"By the way, Carson, when the time is right, make sure to leak the issue of their illegal mortgage loans to the Eastern bankers. Let them create internal divisions first," Leo said, looking at Carson, who was about to leave.
"Sir, when do you think the right time will be?" Carson asked.
"Wait for my signal."
Carson quietly walked out through the backdoor along the dark path.
However, Leo's meeting did not end just yet. Sidney from Goldman Sachs arrived. When it came to the delisting of the American Real Estate Group, if Leo was the biggest loser, Goldman Sachs was undoubtedly the second.
After successfully helping the American Real Estate Group go public and seeing its excellent performance in the stock market, Goldman Sachs' business had also skyrocketed. Their managers often used the American Real Estate Group as an example when attracting new business.
But all that changed after the American Real Estate Group's split.
"Mr. Valentino, I'm not sure why you've called me here tonight?" Sidney asked with eager anticipation. Although their interactions had decreased since the listing of the American Real Estate Group, he'd heard from many sources that Leo held a lot of lucrative business deals. While it might be hard to find a project as high-quality as the American Real Estate Group, Leo's investments were always worth considering. Recently, Goldman Sachs had been chasing the Ford Group and urgently needed more successes to prove their strength to the Ford family.
"The American Real Estate Group has been delisted and split into these companies. Besides a minor setback with Pacific Real Estate, the other real estate groups have remained stable. I've discussed with some shareholders, and we plan to go public separately. Given Goldman Sachs' excellent performance when the American Real Estate Group went public, I plan to have you handle the listings for Atlantic Real Estate Group and Southern Real Estate Group."
Sidney's face lit up with joy. While these two groups weren't as large as the American Real Estate Group, they were still worth about $1 billion each—extremely valuable business.
Sidney furrowed his brow, then cautiously asked, "Mr. Valentino, if I may, what about the International Real Estate Group? Aren't you planning to list that as well?"
At this moment, although the International Real Estate Group wasn't as valuable as the domestic real estate groups, Sidney was highly optimistic about its future. As he knew, the International Real Estate Group was not only dominant in the Netherlands and Italy, but with Leo's victory in the election, the group had begun to expand rapidly throughout Europe. Moreover, Leo had allied with the British noble, the Earl of Westminster, which had allowed his business to spread across the entire Commonwealth.
From a long-term perspective, Sidney believed the International Real Estate Group's future value far surpassed the domestic real estate groups.
"Of course, the group will be listed, but because the International Real Estate Group is registered in the UK, and Goldman Sachs doesn't have much experience with bringing foreign companies to the New York Stock Exchange, there are challenges. While I highly recommend it, the group is no longer solely mine. It has numerous shareholders, many of whom are highly influential, so I need to consider their opinions," Leo explained.
From Leo's words, Sidney quickly guessed that the influential shareholder he referred to was none other than the Earl of Westminster. He silently vowed to expand Goldman Sachs' international business to ensure that such high-quality projects didn't slip through his fingers.
"Could you tell me which investment bank has secured the listing then?" Sidney asked.
"The roadshow is already over, so I have no issue telling you. It's Brown Brothers Harriman," Leo replied.
It was them, Sidney thought to himself. He shot Leo a deep glance. People often said that Leo had made a fortune after winning the election, but Sidney believed that the real success was Leo's transformation from controlling party-controlled capital to becoming a power that could control the parties. With his wealth growing dramatically, Leo's influence had transcended any single political faction.
Sidney had heard various politicians from both parties discuss how they were chasing after Leo in the hopes that he would support them. Sidney left with a tinge of regret, sensing that missing out on the International Real Estate Group could become one of his lifelong regrets.
After leaving, Sidney passed by a group of people heading towards the villa. They seemed to be from Brown Brothers Harriman, a lucky group of individuals, Sidney thought.
Sure enough, the two heads of Brown Brothers Harriman, Jay Mortimer and George Bush, arrived. However, Sidney's focus on the International Real Estate Group was not the central topic of tonight's discussion.
"Mr. Valentino, all preparations for the listing of International News Group are complete. However, with the increasing number of clients we are dealing with, some information has inevitably leaked," Jay Mortimer said.
"Understood. That's exactly why we need to push for the listing of International Real Estate Group. The scale of the International Real Estate Group is already well-known. Even if there are attempts to block it, those who truly understand the value won't be misled, and its stock price won't be affected much. But International News Group is a newcomer. Its entire value is based on public recognition of the newspaper, and this intangible value is the most vulnerable to being sabotaged," Leo replied.
Leo had yet to reveal the deeper reason behind this urgency. The power of public opinion had been recognized by the wise, and the Jews were particularly eager to monopolize it. If they found out that Leo was secretly preparing to create a media giant that could potentially dominate the world's news industry, they would definitely unite and strike a heavy blow against him.
Leo knew this all too well, and the Earl of Westminster, as a representative of the nobility, was equally aware. The Harriman family and the Bush family, both part of the white elite class, also knew the risks involved.
Therefore, several key players in the chain had chosen to act with caution. If things weren't about to be exposed, Leo wouldn't have pushed the International Real Estate Group to take the heat for International News Group.
"Use all your power to hype up the International Real Estate Group. That way, International News Group can go public quietly. Its listing price isn't the main concern; the key is to ensure it can be listed safely!" Leo emphasized once again.
"Understood, Mr. Valentino. But I'm afraid just having the International News Group might not be enough," George Bush said.
"Of course it's not enough, so I've prepared a huge package of media hotspots to divert attention. I believe they are too busy with their own matters to focus on Wall Street right now," Leo smiled and replied.
