As the number of guests gradually increased, the hall of the Hurst house became more and more lively.
The four women were chatting enthusiastically about some recent fashion topics, and Eric listened with great interest, occasionally interjecting a few words. After a while, Irene Lauder turned her attention to Eric again, and said with a smile: "Eric, will it be boring to listen to us women talking about these topics?"
"No, I am very interested in all things that I am not familiar with, which can bring a lot of inspiration."
Irene Lauder thought Eric was being polite: "Really?"
"Of course it's true," it was Cindy who answered this time, and the girl glanced at Eric before continuing to say to Irene Lauder: "Otherwise, you think so many of his ideas about movies come from Where did it come from. Erin, maybe one day, you will suddenly find that what you said tonight appears in a certain movie."
Only then did Irene Lauder believe it, and joked: "Oh, then I have to be careful when I speak."
Delphine Arnault also said at this time: "Eric, since this is the case, do you have any inspiration now?"
Eric did often trigger memories in his mind because of some things, but he didn't expect Cindy to notice this keenly, and many people around him thought so too.
However, it couldn't be better.
Thinking of this, Eric shook his head and said with a smile: "I don't have any inspiration now. You know, men's thinking is relatively slow in front of beautiful women, let alone four beautiful women."
Just talking and laughing, William Hearst III walked over with a guest, but it was Warren Buffett.
Eric now has a headache when he sees Buffett, and the old man will call to inquire about the Clover Fund every three days or so.
"Eric, although everyone knows that you are very popular with ladies, you can't completely ignore us old men, right?" William Hearst III jokingly approached Eric, and gestured to his side He paused and said, "Warren happens to be in New York too, so I don't think I need to introduce him."
"Of course," Eric nodded, and said, "However, William, you are not an old man at all."
Although he didn't pay special attention to William Hearst III's age, just looking at his appearance, the other party would definitely not be over fifty years old, and he was in the prime of life.
William Hearst III smiled heartily, patted Eric on the shoulder affectionately twice, and said, "Then, you and Warren talk first."
The few women who also stood up as William Hearst III came over heard this and knew that Buffett and Eric had business to talk about, so they all walked away politely.
Warren Buffett has also been plagued by a sense of loss of control lately.
Buffett, who is very sensitive to numbers and has an amazing memory, has kept that series of data firmly in his mind since he looked at the technology stock portfolio of Clover Fund last year.
As the technology stock market continues to explode, Buffett, who can easily calculate the total value of technology stocks held by the Clover Fund, is becoming more and more frightened. You know, according to his conservative personality, when the Nasdaq index is close to 3,000 points, he will definitely liquidate all these technology stocks that have achieved far-beyond-expected returns, and then sit back and watch the situation.
Now, although Berkshire Hathaway only holds 5% of the shares of Firefly Group, the total value of the technology stocks of the Clover Fund is too huge. Every time I think of myself waking up, Berkshire Hathaway The dividend of more than US$1 billion that Wei may have received will be wiped out, and Buffett is a little restless.
What made him even more helpless was that during this period of time, Eric became more and more unwilling to reveal any words about the Clover Fund to him.
Instead of following Eric's invitation to sit down at the table and chair just now, Buffett pulled him towards the window, and carefully glanced around before whispering: "Eric, regarding the Clover Fund, I Now I just ask you a question, give me an answer, and I promise I will never ask you again, okay?"
Of course Eric knew what Buffett wanted to know. He shook his head and said, "Warren, if someone wants to know the trading hours of Berkshire Hathaway's holdings, will you tell them?"
The answer is obvious. Buffett has always been tight-lipped about any investment behavior of Berkshire Hathaway.
Under normal circumstances, it is basically a business that is finalized before the outside world gets the news. In order to prevent the target from taking advantage of Berkshire Hathaway's reputation for sale, Buffett often gives the target A very short one may only have an hour or two of consideration time, either agree or give up.
Eric's attitude was still firm, and Buffett was obviously not reconciled, saying: "Eric, there is only one point, tell me, have you started selling?"
"Warren, do you want me to lie to you?"
