The Hearst Family mansion was not far from Simon's estate. Less than a five-minute drive, Simon and Janette arrived at their destination.
It was also a sizable estate. As soon as the car stopped in front of an ancient-looking villa, a waiter quickly stepped forward to open the car door.
Mr. and Mrs. Westeros got out of the car and could already see numerous figures in the villa's main hall.
However, besides the waiter, no one from the host family came out to greet them. The two exchanged glances, and Janette leaned in with a smile, whispering, "Maybe it's intentional, you know".
Simon saw a guest's car that had arrived earlier being directed to a parking spot by a waiter, and more guests were arriving. So, he didn't linger at the door, merely shrugging his shoulders slightly before leading Janette directly into the villa.
As the two stepped through the villa's main entrance, they surveyed their surroundings.
In the hall, there were about twenty guests gathered in small groups, chatting. Among them were faces Simon recognized, such as New York City Mayor David Dinkins, who immediately noticed the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Westeros.
Given that the Hearst Family were staunch supporters of the Democratic Party, David Dinkins' presence here was not surprising.
Simon didn't see the hosts, and seeing David Dinkins and a few people he had been chatting with walking over, he smiled and went to greet them.
David Dinkins also came with his wife. After they greeted Mr. and Mrs. Westeros, he introduced an older husband and younger wife beside him, saying, "Simon, this is Mr. John Gutfreund, Chairman of Salomon Brothers, and his wife Lisa".
Salomon Brothers was a famous Wall Street investment bank of that era, on par with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. To be precise, Salomon Brothers at that time was even stronger than Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Of course, this was only for now.
Simon extended his hand and shook John Gutfreund's, "Nice to meet you, John".
"Hello, Simon, I've been looking forward to meeting you", John Gutfreund also appeared very enthusiastic. He released Simon's hand, then shook Janette's, saying, "Hello, Mrs. Westeros".
Janette shook Gutfreund's hand, smiling, "Just call me Janette".
After the introductions and pleasantries, David Dinkins looked around, "I remember William was just here".
John Gutfreund also seemed to suddenly notice this, looking around as well, then said, "It seems Tom Murphy has arrived; they went to the next room".
Tom Murphy is the Chairman of Metropolitan ABC Group.
Simon could roughly guess what Hearst and Murphy were going to discuss. He said indifferently, "I'll wait a bit. John, David, what were you just talking about?"
David Dinkins didn't continue the previous topic. The Hearst Family could afford to slight this young super-rich man, but he didn't have that luxury. He said, "Oh, about the 'New World Order' plan that the President has been pushing recently. Simon, what do you think about it?"
Before Iraq invaded Kuwait in late July, the U.S. Ambassador to Baghdad personally promised Saddam that the U.S. would not interfere in the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait.
However, when Iraq successfully occupied Kuwait, the Bush Administration immediately forgot its promise. Not only did it quickly launch 'Operation Desert Shield' to confront the Iraqi army within a week of the Kuwait War, but Bush then began lobbying the United Nations for his 'New World Order' plan, calling on the United States and European countries to send troops to the Middle East to maintain the stability of the world oil market, drive the Iraqi army out of Saudi Arabia, and further destroy Saddam's regime.
At this time, other guests in the hall noticed Simon and walked over. Hearing David Dinkins mention the Middle East conflict, they temporarily abandoned the idea of greeting Simon and listened attentively to what this young man would say.
Cersei Capital had earned an extraordinary amount of profit from the crude oil futures market over the past six months, which the guests present naturally knew, and some were even investors in Cersei Capital. If Westeros could reveal some 'valuable' information, their trip tonight would definitely not be in vain.
Simon's gaze swept indifferently over the crowd and said, "I think this war is probably unavoidable".
Another guest in the surrounding crowd couldn't help but ask, "So, Simon, do you think oil prices will continue to rise?"
Recently, international crude oil prices have approached $40 a barrel, essentially reaching the highest point in Simon's memory.
"It should rise a bit more, but I heard that the White House is planning to open federal crude oil reserves to stabilize oil prices, and a plan might be finalized soon".
Simon's statement was entirely based on recent newspaper news, so someone else retorted, "It's said to be only 20 million barrels. If calculated by the federal daily consumption of several million barrels, it wouldn't even last a week".
"The key is for the situation to stabilize", Simon shrugged and said, "Besides, I haven't been paying much attention to this recently".
Everyone continued to probe a few more times, but failed to get any useful information from Simon, and they were all a bit disappointed.
Simon didn't have the vanity that would make him want to show off when surrounded by people. Moreover, even though it was just a few brief sentences, he had actually revealed some useful information, and listeners with keen intuition would surely notice two points.
First, war is unavoidable. Second, Simon is no longer paying attention to the crude oil futures market. Those with foresight can completely plan based on the first point. As for the second point, Simon is no longer paying attention to this matter, which clearly indicates that the feasibility of continuing to speculate in the crude oil market is already low.
