodded and smiled: "It's a very good name."