New York, Nasdaq Stock Exchange, one of the world's largest stock trading centers.
Countless companies worldwide dream of ringing the bell here, but the threshold is high, and it's not something you can just walk into.
The so-called 'ringing the bell' is actually a Chinese saying.
Because in the 19th century, the opening and closing of stock trading were achieved by manually striking a bell.
Initially, a judge's gavel was used, but the sound was too small.
Someone on the second floor might not hear it on the first floor, so later, it was replaced with large bronze gongs brought over by Chinese expatriates.
After entering the electronic age, it was changed to an electric bell, but the term 'ringing the bell' still spread to China and is used to this day.
For example, the Shanghai Stock Exchange actually uses a large bell, while the Hong Kong Stock Exchange uses a gong.
Of course, the United States doesn't use these objects; it's just a ceremony, followed by a countdown on the Nasdaq big screen, which signifies the official announcement.
Today, the place was bustling with people, including countless investors and journalists from all over the world.
The reason was self-evident: Facebook was officially launching on the stock market.
As a country with an incredibly developed financial industry, New York doesn't have daily stock listings, but the frequency is still quite high.
To attract so much attention and create such a grand spectacle was one of the few big events in recent years.
At least, it was much grander than when MGM relisted.
Unlike companies that desperately try to squeeze in,
since last year, countless institutions and groups had urged Facebook to go public.
Especially after MySpace's downfall, there were even more lobbyists around Eric, but he ruthlessly rejected them all.
Facebook was like an unattainable goddess, and today, she finally stepped down from her palace and unveiled herself.
Eric, accompanied by Fitz, got out of the car and headed straight for the stock exchange entrance.
Seeing the main figure appear, reporters waiting outside immediately swarmed around him.
Flash, flash, flash, flash!
Flashlights kept firing, and various long and short lenses were pointed at them.
"Mr. Cooper, can you talk about your feelings right now?"
"Mr. Cooper, what do you think Facebook's market value can reach?"
"Mr. Cooper, how is Facebook's business progressing in South America?"
...Fitz pointed to his watch: "Excuse me, everyone, please make way, time is almost up."
Passing through the aisle, the two stood at the very front as representatives.
For a typical company's listing, dozens to hundreds of people would attend the ceremony.
Because companies that reach the listing stage have often gone through many rounds of financing.
The boss needs to be there, and major shareholders also need to be there.
Facebook, however, had no such considerations; it was almost entirely Eric's sole proprietorship.
The logic is, the fewer people, the more impressive the person standing on stage.
After a brief few minutes of speaking, Eric pressed the button.
"10!"
"9!"
"8!"
Numbers appeared on the Nasdaq big screen, and countless eyes simultaneously focused there, counting down silently and audibly.
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
As the last number fell, Facebook's logo was projected onto the big screen.
It was accompanied by the slogan: "Facebook, connecting you and me!"
The stock ticker symbol for Facebook lit up, and inside the exchange, almost all traders simultaneously entered the market and began frantic buying.
This was an astonishingly thick cake, and countless people wanted a bite.
The 3% internal shares were ultimately not fully absorbed.
There were no trust fund babies among Facebook's employees, at most, they were part of the elite class.
Fitz, the wealthiest among them, scraped together less than 50 million US dollars, even after pooling all his resources.
According to him, this was already maxing out his credit and relying on his status to get overdrafts from various banks.
If he, the CEO, was in such a situation, others had even less, and in the end, only about 1.3% of the shares were bought internally.
This means that roughly 60% of the shares in this wave were released onto the market, calculated at an opening price of 56.6 US dollars per share, valuing them at nearly 70 billion US dollars.
And as trading began, the stock price was jumping rapidly like a kangaroo climbing a mountain.
"Mr. Cooper, how much income do you expect this listing to bring you?"
As soon as the ceremony ended, a reporter from the Financial Times rushed forward to ask.
Eric smiled. This was a very sensational topic.
He naturally didn't know how much income it would ultimately bring him, but he estimated that even if it didn't reach the hundred-billion-dollar level, it would at least be eighty to ninety billion.
