Hollywood celebrities and the Democratic Party are just like the folks on Weishan Lake to the railroad guerrillas. Hollywood as a whole has always been a strong vote bank for the Democratic Party, so Spielberg attaches great importance to Kerry's commission, and he also I especially hope that Li Mu can establish a good relationship with Kerry after meeting him and give Kerry enough help in the upcoming election next year. If Kerry can become the next president of the United States, it will be a great achievement for him. It's a great blessing.
In order to ensure that Kerry could meet with Li Mu before he left, Spielberg repeatedly set the time with Li Mu. Li Mu, who was eager to return to China, suddenly became the more powerful big shot. He thought twice and was unwilling to do anything for Kerry. Staying in the United States for one more day, he gave Spielberg his final reply: "Steven, if Mr. Kerry really wants to meet with me, then please ask him to meet with me here at five o'clock tomorrow afternoon, The meeting cannot last more than two hours, because my plane will take off back to China tomorrow night."
Spielberg tentatively suggested: "Can you postpone the departure time for a few hours? It would be great if we could have dinner together."
Li Mu shook his head and refused with an apologetic expression: "Sorry Steven, you know, I am very pressed for time. I have been in the United States for many days, and there are still many things waiting for me to deal with in the country. Besides, you know Yes, I am not interested in politics, and my attitude has always been to stay away from politics. If it were not for you, I would never agree to meet you this time."
Spielberg nodded lightly. Even if he didn't try to persuade him any more, he was very grateful that Li Mu was willing to meet with Kerry.
The reason why I am grateful is because Spielberg himself knows very well that for Li Mu, Kerry is more than just one level behind him. If we measure the two of them by their current strength, Li Mu will give 100%. Kerry couldn't even get ten points.
Generally speaking, the U.S. presidential campaign is not like an Olympic competition. The second-place finisher in the Olympics still has a silver medal and the reputation of being second in the world. But if you fail in the presidential election, then in the American political arena, it will basically be the same. It’s the same as leading a dog. In other words, the presidential election is a game of success and failure. The winner steps on the throne and the loser goes home to farm.
Take Trump as an example. After becoming the President of the United States, if he fails, he will still have his family business. Billions of dollars in assets are very rare in the history of U.S. presidential campaigns. If we compare him with Li Mu , unless he succeeds in the election, before he succeeds in the election, his assets are one-tenth of Li Mu's. In the future, he may not even have one percent of Li Mu's, which is naturally far different from Li Mu.
Spielberg is also very clear about Kerry's social influence. Although Kerry is the Democratic presidential candidate, the chance of winning the next election is not very high. After all, in most cases, presidents seeking re-election They all have advantages over their competitors, so now Kerry's influence is not big enough, and the power in his hands is not big enough. In front of multinational entrepreneurs like Li Mu, and even world-class millionaires, he is really nothing. Big shot.
On the contrary, in front of Kerry, people like Li Mu are big shots, real big shots. Li Mu has money, resources, and influence. For presidential candidates, these are the targets that must be fought for.
In fact, before running for office, many presidential candidates constantly solicit help from big figures like Li Mu and ask them to provide sufficient campaign funds and resources. For such political investments, candidates will also clearly promise political returns. , explain how you will repay the other party if you are elected. This itself is a well-known rule in American politics.
After Spielberg left the hotel where Li Mu was staying, the first thing he did was to call Kerry in his car.
The other party is currently in Washington, DC, anxiously waiting for his call back.
He knew that Spielberg had met with Li Mu more than two hours ago, and he also knew that Spielberg would mention his request for a meeting during this meeting with Li Mu. What he was most worried about now was that Li Mu was unwilling to follow Meeting by himself, because he had done his homework before, Li Mu didn't seem to be a person who liked to be close to politics.
Although most entrepreneurs like to get close to politics, and can get more benefits and conveniences in the process of getting close to politics, entrepreneurs like Li Mu who are not close to politics and have drawn a clear line from politics still have their unique advantages. .
Take American entrepreneurs as an example. After every presidential election, the value of American entrepreneurs has skyrocketed or plummeted. These are undoubtedly people who are close to politics. They have a strong gambler mentality, and they mostly exist in traditional and oligarchic countries. Industry, but for entrepreneurs who are not close to politics, no matter who is elected president, his business and his worth will not be affected.
More stable and more resistant to earthquakes, these are the benefits of not being close to politics.
The moment he answered Spielberg's call, Kerry couldn't help but asked anxiously: "Steven, has Li Mu agreed to meet?"
Spielberg said: "Li Mu agreed, and the time is set at five o'clock tomorrow afternoon, but he only has a maximum of two hours to meet with you. Is that enough time?"
