After resting for over half a month, it was time to start working again.
The settlement and return work for Cersei Capital's Sub-Funds No. 6 through 10 had been completed under the supervision of Anthony Johnston during this period.
After closing all positions and settling various fees at the end of last year, the total funds available for settlement by Cersei Capital amounted to $8.63 billion.
According to the originally agreed commission ratio, out of the total $8.63 billion, Simon's principal income was $2.25 billion, and his commission income was $1.96 billion. Including his initial $500 million principal, Simon ultimately received $4.71 billion.
The $100 million invested by the Johnston Family resulted in a total principal and profit of $550 million.
The share belonging to other investors was $3.37 billion. Subtracting the $970 million in principal, the net profit was $2.4 billion. Although the rate of return was nowhere near Simon's, it still reached 250%. This rate of return surpassed most hedge funds on the market. Furthermore, no fund of comparable size could achieve such a return.
Therefore, immediately after the settlement was completed, the $1 billion fund Cersei Capital raised again from Australian investors was instantly fully subscribed.
The Japanese stock market has fallen from highs above 40,000 points to below 38,000 points in recent months. However, the Japanese Government is still stubbornly refusing to admit that its stock market contains a serious bubble, publicly stating that it is a normal correction after market overheating. Probably to support this narrative, most of the assets held by Cersei Capital's Sub-Funds No. 1 through 5 have still not been sold.
Since the five sub-fund shells could not be retrieved in the short term, this fundraising was conducted under the name of Sub-Fund No. 6.
Unlike last year, because Cersei Capital intends to operate formally and long-term, the commission ratio for Sub-Fund No. 6, which is mainly used for hedge operations and is being raised publicly, is fixed at 20%. As a courtesy to long-term clients, Australian investors still do not need to pay management fees.
Furthermore, Simon and the Johnston Family invested a total of $1.5 billion, which differed slightly from the original plan, as the Johnston Family contributed an extra $500 million.
The fundraising scale in North America remained the planned $1 billion. Just like in Australia, James Raybould, who was responsible for this matter, merely leaked the news, and the cumulative subscription amount in North America immediately doubled, exceeding $2 billion during the subsequent fundraising meeting.
Having a hedge fund that is too large and whose targets are too obvious is not necessarily a good thing.
Therefore, after several discussions, the fundraising amount in North America was still capped at $1 billion. James carefully selected some 'financiers' who might be beneficial to Cersei Capital and even the entire Westeros System. Of course, Cersei Capital would begin charging a 2% management fee for this portion of the investment.
Although Sub-Fund No. 6, used for hedging operations, could not be expanded, Simon also had James release news that Cersei Capital would soon conduct other fundraising, which would be used for private equity, leveraged buyouts, and other types of investments.
Simon's rags-to-riches ascent to become the richest man in North America in just three years has become a golden brand. Therefore, although the subsequent fundraisings would no longer be used for hedging operations, capital seeking information and attempting to subscribe still flowed in continuously.
Ending his vacation in Australia, Simon set off early on the 16th to return to North America. Accompanying him, besides Janette, were David Johnston and Leslie Wickett.
Leslie Wickett was due to return to Cambridge University to resume classes on the 22nd. Before that, she intended to personally visit Daenerys Studios to look at the office building she was responsible for designing. David Johnston, who was pursuing his doctorate, did not have such a strict academic schedule and was merely accompanying his girlfriend.
After more than ten hours of flying, the Boeing 767 arrived in Los Angeles. After dropping off David and Leslie, they picked up Amy Pascal and Nancy Brill, and everyone set off again for New York.
Due to the time difference, upon arriving in New York, it was still Tuesday afternoon, January 16th, on the East Coast of the United States.
Blockbuster's listing date was Thursday, January 18th, 1990.
Although they arrived two days early, the schedule here was packed.
After only a few hours of rest at the Fifth Avenue apartment, Simon and Janette rushed to the Raybould Family residence to attend a carefully prepared investor cocktail party. During this time, they also had meetings scheduled with several prospective industry managers.
