It was always like this at first. Jenny Booth was like an octopus, or perhaps some kind of alluring siren, constantly urging Barron on...
as if she couldn't get enough...
Or perhaps it was because Barron had come to New York this time, not only with Bonnie, but also with Jenny's brother and sister-in-law, so she had few opportunities to spend time alone with him.
Regardless, after an hour of... learning, her long-simmering thirst for knowledge finally quenched.
"Are you going to Hawaii tomorrow?"
Jenny asked weakly beside Barron.
"Yes, the climate there is more comfortable, especially at this time..."
Barron stood up, ready to shower, and casually said,
"And I just bought a small island there. You may have heard of Lanai, the island where Bill Gates held his wedding..."
Yes, not long ago, Grace Tourism Group purchased Lanai, one of Hawaii's six largest islands, for approximately $400 million.
In 1994, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda married here, making this 365-square-kilometer island famous.
Previously, Lanai belonged to billionaire David Murdoch—not the News Corporation owner, but the founder of Dole Foods, Inc., who purchased Lanai 22 years ago.
Grace Tourism Group will develop the scenic island, and Cavendish Hotel Group will open a Cavendish Resort there. Of course
, some of the most picturesque areas will be reserved for Barron's personal enjoyment, including a stunning vacation home and related facilities built by David Murdoch. Following Barron's visit, the villa will undergo renovations and improvements tailored to his specifications.
Winter has arrived in New York, while Hawaii offers a pleasant climate. The main purpose of their trip was to vacation, so they were very excited about this trip, especially their children, who were traveling with them.
The only drawback is that Lanai lacks an airport; arriving requires a helicopter from the nearby island of Maui.
Therefore, Barron plans to build a simple airport on Lanai that can accommodate at least mid-sized business jets, such as the Gulfstream G450 he previously purchased.
It's also worth noting that when Barron first purchased his private jet, the Gulfstream G450 was still Gulfstream's newest model. Since they've now introduced the more powerful Gulfstream G550, he's interested in adding a larger toy, though reservations for this aircraft are currently in a waiting list.
The good news is that with the continued spread of the subprime mortgage crisis, many wealthy individuals are destined to go bankrupt. Therefore, he will soon be able to directly take over the older orders. To fulfill these orders, Gulfstream will offer lower prices. After all, the original orderers have already paid substantial deposits, which they won't be able to recover in the event of bankruptcy, thus becoming part of the discount offered to the takeover bidder.
It was expected that they would spend more than a month on vacation in Lanai, and then go to Australia, and would not return to London until spring came.
It was indeed very relaxing to be on vacation at the beach, but after only a week, Jenny complained that she had become noticeably tanned...
When she heard that Barron was going to Los Angeles, she asked to go with him.
"It's just right, I'm going to meet John this time, and you can go home."
Hearing what Barron said, Jenny smiled and agreed, but when no one was paying attention, she still glared at Barron.
"Are you really going to let me go home?" As they boarded the helicopter that had taken them from Lanai to Honolulu International Airport on Oahu, Hawaii, Jenny asked,
"Of course, dear, I'm not going on vacation this time. I have important business to attend to."
"Then..."
Jenny rolled her eyes and said,
"Stay with me for two days, and I'll be back."
Barron naturally understood what she meant. It seemed he would be in the midst of a raging battlefield for the next two days...
...
Just as Barron had said, he had indeed come to California to attend to some matters.
The first person he met was Arnold Schwarzenegger, the action star and current Governor of California.
Speaking of which, Schwarzenegger's successful campaign for Governor of California was due not only to his personal charisma, with over 40% of women voting for him, but also to his campaign slogan: he would significantly cut taxes upon taking office.
In the United States, there's a concept similar to that of national and local taxes in China. Besides the taxes that must be paid to the federal government, each state has its own tax rate, giving state governments a high degree of autonomy.
"Californians pay taxes every morning, from the moment they flush the toilet. It's not that they pay too little, it's that politicians are squandering taxpayers' money."
This was a statement Schwarzenegger made that was once applauded by the public.
And he has done just that since taking office. Since then, California's tax rate has been reduced by over 25%. However, this also means a decrease in state revenue and a rise in the deficit.
In normal times, such tax cuts wouldn't be so fatal, but unfortunately, the subprime mortgage crisis that began this year was first erupted in California.
However, the most devastating moment of the subprime mortgage crisis has yet to arrive. So, while Barron could sense Schwarzenegger's concern, he probably didn't yet realize the severity of the final outbreak—at least, he still had the energy to chat with Barron.
"Increase investment in California?"
Hearing the implication in Schwarzenegger's words, Barron smiled and said,
"That's certainly not a problem, Mr. Governor, but the prerequisite is that there must be good projects. Yes, there are some good companies in California that I'm very interested in, but I need to invest according to a plan."
As everyone knows, many American banks went bankrupt during the subprime mortgage crisis. Barron also planned to seize the opportunity to acquire suitable bank assets and expand Standard Chartered's business in the United States. Although they had previously acquired American Express, that wasn't American Express's core asset and its scale was limited. For Standard Chartered, the acquisition of American Express was most significant in terms of foreign exchange settlement.
In eight months, IndyMac Bank in California would be taken over by the federal government due to bankruptcy. It would be the third largest bank failure in American history. At that time, he might consider helping the Governor.
Of course, that would only be if it was beneficial to Barron; he wouldn't simply provide friendly financial assistance to the Terminator's career.