Simply put, the Titanic, once the world's largest and most luxurious cruise ship, was ordered by the Morgan consortium.
In 1912, on its maiden voyage, the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank...
This was not only a catastrophe in human history, but also a turning point in the Morgan family's fortunes.
Consequently, the Morgan consortium faced a series of congressional charges and was forced into investigation.
J.P. Morgan, a legendary figure in the Morgan consortium, died under mysterious circumstances two months after testifying in court. Following this, the Federal Reserve was established, gradually replacing the Morgan family's position as the central bank for over 150 years.
Then, the United States suffered the Great Depression, with severe stock and bond market downturns, a bleak national economy, and unemployment exceeding 10%.
People took to the streets, erupting in anti-Wall Street fury—the underlying rationale behind this protest was that the then-combined structure of commercial and investment banking operations was flawed, magnifying financial risks.
In 1932, the US Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act, requiring the separation of commercial and investment banking operations to further weaken the power of private financial institutions and maintain financial market stability.
Ultimately, this act forced J.P. Morgan to abandon its investment banking business and transform itself into a purely commercial bank.
In 1935, J.P. Morgan completely closed its investment banking division.
J.P. Morgan's grandson, Henry Sturgis Morgan, and Harold Stanley led the investment banking team to leave the firm and establish a new securities firm, Morgan Stanley, commonly known as "Big Morgan." Morgan Stanley
's registered capital and founding team all came from the original J.P. Morgan. From then on, Morgan Stanley was split into J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley.
Since the 1980s, financial regulation in the United States has also become more relaxed.
With the development and expansion of the US financial industry, commercial banks have begun to infiltrate investment banking, and many commercial banks have disguised investment banking departments.
In 1999, the US Congress passed the Financial Services Modernization Act, repealing relevant provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act. This legally eliminated the boundaries between the business scope of banks, securities firms, and insurance companies, ending more than sixty years of financial separation in the US.
As a result, commercial banks began to engage in investment banking on a large scale, and JPMorgan gradually became a full-service bank.
In addition to its commercial banking division, it gradually added investment banking and asset management businesses, while Morgan Stanley remained solely focused on investment banking.
Historically, JPMorgan's investment banking arm emerged later than Morgan Stanley, leading Morgan Stanley to be known as "Big Morgan" and JPMorgan as "Little Morgan."
However, JPMorgan possessed greater overall strength. In his previous life in the financial industry, Baron often heard Chinese industry insiders jokingly refer to this as "Big Head Son and Small Head Dad."
In 2000, JPMorgan Chase merged with Chase Manhattan Bank to form JPMorgan Chase. Interestingly, Chase was once the financial arm of the Rockefeller family, and subsequently underwent several mergers and acquisitions.
During the subprime mortgage crisis, JPMorgan Chase not only withstood the test of the crisis but also seized the opportunity to acquire Bear Stearns at a low price.
Later, they would also acquire the bankrupt Washington Mutual, becoming the winner of this financial storm.
In 2004, JPMorgan Chase's total assets reached $1.12 trillion, second only to Citigroup's $1.19 trillion.
In Baron's previous life, by 2009, JPMorgan Chase's assets exceeded $2 trillion, surpassing Citigroup by $200 billion. Its investment banking business surpassed Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to become the largest underwriter on Wall Street.
Indeed, during this subprime mortgage crisis, many bankrupt banks and investment banks became prey for other "vultures," but these "vultures" will also be cautious in their pursuit of prey.
Blindly expanding scale does not guarantee increased profits. A significant number of major corporate mergers, both before and after, have resulted in bankruptcies due to failed restructurings.
Therefore, Baron's meeting with Wall Street investors, including JPMorgan Chase, who remained powerful during the subprime mortgage crisis, was intended to gain access to their ranks and establish a tacit understanding with them, thereby avoiding conflicts over the "divide and conquer" of the market.
JPMorgan Chase ultimately acquired Bear Stearns not only because of its strength, but also because Bear Stearns' business was more suitable for JPMorgan Chase.
If a competitor's business overlaps significantly with one's own, acquisition is not necessarily the best option.
The same thing applies to Baron. He can't just swallow up all the "fat meat" that fell on hard times during the subprime mortgage crisis. For one thing, he doesn't have the funds. Furthermore, doing so would anger other Wall Street giants and cause Standard Chartered to expand too quickly, potentially creating numerous hidden dangers.
He and the other capital giants need to maintain a balance between competition and cooperation, maintaining a certain level of tacit understanding.
...
"Marvel Studios is very excited about the success of 'Iron Man.' They'll immediately begin production on the second Iron Man film and another character film, 'Thor.'"
Hearing Blue Valley Capital CEO Annika Dawson's words, Baron didn't object—this was a change of pace based on his own suggestion.
Originally, Marvel Studios planned to film both 'Iron Man' and 'The Incredible Hulk' simultaneously. However, Baron, aware of the poor performance of 'The Incredible Hulk' in his previous life, scrapped the film and switched to 'Thor.'
However, out of caution, Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige decided to wait until after the release of the first Iron Man film to see how it was received before moving on to Thor.
In April of this year, Iron Man finally began its global release, including in China.
Initially underappreciated, the Marvel film raked in $100.7 million in North America during its opening weekend—an astonishing feat that undeniably secured the top spot at the North American box office. Since
then, Iron Man has continued to release globally, with box office revenue steadily increasing.
To date, Iron Man has grossed over $250 million in North America and over $200 million overseas.
According to relevant agencies, Iron Man's global box office is expected to exceed $550 million, potentially even reaching $600 million!
This figure, considering its production budget of less than $140 million, is a significant profit.
For Hollywood films, box office revenue only accounts for a small portion of a film's total revenue; subsequent revenue from peripherals, DVDs, and other sources is the bulk of the revenue.
And most importantly, the success of Iron Man heralded the beginning of the Marvel Universe, giving Marvel-MGM greater confidence in its continued investment in Marvel films. This was just the beginning.