Since they were starting formal operations, Janette certainly couldn't handle everything alone.
Moreover, the two had previously agreed that Cersei Capital's headquarters would be established in Manhattan. Because she was getting married soon and planning to have a baby quickly, Janette had no intention of working full-time. The deeply ingrained mindset of a high-status woman employing others meant she only planned to work two or three days a week, not necessarily in Manhattan, leaving the rest to professional managers.
After a year of operation last year, Janette had selected a team responsible for operating Sub-Fund No. 6, directly granting partner status to six of them and generously allocating 30% equity of Sub-Fund No. 6.
The financial industry is different from the physical industry; it is essentially supported by all kinds of top talent. Without sufficient incentives, talent can easily be poached by other companies.
Therefore, Simon also approved Janette's equity distribution plan.
Allocating sub-fund equity rather than parent company shares was also the result of their discussion.
As the team expands, Sub-Fund No. 6 will certainly have other partners join in the future, and it will further develop lower-level sub-funds. However, no matter how the equity is diluted, it will not affect Simon's control over Cersei Capital.
In fact, even for Sub-Fund No. 6, the parent company Cersei Capital adopts a model separating share voting rights and profit rights, ensuring it always retains absolute control over the sub-fund.
The operating team for the hedge fund was already in place, but starting other types of investments required assembling new teams.
Simon did not have much network in Manhattan, but James Raybould had worked as a financial lawyer for many years, giving him a very extensive network in this area, and he recently helped Simon scout many suitable candidates.
The evening cocktail party was very lively.
As soon as Simon arrived with Janette, they immediately became the focus of everyone's attention.
It wasn't just 'Batman Begins', whose box office was still unstoppable; the news that Simon had consecutively knocked out ten opponents at the Melbourne Fighting Arena last Saturday, accompanied by the circulation of numerous pictures and videos, ignited heated discussions among North American media.
Compared to massive wealth, which is often hard to perceive intuitively, formidable physical strength had a much more direct impact on people.
While ordinary people discussed the matter enthusiastically, even some top professional boxers half-seriously challenged Simon to a fight.
Mingling among the crowd, James Raybould quickly led Simon and Janette to a Middle-aged Man in his thirties wearing rimless glasses.
"Simon, Jenny, this is Laurence Fink. Laurence, this is Simon and Jenny".
Laurence Fink, the current head of BlackRock, a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group, managed approximately $3 billion in assets, focusing mainly on mainstream stock and bond investments.
After the last 'Batman Begins' premiere, Simon chatted briefly with Frank Walken, the boyfriend of Jennifer's best friend Lisa Collins. Hearing that he worked under Laurence Fink, Simon quickly took notice of the superior and asked James to collect information on Laurence Fink.
Currently, Laurence Fink was just the head of a subsidiary under the Blackstone Group.
However, Simon knew that in the future, Laurence Fink would take BlackRock and split from the Blackstone Group and become the chairman.
At its peak, BlackRock's managed assets once exceeded $6 trillion, making it the largest asset management company globally. Whether it was top tech companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google, or traditional industry giants like General Electric and Walmart, the BlackRock Group was consistently one of their top five major shareholders.
Corporate shareholding, in fact, implies corresponding influence.
With massive total assets of $6 trillion and status as a major shareholder in countless corporate giants, it is easy to imagine the terrifying potential influence the BlackRock Group possesses.
According to James's investigation, Simon was very satisfied with Laurence Fink's past resume. Coincidentally, the differences between Laurence Fink and Steve Schwarzman, the founder and CEO of the Blackstone Group, regarding corporate management and fund operations were growing, and Fink was already planning to leave Blackstone. Simon intended to poach Laurence Fink's entire team.
According to the information provided by James, Laurence Fink was an investor who placed great emphasis on risk control and possessed a sufficiently cautious personality. Coupled with the information Simon recalled, he was very willing to grant Fink more autonomy compared to keeping the absolute control he currently maintained over Sub-Fund No. 6.