The next day, as the UFO craze swept across the nation once again, newspapers in every state published various photos of UFOs, alongside images of dinosaur remains and lake monsters, captivating the public's attention.
The elite class, however, was more interested in the reports about the West. Everyone knew that Pacific Real Estate and Western Real Estate had finally started clashing.
A price war is one of the most brutal forms of competition in business, and since both companies' primary funding came from the East, many Eastern bankers were heading to the West.
While on a first-class flight, someone snapped a photo of Leo and Jack Rockefeller sitting together.
The wealthy elites in the East, though not all of them paying attention to the West, were certainly fixated on the news of the upcoming listings of certain real estate groups and the International Real Estate Group.
Those who had missed out on the American Real Estate Group's listing were determined not to make the same mistake again. Meanwhile, the South had its own hot topic, as the Southern Real Estate Group was also preparing for its listing.
The Wall Street Journal described the impact of the American Real Estate Group's split as "One whale falls, and everything else grows," a change that sparked new business vitality across the nation.
Even the NYSE staff hadn't noticed that alongside the International Real Estate Group's listing application, there was also an application for the listing of International News Group.
While not completely unnoticed, the NYSE's auditors and junior managers had been well compensated—enough to last them a lifetime.
With the impending listings of the International Real Estate Group, Southern Real Estate Group, Atlantic Real Estate Group, and the closely-guarded International News Group, Leo invited Nelson Rockefeller to his private villa on Long Island in New York.
Together, they needed to settle the final issue: Lawrence's resentment over the time Leo had previously kept him confined. After all, Lawrence was one of the few who knew the current state of International News Group.
Fortunately, the gates opened smoothly. Once inside, Leo and Nelson saw Lawrence with a sour expression.
In this crucial moment, when Leo was on the verge of an explosive increase in his core interests, he softened his approach. He quickly stepped forward, ignoring Lawrence's reluctance, and took his hand, saying, "Forgive me, Lawrence. You know, at that time, I really had no choice."
Lawrence looked at the now earnest Leo and couldn't help but shudder at the memory of Leo once wanting to throw him into the sea. This man was indeed dangerous.
But soon, his love for money replaced that sense of danger, and Lawrence thought, "I've been wronged this much. How is Leo going to make it up to me?"
Nelson, who knew Lawrence well, quickly understood his thoughts and chimed in, "Leo, what you did before was too much. You need to give Lawrence a reasonable explanation."
"Of course, it was my mistake. The American Real Estate Group hasn't disappeared. With your help, it has just transformed into a new form. Blackstone Capital is essentially the restructured American Real Estate Group. Previously, you held a 10% stake. Now, I'll give you an additional 3% as an apology," Leo said.
Lawrence was moved by this. After all, 1% represented a billion, and with Leo offering him 3 billion as compensation, this was far more than the money he had hoped to make on the boat before.
When it comes to money, any anger quickly dissipates. As for why Leo was willing to pay such a high price, it wasn't just to appease himself—it was mainly to make Lawrence quiet. After all, Leo could deceive others, but trying to deceive Lawrence, who already knew about the project, was impossible.
Earlier, David Rockefeller had also asked Lawrence about Leo's business. On the one hand, Lawrence still wanted to work with Leo because the guy made money with every deal; on the other hand, Lawrence didn't have a favorable view of David, who wanted to be the family patriarch.
Therefore, Lawrence had always been vague with David about the information he wanted. To this day, David only knew about the project, but he didn't know how far along the International Real Estate Group had developed.
Now, after Leo spent so much money buying his silence, Lawrence was more than happy to be bought.
Leo smiled as he watched Lawrence go to grab the champagne. So what if it's the Rockefellers? No matter how large the family is, human weaknesses remain.
As the famous line from the show The Ming Dynasty goes: "The meal still has to be shared."
After a lavish dinner, Leo left, but Nelson stayed behind. Lawrence looked at Nelson and asked:
"I was bought with 13% of Blackstone Capital's shares, but what about you? I heard you only own 5% of the shares in the News Group."
"Leo promised me that he would help me set up a tax avoidance network. Unlike you, my target is the political arena. You should know that with such a network, I can trade favors and draw in a lot of financial backers."
Nelson answered while sipping his champagne.
With the last loophole closed, Leo worked to cover up any traces. However, as the IPO approached, the documents about the International News Group's listing moved up the ranks, and the news inevitably began to spread.
According to the NYSE's rules, the International News Group was scheduled to go public in two days, and it was already too late to stop it. When Jack Morgan received the news, he immediately called David Rockefeller, who was out West.
"David, Valentino's News Group is about to go public. If this global media giant ends up in his hands, it will be a disaster for us. We must stop him, no matter what."
"What!" David, who was currently looking at the Pacific Real Estate financial report, stood up in shock and asked incredulously: "The International News Group? Wasn't it said that it was the International Real Estate Group after the breakup of the American Real Estate Group?"
"We were deceived. The International Real Estate Group is also preparing to go public. They actually submitted two IPO applications that day," Jack said.
"Didn't we have people inside the NYSE? How did they miss this?" David said, dissatisfied.
"They did it very covertly, and the whole line has been bought off. The NYSE is currently undergoing internal restructuring, but they can no longer stop the listing of the International News Group. At this point, it's too late to complain. The key is how we stop it from going public."
Just as David was about to respond, a financial officer brought him a report with red pen markings all over it. David, who had a knack for numbers, immediately recognized that this was a tampered report.
At the same time, Carson Merlin walked in. Ignoring that David was still on the phone, Carson said:
"Sir, I request that a board meeting be held to report Director Lehman for using company and government funding under the National Housing Act as collateral to acquire Jesse Real Estate with a 30% premium, without the board's approval."