Felix himself had strong objections to the invitation of Li Mu to appear on the cover of the US edition of Time Magazine. He believed that Li Mu was not worthy of being on the cover of the US edition of Time Magazine.
But what he didn't expect was that Li Mu didn't seem interested in being on the cover, and even made a series of incredible requests.
So far, although Time magazine has used children on its covers, those children were representative figures with extraordinary significance at the time, such as snapshots of impoverished children in Africa and close-ups of war refugee children. Apart from this, they have never used a child. Childhood photos of current adults serve as covers.
Moreover, they were invited to be the cover of Time Magazine, but the person involved was not even allowed to be interviewed. This is really too much.
What Felix couldn't accept the most was that Li Mu refused to mention God in the Times report!
Although the United States claims to be the largest immigrant country in the world, this country is actually a Puritan country at its heart. Traditional Americans believe in God and at the same time respect the Second Amendment. It can be said that one hand is used to hold the Bible and the other One hand is used to hold the rifle.
This is a country that once implemented a strict prohibition on alcohol and made abortion illegal. When the president took office, he had to place his hand on the Bible and recite an oath. This shows how deep-rooted their admiration for religion is.
However, Li Mu didn't like this feeling.
He respects every faith in the world, but as an atheist, he is unwilling to be associated with any religion.
Felix was furious and conveyed Li Mu's words to Time Warner executives, protesting: "Li Mu actually didn't let us mention God in our reports about him. This is an insult to our faith! We must never let this happen. People are on the cover of our magazine.”
Time Warner executives said very nonchalantly: "Li Mu is not an American, nor is he a Puritan. He just doesn't want you to mention God in your reports about him, and he doesn't interfere with your freedom in other articles. What's wrong with this?" Of?"
Felix argued rationally: "We are a Puritan country, this is our faith and tradition!"
Time Warner executives asked him: "So what? Because we have our beliefs and traditions, do we have to use this to demand other people? Let me ask you, if you are the manager of a McDonald's restaurant, a certain Is there anything wrong with a customer just asking for the fries he ordered without ketchup? Does it mean that because the fries provided by your restaurant have ketchup, do you require him to eat them too?”
Felix was speechless for a moment.
He didn't expect that this usually taciturn senior executive would be so talkative during a debate, blocking him with no way out with just a few words.
At this time, the other party cleared his throat and said again: "Felix, we all know what kind of person you are, but I have to remind you that it doesn't matter if you are discriminating in your heart, everyone has some shameful things in their heart. , but you'd better lock your personal opinions in your heart. If you dare to bring them to work, I will immediately propose to the board of directors to replace you! Even if you leak it in daily life and are caught, I will definitely inform the board of directors and solemnly request the board of directors to remove you!"
Felix's back was frightened by the other party's stern tone. He hurriedly changed his tone and said respectfully: "Don't worry, I will remember your instructions and will never cause trouble for the company or individuals..."
The other party hummed and said: "It's best if you really know what's going on. For Li Mu to be the cover star, you have to give me your best effort. Now Wall Street generally believes that with Li Mu's development speed, his worth is likely to be in the It will exceed US$500 billion in the next five years. Do you know what this concept is? If you offend him and miss this opportunity, you can pack up and leave!"
Felix was shocked by this figure. Over half a hundred billion US dollars in five years? Isn’t this number too scary? is it possible
While Felix agreed solemnly, he looked for an opportunity to contact his friend on Wall Street and asked him privately about the possibility of the news.
This friend of his was also a high-tech talent who started a business in Silicon Valley in the early years, but later because of the family business, he came to Wall Street to work as a financial analyst. It can be said that he understands the Internet better than ordinary Wall Streeters.
In fact, Felix also knows that Li Mu's current theoretical worth has already reached 100 billion U.S. dollars. However, since he has just experienced the Internet bubble, he doesn't think this 100 billion U.S. dollars is anything special. Around 2000, the market value of many Internet companies skyrocketed. However, this kind of bubble money comes and goes quickly. Today, Li Mu is still the proud man of heaven. Maybe tomorrow the bubble will burst again and he will become a billionaire.
What Felix didn't expect was that after he asked this friend on YY, the other party immediately replied to him: "To exceed 500 billion US dollars in five years is just a superficial judgment of these guys on Wall Street. I think Li Mu is currently The layout will be possible within three years.”