As for funding, this was simply not an issue for Simon.
Given the capital market's reverence for Simon's golden brand, he could easily raise more than twice the capital currently managed by Laurence Fink and hand it over to him.
After a brief introduction, everyone quickly started discussing the recent topic of Columbia Savings and Loan being taken over by the Federal Government.
Both parties knew clearly that this was an interview.
Simon participated in the conversation for a moment, but as Janette and Laurence enthusiastically discussed vulture investing strategies targeting the continuously collapsing North American bond market, Simon gradually lost the thread of the conversation. He simply excused himself, handing the vetting job over to Janette.
After several years together, Simon increasingly appreciated Janette's talent for assessing people.
It was said that this talent was inherited from Raymond Johnston.
Greeting other guests under James's introduction, a figure that somewhat surprised Simon soon appeared before him.
Or rather, two people.
Lynda Carter, wearing a black low-cut gown, was arm-in-arm with a Middle-aged Man who was presumably her husband.
Without waiting for James's introduction, the middle-aged Man enthusiastically extended his hand to Simon and said, "Hello, Mr. Westeros, I am Robert Altman".
This Robert Altman was clearly not the Hollywood Robert Altman.
Simon was already accustomed to the phenomenon of people sharing names and felt no surprise, smiling as he extended his hand to the man.
Lynda Carter's expression was a bit unnatural when she saw Simon. After he greeted her husband, she still actively reached out her hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Westeros".
The woman was clearly pretending not to know him, and Simon didn't expose her, greeting, "Hello, Mrs. Altman".
Lynda Carter knew Simon was clearly being deliberate. A flash of resentment crossed her eyes, and she explained, "Mr. Westeros, I did not take my husband's surname".
Simon said, "Oh, I apologize".
"Simon, I heard Daenerys Entertainment is already preparing a live-action movie of 'Wonder Woman'. Perhaps Linda could make a cameo", Robert Altman said with a smile, "You know, Linda is the most popular wonder woman".
Simon glanced at the woman and said, "Of course, if the opportunity arises".
After a brief chat, Robert Altman introduced his work. He was also a lawyer, mainly specializing in tax avoidance services that help overseas capital return to the US for investment.
After listening to Robert Altman's explanation, Simon roughly understood why he was so eager.
Cersei Capital had a large sum of money stockpiled overseas, and Simon was clearly a client with enormous potential.
After chatting for a while, Robert Altman left his business card and, after failing to convince Simon to join him for lunch the next day, wisely left.
After the two left, James shook his head slightly at Simon and said, "Simon, it's best not to get too involved with Altman. The tax avoidance methods this man uses involve a lot of grey areas, —to put it bluntly, they have elements of money laundering. Rumour has it the IRS is already watching him".
Simon nodded and said, "I have no intention of doing that".
Having accumulated such massive wealth in just a few years, Simon knew that there were certainly many people watching him. If he showed any flaws, a large group of opponents would surely swarm him. Simon had enough confidence to accumulate vast wealth entirely through legitimate business practices and would not consider using shady, unconventional methods now.
After continuing to circle the crowd, Janette returned and said to Simon, "It's settled. However, Fink doesn't plan to take the team with him to jump ship. He hopes we can fund the purchase of the shares held by the Blackstone Group so that the business he manages can continue".
"What about the Blackstone Group?"
"Fink wants autonomy and also wants to share more shares with other partners, but Steve Schwarzman insists on maintaining absolute control over the subsidiary. The differences between the two are increasing. If Fink leaves with his team, it will only leave a mess for the Blackstone Group. In comparison, selling the asset management department to us allows the Blackstone Group to gain revenue, so they shouldn't refuse".
Simon nodded and asked, "Did you and Fink discuss the price?"
Janette said, "The Blackstone Group currently holds 50% of the shares in BlackRock. Based on the performance estimate of Fink's team over the past year, the price can be kept under $100 million. After taking over this company, I believe not too many investors will redeem their original capital, and Fink's team is very stable. Therefore, this investment is very worthwhile".