James Raybould arrived at NBC Television Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan at 7:00 AM.
Simon disliked appearing in front of the media, but there were many things he couldn't avoid. Today, James was scheduled for an interview on NBC's morning news program, 'Today Show', to address recent media discussions and controversies surrounding Westeros Company.
After spending over half an hour reconfirming the interview content with his assistant, media publicist, and the 'Today Show' producer, James was guided to the studio entrance by a staff member at 7:40 AM.
"$21 billion, an astonishing figure. This is Simon Westeros's latest net worth on Forbes magazine's 'America's 400 Richest' list, released this Monday. Compared to last year, this 22-year-old super-rich individual's net worth increased by $15 billion in the past year, equivalent to a net gain of $41 million per day".
"What kind of magical power does Simon Westeros possess, and how did he accumulate such a vast personal fortune so quickly? Today, we have invited Mr. James Raybould, President of Westeros Company, to discuss many questions about Westeros Company that everyone has been focusing on recently".
Deborah Norville, the female host of the 'Today Show', finished her statement and stood up to shake hands with James as he entered the studio.
In front of countless family televisions on Sunday morning.
Initially, upon hearing Deborah Norville's statement, the audience was disappointed, expecting Simon Westeros to appear in person, but few people changed the channel.
After his guest appearance at Madonna's concert in late June, Simon had once again begun to avoid the public eye.
The media had been abuzz recently due to the new 'Forbes' America's 400 Richest list, and having a spokesperson for Westeros appear in the media was enough to satisfy public curiosity.
In the studio, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Deborah Norville cut to the chase, asking, "Jim, let me first ask the question everyone is most concerned about: What has Simon been doing these days?"
"Mainly film-related matters. Many projects at Daenerys Entertainment are currently in production, and Simon has been traveling across the country visiting sets this week".
"That sounds very busy", Deborah Norville said with a playful smile, then asked, "So, what was his reaction when he learned about his ranking on the Forbes list this year?"
"He was very happy. After all, it's a remarkable achievement".
"It truly is remarkable. From 1986 until now, Simon has created all of this in just four short years, and he's only 22 years old. As the president of Westeros Company, Jim, you must know him very well. Why do you think he was able to create all of this today, or rather, is he truly a psychic?"
The female host's tone at the end carried a light, joking quality.
James also smiled and said, "Simon often jokes about being a psychic in his daily life, but he isn't. He also said he genuinely wishes he were a psychic so he could prove the existence of ghosts in this world. If that were the case, it would mean death isn't the end of everything, and we wouldn't need to fear death anymore".
These words were actually mentioned by Jennifer during a conversation with his daughter, and James was deeply impressed by them.
Deborah Norville showed a thoughtful expression and said, "I've never thought of it that way. Frankly, I used to fear both death and ghosts, but now, it seems I don't care as much about either".
"Actually, me too", James nodded in agreement, then proactively answered Deborah's previous question, saying, "Simon is a very special person. He is not only exceptionally capable in many areas but also possesses extraordinary foresight and creativity. I believe these are probably the key to his achievements today".
"I believe many people can relate to that", Deborah Norville agreed, then changed the subject, saying, "Jim, according to yesterday's 'Hollywood Reporter', Daenerys Entertainment will launch an acquisition bid for MCA Group, which owns Universal Pictures. Is this true?"
Touching on the key topic of this interview, James Raybould secretly braced himself and said, "Since the beginning of the year, there have been many media reports about how Simon plans to use that overseas capital. We have also been considering this issue and discussed many targets, but there are no conclusions yet".
Deborah Norville pressed, "But, Jim, according to 'The Hollywood Reporter's' scoop, Westeros Company has already formed a 60-person acquisition team. How do you explain this?"
James shook his head and said, "I'm not sure how 'The Hollywood Reporter' obtained its information. Simon has always emphasized the synergistic cooperation among the various companies within the Westeros system. Whether it's Cersei Capital, Daenerys Entertainment, or the company's various technology enterprises, cooperation and communication between them are very frequent. Someone may have misunderstood because of this".
Deborah Norville looked at James and said, "So, Simon has no intention of acquiring MCA?"
James did not give a definitive answer, subtly saying, "As I just said, we have considered many targets, and MCA is indeed within the scope of discussion. However, everything needs Simon's personal approval. Moreover, Simon has not yet decided whether to transfer that overseas capital back to the country, and as we all know, this would mean a very high 28% capital gains tax".
Yesterday's sudden exposure by 'The Hollywood Reporter' of Daenerys Entertainment's impending acquisition of MCA indeed caught many senior executives in the Westeros system off guard.
Before participating in today's interview, James and everyone discussed carefully and finally decided to give an uncertain response. This would avoid the passive situation where silence implies consent and prevent speculators from rushing to MCA stock.