"Eric, I hope you know what you are doing. And, I still have to remind you again, don't be too greedy, you don't need to take risks now."
"Of course, but Warren, I'm still saying that if you really need the money, I can always buy back the shares of Firefly Group held by Berkshire Hathaway."
For a moment, Buffett really wanted to say yes.
However, this thought was only fleeting, and the old man shook his head again.
Berkshire Hathaway has never been a speculative investment company. Buffett's investment philosophy has always been to obtain income through long-term holding.
In the past two years, although the outside world generally believes that the development of Firefly Group has entered a bottleneck, Buffett clearly understands that even if not to mention the continuous appreciation of a series of high-quality assets under the Firefly Group and the stable and rich profitability, it is just that Firefly Group is The Firefly Studios Paradise Project, the '4200' Project, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe Project that have been promoted, as long as they can succeed, even if one or two of the three succeed, can bring the Firefly Group to another level.
What's more, he also learned that the Firefly Group is likely to further expand the cable TV operator business in the future. If this plan can be implemented, the size of the Firefly Group is likely to directly achieve a leapfrog development.
How could Berkshire Hathaway give up on such a thriving media company with an absolute advantage in Hollywood.
Eric and Buffett were facing each other in silence, and a hearty voice sounded: "Hey, Warren, I heard you're here, oh, and, Eric, I've been looking forward to meeting you."
The two turned around, and Buffett shook hands with the middle-aged man who came over, and introduced to Eric with a smile on his face, "Eric, this is Henry Paulson, CEO of Goldman Sachs. .”
Eric also smiled and stretched out his hand to the somewhat bald middle-aged man in front of him, and said, "Hello, Mr. Paulson."
Henry Paulson shook Eric a few times and said, "Eric, you can call me Henry."
Eric nodded, but he couldn't help collecting the information about Henry Paulson in his memory. The first thing he thought of was another Paulson, John Paulson who became famous in one fell swoop during the subprime mortgage crisis. On second thought, though, Henry Paulson appears to have been US Treasury Secretary at the same time as the subprime mortgage crisis.
After saying hello and exchanging greetings with Buffett, Henry Paulson turned to Eric and said, "Eric, Goldman Sachs is planning an IPO recently. Are you interested in investing?"
Eric shook his head without thinking too much: "I'm really sorry, Henry, I don't know much about this matter yet."
Eric also recently heard the news that Goldman Sachs is about to go public. This well-known Wall Street investment bank that has lasted for 130 years plans to log on to the New York Stock Exchange in May and officially become a listed company.
Undoubtedly, Wall Street and Hollywood are places where people can become famous overnight, and they are the best shortcuts to realize the American dream.
In the first few years of his rebirth, Eric still yearned for Wall Street because of the many memories he had.
But now, his attitude towards Wall Street is absolutely far away, because Wall Street is basically a group of vicious wolves who have no rules and no position in pursuit of interests at all costs. If you are not a strong enough tiger, then the cooperation just now Or, perhaps in the blink of an eye, it will become the meal of these wolves.
Speaking of it, participating in the IPO of Goldman Sachs is definitely a good deal, but doing so will undoubtedly cause unnecessary speculation on Wall Street, especially Morgan Stanley.
The Firefly system has always maintained a fairly good relationship with Morgan Stanley. Although the basic maintenance of this kind of relationship is still out of interest, Eric does not mind maintaining this good relationship as long as Morgan Stanley does not take the lead in doing anything out of line. After all, the Firefly system will become more and more prosperous in the future The more you focus on industry, the fewer times you use Wall Street.
"It's okay," Henry Paulson said with a smile on his face, "However, Eric, I still hope you can think about it carefully."
Eric nodded: "Of course."
"Also," Henry Paulson withdrew his smile slightly, stared at Eric with piercing eyes, but said in a casual tone: "Eric, I heard that Firefly Electronics has just implemented a Equity incentive plan?"
Eric was keenly aware of some subtle changes in Henry Paulson's mood, but he just nodded slightly calmly.