"Three years? Are you crazy? How can Li Mu do it?!"
Felix originally wanted to get some words to look down on Li Mu, but he didn't expect that his friend's praise for Li Mu was higher than the general perception of Wall Street.
And his friend explained: "Li Mu has several business lines with great potential. For example, he acquired Apple some time ago and did not fire any Apple employees. However, Apple has never had anything new. This huge contrast indicates that Apple is doing large-scale research and development work, and Li Mu is very likely to be making some big moves."
"Li Mu's Taobao is doing very well. The efficient logistics of supporting small parcels has also reached the industry-leading level of technological content. The Internet is developing so rapidly, and the market share of e-commerce is also growing. Li Mu's Taobao relies solely on We can become a unicorn in the Chinese market. If Li Mu decides to let Taobao go abroad, this business line is likely to become the online Walmart of the future."
Felix asked doubtfully: "Online Walmart? Is Taobao really as amazing as you say?"
The other party sent a smiling expression and said: "Everyone looks at the problem from a different starting point and from a different perspective. However, I personally feel that if Li Mu takes out Taobao and operates it globally in the future, it will definitely be a success. A huge business opportunity.”
After saying that, the other party added: "Moreover, Li Mu has long started to build data processing centers around the world. Currently, no Internet company can compare with Makino Technology in terms of data processing capabilities. Now Makino Technology's data processing center can not only comprehensively To meet Makino Technology's own needs, they have even started to engage in ToB business. They have opened up their redundant data processing capabilities to other Internet companies. The future prospects of this business line are also very broad, and can even grow to a trillion US dollars in the next ten years. The size of the market, so if Li Mu’s business lines develop smoothly, I think it’s nothing to be worth US$500 billion in three years.”
Felix couldn't help but ask: "Is there such a big market space for data processing business?"
The other party said: "It seems scary, but if you do a little math, you will know that there are 6 billion people in the world. Walmart only covers less than one billion people in offline retail, but it already has a market value of nearly 300 billion U.S. dollars. The world's richest people Half of the top ten people on the list are children of the founder of Walmart. Li Mu covers nearly one billion Internet users around the world. In the future, half of the Internet services used by these Internet users may rely on Makino Technology’s data processing center. , how much profit margin do you think there is here?"
At this point, he added: "And the most important thing is that the growth rate of global Internet users is much faster than the growth of the number of customers covered by Wal-Mart. In a few years, the number of global Internet users may exceed 2 billion. People, three billion people, if that day comes, Makino Technology’s data processing business will definitely make a lot of money.”
Felix was shocked and couldn't help but ask: "If this part of the business is so profitable, why haven't other companies started to start it?"
The other party replied: "It's too expensive and the threshold is too high. Doing such a thing is equivalent to investing in building a large number of hub airports around the world and purchasing a large number of aircraft for transportation between hubs. Not many companies can afford it, let alone What’s more, there is a super player like Makino Technology here. I think with the current development speed of Makino Technology, at least 50% of the data processing business of the global Internet will be in their hands in the future, and by then they will really make a lot of money.”
At this stage, only people who really understand the Internet can see the prospects of cloud computing. Felix naturally knows nothing about it, but after his friend's analysis, he was stunned.
The other party concluded: "Actually, with Li Mu's current ability, as long as he doesn't choose the wrong general direction, he can basically succeed in anything. You can see that the influence of your Times magazine seems to be very great, but in fact, your recommendation of a cover character has put Compared with the saturated investment of YY.com or Weibo, Twitter's capabilities are more than an order of magnitude behind. I think Li Mu can replace Murdoch as the new media tycoon at any time as long as he is willing. By then, media like your Time Magazine will be left behind. It’s just the symbolic meaning of years of operation. Do you understand the symbolic meaning I’m talking about? It means that people no longer pay attention to what is specifically written in Time Magazine. They only pay attention to who has appeared in Time Magazine in this issue.”
Felix marveled at his friend's conclusion. There are now many data showing this. The sales of Time Magazine have been declining, and the cover character of each issue of Time Magazine will be reported by other media. To be honest, Most of the people who pay attention to Time Magazine now just want to see its cover.
At this time, the friend suddenly asked: "By the way, have you tried inviting Li Mu? If Li Mu is willing to be on your cover, then you are really in luck!"
(End of chapter)