James Raybould proactively changed the subject, and Deborah Norville did not press further. NBC did not want to lose future interview opportunities, so she followed James's lead and changed the topic.
"Speaking of capital gains tax, the President publicly stated last month that he would have to go back on his campaign promise not to raise taxes, planning to solve the federal government's increasingly severe fiscal deficit through tax increases. Due to the rise of the hedge fund industry in the past two years, on Wednesday, Texas Republican Senator Peter Briggle proposed strengthening regulation of the hedge fund industry and readjusting relevant tax schemes to prevent excessive financial speculation from harming the federal economy. Jim, what do you think of Briggle's proposal?"
Both Simon himself and James Raybould received news of Peter Briggle's proposed bill immediately.
It is well known that Texas is entirely the Bush family's and the Republican Party's stronghold, and the targeted nature of Peter Briggle's proposal was clear.
Moreover, there was a deeper reason for this proposal.
This was a critical time for campaigning in the US midterm elections, and the Republican Party was clearly at a disadvantage in securing control of Congress. Coincidentally, the Westeros system had unknowingly invested a massive $20 million in the political sphere this year, now becoming a very important financial backer for the Democratic Party.
In the Reagan administration's major tax cuts of 1986, only the capital gains tax rates, originally divided into long-term and short-term brackets, were unified at 28%, equivalent to income tax. This measure was already controversial. If the Bush administration were to raise taxes again, it would not only offend all of Wall Street but also severely restrict the liquidity of the capital market, making the already sluggish US economy even worse.
As for specifically raising taxes on the hedge fund industry, whether it would work or not, if it were actually done, it would only drive a large number of hedge fund companies out of the United States, and huge overseas earnings would no longer be repatriated, ultimately harming the United States itself.
The most crucial point is that through three operations; the 1987 stock market crash, the Japanese stock market bubble, and the crude oil futures market, Simon had already completed his initial accumulation of wealth and would no longer rely heavily on Cersei Capital in the future. Even if the Bush administration truly strengthened regulation and increased taxes, it would have little impact on him.
Simon also wasn't worried about being targeted by the Bush administration due to his political stance.
The two major parties in the US counterbalance each other. If the Republican Party targeted him, the Democratic Party would naturally step in. If they couldn't even protect their major financial backer, who would stand with them in the future?
Inside the studio, James Raybould, of course, wouldn't confront the senator for the aforementioned reasons, but simply expressed his views on the matter at hand.
The two continued to discuss some topics, and the ten-minute interview quickly ended.
Leaving NBC headquarters, it was still not yet eight o'clock.
Having arranged breakfast with the Westeros couple, James Raybould rushed to the Upper East Side, where his wife, Carol Raybould, had already arrived.
The conversation during breakfast naturally revolved around recent events.
Because they had been closely watched by the media these days, the acquisition plan for Bell Atlantic had been temporarily halted to prevent its premature leakage.
The exclusive negotiation plans between America Online and the three companies were also clearly affected by the exposure of Simon's personal wealth, with the three companies being quite rigid on cooperation terms. Simon's current insistence was to never accept the condition of the three companies acquiring shares in America Online.
As for the acquisition of MCA, considering the impact of the leaked news about Daenerys Entertainment's bid, Simon also began to prepare for two contingencies.
Although it was Sunday, after breakfast, James Raybould still rushed to the Westeros Company headquarters in Midtown to start his day's work.
These days, as Simon's spokesperson, James navigated countless invitations and attention, enjoying immense prestige and full of drive. Moreover, it wasn't just superficial glory; James was actually omitted from the list of hundred million dollar club members of the Westeros system exposed by Forbes magazine last month.
Having personally experienced two capital market operations last year and this year, James naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity, and Simon personally arranged for James to participate.
Although only $20 million were initially raised, the smaller amount of capital conveniently maximized profits. After more than a year of continuous operation, the funds recently repatriated from overseas still exceeded $160 million after tax.
The last person on Forbes magazine's 400 richest Americans list this year, Donald Graham, heir to The Washington Post, had a personal fortune of only $200 million. With a net worth of $160 million, James Raybould was already among the top tier of wealthy Americans in that era.
Under Simon's guidance, the Raybould couple took advantage of the recent stock market downturn and invested all of this money into Microsoft and Intel stocks. If Microsoft and Intel could still reach their peak market capitalization during the dot-com bubble in the original timeline, this investment alone would be enough to place the Raybould family among the ranks of multi-billionaires in the future.
Of course, these were all matters for later.
Inside the Fifth Avenue apartment, after seeing off the Raybould couple, Simon and Janette did not go out today.