"That's enough, that's enough!" Kerry said excitedly, "I'm going to make preparations right now, and I'll fly there tomorrow morning."
Spielberg said: "Okay Mr. Kerry, I'll wait for you in Hollywood."
"Thank you so much this time Steven!"
"It's my pleasure."
After hanging up the phone, Kerry immediately called his party whip and told him excitedly: "Mr. Andrew, Li Mu has agreed to meet with me, and I will fly to Los Angeles tomorrow morning!"
"Oh? Li Mu agreed? I'm glad to hear the news. How are you going to go to Los Angeles?"
Kerry said: "I will ask the secretary to book the flight tickets for tomorrow morning."
"Don't!" the other party warned on the phone: "This is a sensitive period before the election. The CIA is watching our every move. What the Bush administration cares most about is who we meet, talk to, and ask for help. , if you take civil aviation to Los Angeles, they will immediately know that you are going to see Li Mu. If they also start to seek Li Mu's help, we will be too passive, so you must not let other people know that you are going to see Li Mu this time. Don’t even tell your secretary.”
Kerry was shocked. The party whip was indeed a party whip, and he was much more cautious in thinking about issues than he was.
So Kerry asked him: "Mr. Andrew, what should I do?"
The other party said: "Except for Spielberg, only the two of us and your wife can know about this matter. You go back and tell your wife in the evening and ask her to cooperate with you in the play. Tomorrow morning, ask your wife to give it to your secretary Call me and tell me that you are not feeling well and you have to rest at home all day long. You will not arrange any work or accept any visits. I will arrange a car to pick you up at your home and arrange a private plane to take you to Los Angeles!"
"OK!" Kerry said without hesitation: "Everything is at your command."
The other party responded, and then said: "You know, our chance of winning this election is not good, far less than 50%, so Li Mu is crucial to our election. His influence is too strong and his ability to deliver information is too great." Qiang, if you can get him to support you, our chances of winning this time will be much greater, more than 50%, so you must communicate well with Li Mu. As long as he is willing to help, we can provide him with enough after you are elected. Policies are convenient.”
At this point, the other party reminded: "Li Mu is a very patriotic person. You must properly convey your good impression of China and promise that if you are elected in the future, you will definitely introduce a variety of policies to promote the mutual benefit of China and the United States." I think it will be very effective to use these to impress him through trade, exchanges, education, and tourism between countries.”
"OK, I took note of it!"
…
When Elon Musk came to the hotel to meet Li Mu, Spielberg and the others had been gone for about half an hour.
When meeting Li Mu, Elon Musk was particularly friendly. After shaking hands and hugging him many times, he sat across from Li Mu and talked endlessly about the recent development of PayPal.
Li Mu didn't care about PayPal, but he cared about when this guy was going to start X-Space and Tesla seriously, so Li Mu asked him: "By the way, how is your X-Space?"
"Aha..." Elon Musk scratched his head in embarrassment: "You know, I just signed up to play. I really want to invest some money to get started, but I want to make this thing work properly. , How can I do it without one or two hundred million dollars in cash? I originally wanted to sell my shares in PayPal and cash out to do this, but now PayPal’s market value is rising all the time, so I just want to wait and see.”
Li Mu pouted and deliberately teased: "I thought you were very aggressive, but I didn't expect you to be trapped by PayPal's shares."
"Boss." Elon Musk said innocently: "I really wanted to sell PayPal. Aren't you the one who advised me to keep my shares in PayPal and stay in PayPal?"
Li Mu laughed: "At that time, it was a good opportunity for PayPal, but now it seems that the rapid rise period has passed, and the next step is a gentle climb. It is impossible to rise quickly again, so you can consider withdrawing. Come out and do something else.”
"Really?" Elon Musk couldn't help but ask Li Mu: "Boss, are you interested in investing in X-Space? I will cash out part of the shares, and then we will invest in this project together. What do you think?"
Li Mu smiled and said: "I don't understand aerospace. You asked me to vote, but I don't know anything about it."
Elon Musk knew that most wealthy people would not be interested in investing in aerospace, so he advised Li Mu: "Actually, boss, you are not short of money. It doesn't matter even if you don't understand aerospace. If you believe me, just When it comes to angel investment, I think this industry actually has great potential. Moreover, in the process of research and development of aerospace technology, many independent new technologies can be spawned. It is very possible for these technologies to be transferred to other industries. Maybe A new flight control system has been developed in the aerospace field, which can be sold to certain countries in the future to develop missile flight control or even drone flight control. Didn’t the United States build a drone squadron last year? Prey The Zhe drone has officially entered service."
(End of chapter)