In any case, after this wave, surpassing Buffett and Bill Gates was a foregone conclusion.
"I know you all have many questions, and besides what I just said, I also have a few more things to say."
"The capacity here is limited, let's go outside, and everyone can share this moment together. You all bought shares too, right?"
Everyone present showed knowing smiles and then followed Eric out of the exchange.
Seeing him come out so quickly, most of the media who weren't allowed to attend the bell-ringing ceremony swarmed around him again.
Not far away, many passersby in Times Square were also waiting.
"Quiet down, everyone, quiet down, Mr. Cooper has something to say," Fitz shouted loudly.
Facing thousands of pairs of eyes, Eric cleared his throat.
"Today is a special day, and Facebook reaching this point has to do with every single user."
"Just like our slogan, Facebook, connecting you and me!"
"Going public is just the first step for the company. Next, we will continue to expand our business globally and serve everyone with an even better attitude."
"I also hope you will continue to support Facebook as always, and let us grow together. Thank you!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Many people spontaneously applauded.
"This is the first part of what I have to say. Next is another major decision."
After a pause, fully capturing the media's attention, he announced loudly: "I will launch an acquisition bid for Time Warner Group, planning to fully acquire Warner Bros. Pictures!"
At these words, the scene first paused, then erupted in an uproar.
Everyone had thought he would talk about some plans for Facebook, but they didn't expect an even more explosive piece of news.
Indeed, Hollywood film companies are as numerous as cattle, and to exaggerate, companies go out of business and open new ones every day.
But that was Warner Bros., a century-old brand, one of the world's top film companies, with a market value of nearly 20 billion US dollars – definitely not some random company.
Everyone knew MGM had won, but to directly acquire Warner Bros., that was a huge leap.
Moreover, when acquiring, you'd have to pay a premium; 1.5 times or even double was not impossible.
If this deal went through, it could amount to four to five hundred billion US dollars, making it the largest acquisition in recent years.
Reporters grabbed their microphones and quickly fired questions, and the scene instantly became chaotic.
Eric didn't linger and quickly left under the escort of bodyguards.
But even though he left, the commotion caused by this listing ceremony did not stop; instead, it intensified.
Headlines in the internet, finance, and entertainment sectors were all dominated, and even social news was no exception, with unprecedentedly high discussion.
People were speculating how much Eric's net worth would reach, and whether it was possible for him to surpass Bill Gates and become the world's richest man.
This question was answered at the close of the market in the afternoon. After a day of trading, Facebook's stock price began to stabilize.
Its final market value reached 153.3 billion US dollars, far exceeding the initial valuation of 114.5 billion US dollars, fully demonstrating the market's optimism about Facebook's future development potential.
This figure directly surpassed companies like Oracle, IBM, Apple, ExxonMobil, Samsung, Berkshire, and JPMorgan Chase, making it the runner-up in the tech category and third overall.
The second-place company was Saudi Aramco Group, as its name suggests, a Middle Eastern oil giant with a market value of 216.9 billion US dollars.
Microsoft was the number one company in both the tech and overall categories, with a market value of over 240 billion US dollars, a relatively large difference.
But despite Microsoft's much higher market value than Facebook, Bill Gates, as its president, had less personal wealth than Eric due to his relatively small overall shareholding.
According to the most recent Forbes statistics, Bill Gates' personal net worth was 57.1 billion US dollars.
Eric, however, had already profited 82.4 billion US dollars just from today's stock trading.
Even if Gates had more hidden wealth, it would absolutely not exceed this figure, not to mention Eric also owned companies like MGM and Hasbro.
Even based on publicly verifiable wealth, Eric's net worth had already exceeded a hundred billion.
There was no comparison, absolutely no comparison.
Beverly Hills, the Cooper Family home.
A grand celebration party was being held, with family and close friends invited.
He watched Xiao Liu chatting with Gadot, and Avril whispering with Elizabeth.
Although they weren't yet clear about their relationships with him, Eric felt increasingly confident about bringing these women together.