After returning to New York yesterday, Simon sent his Boeing 767 jet to Los Angeles. Not many people knew he was in New York now, so it was a good day for some peace and quiet.
The apartment's rooftop had been renovated into a garden by Janette, and the autumn sun was just right. The two sat at a simple wooden long table, on which were various materials Janette had collected and organized over the past week.
"The hedge fund team will definitely have good profits in the coming months, but some funds will certainly need to be kept overseas. Approximately $6 billion can be repatriated by the end of the year. If we want to complete both acquisitions simultaneously, calculating the acquisition funds at $7 billion for MCA Group and $8 billion for Bell Atlantic, we will need to raise an additional $9 billion in loans. This money is easy to obtain, but even at a 10-year annual interest rate of 4.5%, the total interest will reach $2.19 billion, with approximately $1.12 billion needing to be repaid annually".
Janette was still leaning against Simon. After speaking, she found another document and said, "This is the information on Bell Atlantic's current management. Bell Atlantic's current chairman and CEO is named Raymond Smith, a very outstanding professional manager. He is 56 years old this year, and he started as a bottom-level intern in the earliest Bell system, working his way up step by step. Before AT&T's breakup, he had already reached the position of CFO and was one of the contenders for AT&T's chief executive".
Simon took the document and began to carefully read Raymond Smith's information.
In addition to being the head of Bell Atlantic, Raymond Smith was also a versatile poet and playwright, with multiple published works. Furthermore, he also served as a director for several large enterprises and held five doctoral degrees.
Searching for information in his memory, Simon also discovered that in the original timeline, it was Raymond Smith who gradually expanded Bell Atlantic into Verizon, the second-largest telecommunications company in North America. In comparison, the other six Baby Bells that split from AT&T all failed to escape fates such as being acquired or going bankrupt.
Simon had no intention of immediately replacing the management after acquiring Bell Atlantic, and after reading Raymond Smith's information, he had even less of such a thought.
Janette waited for Simon to finish reading Raymond Smith's information, and without waiting for him to speak, she said, "He's very impressive, isn't he? However, he is also our biggest obstacle to acquiring Bell Atlantic. Bell Atlantic's current operating condition is much better than that of its neighbour, NYNEX, and Smith is also a very ambitious person in his career. Once we acquire Bell Atlantic, this company will certainly bear huge debts, which is very detrimental to its future development. Unless we can solve this problem, Raymond Smith will not easily agree to our acquisition".
Simon looked at the information in front of him and considered for a moment, then picked up the pencil beside him and listed calculations in the blank space of the document, saying, "Bell Atlantic's equity is too scattered. Even if we reach an agreement, we may not ultimately acquire 100% of the company's shares, which can temporarily save some funds. We can also save a sum by absorbing a batch of shares at the current stock price in advance. Temporarily calculating based on a 75% stake and an $8 billion transaction price, we only need to pay $6 billion".
Janette watched Simon calculate and said, "However, to develop ISP business, a large amount of funds will definitely need to be invested in technology research and development and infrastructure construction, so the remaining $2 billion cannot be saved. Moreover, we may not only acquire 75% of the shares. If our shareholding ratio exceeds 90%, according to federal securities law, we can force other shareholders to sell their shares for complete privatization".
"Alright, what I mean is", Simon quickly wrote down several strings of numbers on the paper and said, "transfer the debt to Daenerys Entertainment as much as possible. If necessary, simply use loans to acquire MCA entirely, which can minimize the acquisition resistance from Bell Atlantic".
"If we do that, Daenerys Entertainment's future IPO will be severely affected due to the high debt ratio".
Simon also couldn't help but smile bitterly.
It was indeed too difficult to have the best of both worlds.
Simon's original plan was to launch Daenerys Entertainment's IPO after the release of 'Toy Story' next year. However, once the acquisition of MCA was completed, it would be impossible to digest the company in less than two or three years, and the IPO would have to be postponed.
Speaking of which, Simon actually wasn't short of money.
Not only the overseas funds, but also the technology stocks held by Westeros Company could be sold next year according to the original three-year agreement. As long as Simon was willing, he could easily cash out over a billion dollars, and many other assets of the Westeros system were similar.
If he was willing to accept external shareholders into core enterprises of the Westeros system such as Daenerys, Ygritte, and Melisandre, he could raise large sums of money at any time.
However, both the technology stocks he held and enterprises like Daenerys, Ygritte, and Melisandre all had great growth potential, and Simon was not willing to sell or share these equities too easily.
After some thought, Simon decided, "For now, let's redraft the acquisition plan with this approach. MCA will be acquired entirely through loans, and Bell Atlantic will use its own funds as much as possible. As for future matters, we'll discuss them later".
Janette nodded, and the two began to discuss more specific details of the plan.