Realizing that the young man in front of him was not at all intimidated by the pressure he unknowingly released, Henry Paulson was a little disappointed, but he took it for granted, and continued: "Is that so, Eric, does Firefly Electronics have any intention to go public? "
"Not yet," Eric shook his head, and said, "Firefly Electronics is not short of funds yet."
"Eric, you have to know that most companies that go public don't actually lack funds, just like Goldman Sachs," Henry Paulson suddenly changed his tone like a joke, "Seriously, I don't I am very much in favor of Goldman Sachs going public, but if Goldman Sachs continues to insist on private ownership, my group of bastards who expect the value of their stocks to multiply will have to turn against the company. Sometimes, even if we don’t expect more wealth, we still You have to care about other people's feelings."
Eric listened to Henry Paulson's words and nodded calmly on the surface, but his heart suddenly trembled. After all, he is not like a stunned young man who is only twenty-eight years old on the surface. How could he not be able to feel such an obvious hint from Henry Paulson.
After all, there are still people who can't understand him as a "half-aged boy" holding a lot of gold.
A wealth of more than 300 billion U.S. dollars is too eye-catching after all.
Not to mention other companies in the Firefly system, but Firefly Electronics, from its establishment to the present, has achieved an annual profit of close to 1 billion US dollars in just a few years. How can this not make too many people envious.
After all, if it’s just the profit ranking, there are absolutely no more than 100 companies in North America with an annual profit of 1 billion. What’s more, with the market expansion speed of Firefly Electronics digital music players, the potential of this company is far from enough. Fully play out.
After Henry Paulson finished speaking, he continued to stare at Eric for a moment, then smiled and raised his glass to Buffett, who had a flash of surprise in his eyes, then turned and walked away.
When Henry Paulson walked away, Buffett hesitated for a moment, and then whispered: "Eric, actually, listing Firefly Electronics is also a good choice. You know, your company..." Speaking of which, Buffett After deliberating for a moment, he continued: "Your company still faces a great anti-monopoly risk."
There is obviously not much causal relationship between the company's listing and anti-monopoly risks.
When Buffett said this, the meaning of awakening was already very obvious.
Eric was also a little surprised that Buffett would take the initiative to remind himself, nodded with a smile, and said, "Thank you, Warren, I understand."
Buffett looked at Eric with a scrutiny expression, nodded slightly, and said: "In this case, let me meet some old friends. Eric, even if you don't like it, you should still attend more similar parties. For people like us, it is always beneficial to get to know more people."
Then, until the party was over and the two women returned to Cindy's apartment on Seventy-fifth Street, Eric was silent.
After sending the two women to rest first, Eric got into the study that Cindy carefully prepared for him alone.
After an unknown amount of time, someone knocked lightly on the door of the study room. Eric, who was wearing a headset and holding a mouse, looked up and saw Cindy in pajamas appearing at the door, smiling and nodding towards the woman.
Cindy walked in, glanced at the computer screen, only to find that Eric was playing a gun game.
"It's so sad, the two of us are not even as attractive as computer games now."
Complaining half-truthfully, Cindy leaned in affectionately and sat down on Eric's lap.
"Linda asleep?"
"Yeah, don't you notice the time?"
Eric glanced sideways at the time in the lower right corner of the computer screen and found that it was past two o'clock in the morning. He took off the earphones and threw them aside, put his arms around the woman, and lifted her body to face him.
The leather chair under her was very wide, but because of the blocking of the armrests, Cindy could barely lean on Eric in a slightly strange kneeling posture, with both hands supporting the man's shoulders, feeling a pair of big hands running along the man's shoulders. She slid down the sides of her waist, picked up the hem of the nightdress, and lifted it up, then raised her hand in coordination.
Letting the man aggressively invade her body, panting slightly, a moment later, Cindy put her arms around the man's neck and said softly, "Eric, what's on your mind?"
Eric paused, nodded slightly, and said, "Speaking of which, what happened to the Patty Hearst you mentioned at the party, tell me about it?"
"Are you still thinking about other people's little girl?" Cindy scolded dissatisfiedly, and knew that the man was changing the subject, but she still said softly, "That should have happened in 1974."