Perhaps this was the confidence that wealth and fame brought to a man.
Standing by the pool with his arms outstretched, he suddenly thought of Iron Man, Tony Stark.
"Stark, I'm afraid Stark isn't as rich as I am, and he would envy my life, wouldn't he?"
In Stark contrast to the lively celebration in Beverly Hills, Warner Bros. was now in a state of panic.
When Eric announced his intention to acquire them to the media, Barry Meyer suddenly felt his hair stand on end, and his heart instantly tightened.
He collapsed onto the sofa, and his wife wanted to take him to the hospital, but he couldn't care less about that.
As soon as he could walk, he rushed to the company.
During this time, MGM had given up its release slots to other companies, and Warner Bros. and Disney hadn't released many new films either.
This was something Barry Meyer and Michael Eisner had agreed upon; they couldn't just accept defeat so easily.
They had to build up their strength, to contend with MGM again and reclaim the top spot.
They just never expected Eric to pull such a move.
An acquisition, and announced immediately after Facebook's listing.
Coming with such overwhelming momentum, it was clearly a move to cut off their lifeline.
"Charles, aren't you usually the one with the most ideas? I need your advice! Say something!"
The middle-aged man who was called out sighed: "I've said enough, Barry. This isn't a situation we can control."
"Haven't you seen Facebook's market value? That kid, Eric Cooper, money is the last thing he lacks right now."
"If Eric Cooper threw out 30 billion US dollars, Richard might laugh heartily."
"But at 35 billion US dollars, he would think it's a very worthwhile deal."
"Once it escalates to 40 billion US dollars..."
"Bang! He would rush to Eric Cooper's doorstep overnight, begging him to sign quickly."
Hearing this, Barry Meyer angrily pointed at his own nose and roared: "I don't want to hear your complaints! I need solutions! If he really succeeds in acquiring us, we all know what the outcome will be."
"I'll definitely be out, but you won't have it easy either."
"Think about it, when that guy took over MGM, he almost completely cleared out the company's old guard as soon as he took charge."
"Gentlemen, who among you hasn't opposed him? This is a battle to protect our interests."
A senior executive fretfully took off his glasses: "But what can we do? You know the decision isn't in our hands, Barry."
"Everyone knows the group's current situation; hundreds of billions of dollars in debt are waiting to be repaid."
"While we're having a meeting here to discuss, they're probably also having a meeting at headquarters."
"It's just that we're discussing how to save ourselves, and they're discussing how to sell Warner Bros. and how to get a better price."
At this moment, the conference room door was pushed open, and another executive threw his phone onto the table.
"I just found out that Richard rushed back from Europe after hearing the news."
"Just a while ago, they held an emergency meeting there, and the content was exactly what we suspected."
"If you ask me, we can't rely on those old foxes. They want money more than anyone, especially cash transactions."
"The only thing that can save us is a government antitrust investigation."
"Eric Cooper already owns MGM. If he also controls Warner Bros., it will create a dominant pressure on other Hollywood companies."
"Is that feasible? This reason seems a bit flimsy, after all, a few years ago Sony even led an initiative to acquire MGM, only to be preempted by The Coopers," Barry Meyer said with some worry.
"Feasible or not, we have to try. This is the best solution we can find right now."
"No, wait a minute, let me think again."
"Perhaps approaching it from the film and television aspect isn't a good idea. We should consider the comic book business."
"What? Comic books?"
"Yes, comic books. We overlooked a very important point: that guy Eric Cooper, don't forget that besides MGM, he also owns Marvel."
"Currently, Marvel's comic sales account for about 35% of the market, and DC's market share is also similar."
"Together, they already occupy 70% of the comic book market. This is even more terrifying than the market share MGM and Warner Bros. combined would hold, and it definitely has the potential to form an industry monopoly."
Barry Meyer slammed the table: "You're right, that's a very good point."
"Hahaha, who would have thought that a seemingly useless comic book business would become our lifeline."
"Gentlemen, we must hold our ground. Victory will be ours!"