"Hey! Donald, great to see you. How have you been lately?"
Having been with Donald's daughter, Gilbert still gave him face and acted very warmly.
Donald hugged Gilbert and then said, "I came from New York. I've heard a lot of things over there.
Do you know what those wealthy people in New York say about you?"
"What do they say?"
"They say you're a hypocritical, shameless, chauvinistic jerk. My God, their eyes must be blind," Donald said, sounding united in indignation.
Gilbert laughed casually, showing no concern. "Let them say whatever they want, Donald. The world will never lack people like that. They're jealous of our success and our wealth."
For years, conglomerates had wanted the wealth Gilbert controlled, especially the people in New York, some even hoping to manipulate him through Washington.
Previously, there had been all sorts of club invitations trying to pull Gilbert in. Many wealthy women were interested in him, and some even tried to get him involved in liaisons with younger girls.
But after Gilbert did that one thing, the invitations decreased, turning instead into suppression.
Although Gilbert's influence wasn't as strong as theirs, he wasn't easy to control either. Unless weapons were involved, finance and pharmaceuticals couldn't really touch Gilbert.
Gilbert was a media tycoon himself, so trying to ruin his reputation through media was useless. He also represented Silicon Valley capital; even Bill Gates participated in the Life Fund Gilbert and Jobs set up.
Peter Thiel in Silicon Valley was an even more loyal supporter of Gilbert, running errands for him throughout the region.
On the surface, it seemed like New York's financial and pharmaceutical complex was suppressing Gilbert, but in reality, it was a warning to high-tech capital in Silicon Valley.
Just this June, a certain Washington elder proposed restricting computer development to prevent scenarios like AI taking over the world, as seen in films.
Many thought this was ridiculous—how could it happen? Creating such AI would probably take hundreds of years!
But in this absurd country, nothing was impossible; one could fabricate a charge at will.
So, despite strong opposition from Silicon Valley tech companies, Washington moved forward with discussions, causing companies like Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon great concern.
Not to mention Apple, Banana, Watermelon, and other companies more closely tied to Gilbert, all waiting for the bill to pass.
Donald wasn't here for that, though; he was seeking help. The Donald Group was mainly focused on real estate, which had once been a pillar industry in North America.
Countless past examples had proven that relying on real estate, inflating property prices, always ended in collapse. Tokyo's housing prices could once buy all of America, draining generations' savings.
Looking at the present, only a false prosperity remained.
As a shrewd businessman, Donald naturally sensed the crisis in real estate and sought to pivot.
After thinking it over, he realized that his capable son-in-law could help, even though Ivanka and Gilbert weren't married.
Ivanka sat obediently on the side. Although it was her father seeking help, she didn't want to make things difficult for Gilbert and waited for him to decide.
Gilbert said, "The real estate crisis is indeed coming, Donald. I have a short-term business opportunity. It depends on whether you dare to invest."
Donald became interested. "What kind of short-term business?"
"You know about the Great Depression?"
"Of course, caused by economic collapse," Donald understood. "You mean there's going to be an economic crisis?"
"The signs are already here, but Wall Street and Washington are just painting a rosy picture," Gilbert said. "If you're interested, go back and raise some funds, hand them to Ivanka.
The Fruit Foundation will operate it, and we can profit from this economic crisis.
More importantly, it can strike at Wall Street's arrogance. You can also use the gained funds to help your company pivot."
Donald was quite tempted. He glanced at Ivanka and felt Gilbert wouldn't cheat him, so he agreed.
"Good. I'll go raise funds and get involved."
"Good. Keep it discreet. Try not to let anyone find out."
"Don't worry, absolutely won't."
The two exchanged a smile. Donald then chatted about something else. "Ivanka, after all this time, why haven't you had a baby? I'm waiting to hold my grandchild!"
Ivanka blushed. "Dad, you can't say that to me directly!"
"What's wrong with that? It's natural." Donald patted Gilbert's shoulder. "Work hard, young man."
After Donald left, Ivanka asked worriedly, "Do you really think the economic crisis will happen?"
"What, are you afraid I'll waste Donald's money?"
"Not really, it's just that I don't think they would let an economic crisis happen."
Gilbert laughed loudly. "If they really had that awareness, the Great Depression would never have happened. Capital is selfish and cowardly. Even when death is at the door, they'll just act like scared turtles."
He paused, then continued, "By the way, Ivanka, have the investment department prepare an assessment.
I estimate that many banks will go bankrupt. We'll find one with solid debt management and good credentials to take over."
"You're going to open a bank? Won't the people on Wall Street hate you to death?" Ivanka's eyes widened.
Gilbert was completely unfazed. "Ever since I blocked Wall Street's funds from entering Banana Company and Watermelon Company, I've been at odds with Wall Street.
At worst, we'll give a few more shares to those in weapons manufacturing. There's no way we'll let those Wall Street idiots take everything.
Besides, it's already the Fruit Consortium—what kind of consortium doesn't have a bank? Go ahead and do it!"
Ivanka nodded and, clicking in her high heels, went to carry out the task.
Sometimes, Gilbert thought, it was really frustrating. An ordinary film director had virtually no ability to resist. When you're finally an easy target, people still watch and wait, eager to crush you.
Fortunately, the people in weapons manufacturing were relatively reasonable. They still wanted money, but cared more about their own little territories.
Not like Wall Street—greedy and boundless, acting as if the whole world belonged to them, which made Gilbert extremely uncomfortable.
However, the upcoming economic crisis was an opportunity to strike at Wall Street's financial capital, and that was exactly what Silicon Valley capital wanted to see.
Washington thought that manipulating finance was the core of everything, but in Silicon Valley's view, high-tech was the true core.
If needed, they could just have Donald repeat the route from the previous timeline. If Mark Kaiyuan could do it, Gilbert could do it too and even better.
Of course, for now, it wasn't that severe. At most, it was a struggle over interests, not over direction.
But sooner or later, everyone would inevitably come into conflict.
After returning to New York, Donald began secretly raising funds for the group's company, selling off multiple properties. Publicly, it was said the group faced cash flow difficulties and urgently needed liquidity.
Although the real estate market across the U.S. was sluggish, many of Donald Group's properties were still valuable. Plus, selling below market price ensured there was still demand.
Donald's logic was simple: he needed cash now, and rather than let these properties sit idle, it was better to convert them into funds.
Soon, once the funds were fully raised, they were handed over to Fruit Company, and the layout for the economic crisis began.
...
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