In recent months, countless crude oil futures brokerage firms, securities departments of energy companies, and hedge funds that bet in the wrong direction before the war have closed down due to huge losses. Crude oil futures trading has plummeted to an all-time low, and the market is unlikely to become active again in the short term, making large-scale hedging and arbitrage difficult.
However, even those who discovered these two points would probably first ponder the credibility of Simon's words, and then incorporate their own judgment.
Just like the previous operations in the crude oil futures market, and the Japanese financial market before that, many people were able to learn about Cersei Capital's operating methods. However, no one was able to achieve the same lucrative profits as Cersei Capital, primarily because too many people trusted their own judgment more and would not completely follow others' operations.
Even if the other party had created a series of miracles, someone would always think, perhaps this time, a certain fellow would stumble badly.
Cersei Capital was able to build hundreds of millions of dollars in long positions when crude oil prices were still falling rapidly. Other hedge funds, considering the risks involved, even if they followed suit, would often reduce their position sizes and lower their leverage to mitigate risk as much as possible, and the results were predictable.
Simon continued to chat with David Dinkins and others for a few minutes when finally, a somewhat portly, balding Middle-aged Man appeared. It was William Hearst III, the third-generation head of the Hearst Family.
Approaching Simon, William Hearst III surveyed the young man before him, offering an apologetic smile and explaining, "I'm truly sorry, Simon, I was just discussing some matters with Tom".
Due to his slightly corpulent build and a smile that easily put people at ease, William Hearst III hardly conveyed the impression of an heir to a century-old media dynasty.
Simon also offered a very sincere smile, shaking hands with him and saying, "No problem, Mr. Hearst".
William Hearst III then greeted Janette and introduced the sharp-eyed, sixty-something man in a black suit beside him, saying, "Simon, and Janette, this is Tom Murphy".
Simon and Janette then greeted the Chairman of the Metropolitan ABC Group.
After some pleasantries, William Hearst III smiled and asked everyone, "What were you all talking about?"
So, the group resumed their previous conversation.
However, after only a few sentences, a waiter approached and whispered a few words into William Hearst III's ear. The Middle-aged Man then said to everyone, "I'm truly sorry, I need to step away for a moment. Please continue chatting".
The waiter hadn't deliberately lowered his voice, so everyone had actually heard him whisper that Mr. Buffett had arrived.
Seeing William Hearst III and Tom Murphy walk out together to greet him, many people's gazes subconsciously fell upon Simon.
If William Hearst III's appearance a few minutes late could barely be excused, then this blatant differential treatment, not even just impolite, was beyond description. It wouldn't be excessive for Simon to turn and leave immediately given such neglect from the host.
Perhaps due to living two lives, Simon had long discovered a certain emotional detachment in himself, showing indifference to many things. Moreover, this indifference seemed to worsen as his wealth and status continuously accumulated.
Although he knew he should be angry at this moment, William Hearst III's earlier neglect truly didn't trigger much negative emotion in Simon's heart. He was just a little curious; since the Hearst Family invited him tonight, they should have intended to build a good relationship, so such impoliteness shouldn't have occurred.
Or perhaps, William Hearst III didn't consider this impolite.
For a super media dynasty that even the President of the United States dared not easily provoke, the Hearst Family indeed had the arrogance to act this way.
After only a moment, William Hearst III and Tom Murphy returned, accompanied by a middle-aged, dishevelled-haired man, who was none other than Warren Buffett, the head of Berkshire Hathaway.
Seeing the three of them walking towards him, laughing and chatting, Simon also stepped forward.
Before Simon could speak, Janette, who was beside him, spoke first this time: "Hi, Warren, do you still remember me?"
Janette's sudden Opening surprised Simon, William Hearst III, and Murphy. William Hearst III, who had been smiling, subtly frowned.
Simon was puzzled for a moment, then quickly recalled some past events about Janette that Katherine had occasionally mentioned a few years ago; the woman seemed to have been quite a force during her time at Columbia University.
Warren Buffett carefully scrutinized Janette for a few moments, then smiled and said, "I remember now, you're that young lady from Columbia University".
Janette leaned her head against Simon's shoulder and said, "I'm Mrs. Westeros now. Look at my man, Warren, do you still think your investment theory isn't just Scrooge McDuck hoarding gold coins?"
"Hello, Simon", Buffett stepped forward and shook Simon's hand, then continued to Janette, "I never imagined you'd marry Westeros. However, based on my observations over the past few years, Simon's rise can only be described as a miracle. I don't think I can create miracles, so I'll just keep hoarding gold coins slowly".
William Hearst III then said, "Warren, you two know each other?"
Warren Buffett nodded, his tone still humorous, saying, "Indeed, this... Mrs. Westeros, she gave me a hard time during a speech I gave at Columbia University back then".
"Oh, what a coincidence".
After a few jokes, Buffett and Murphy, presumably having business to discuss, moved away.
William Hearst III, now free, seemed to finally remember and said to Simon, "By the way, Simon, let me introduce you to some guests".
Simon naturally agreed.
The Hearst Family's century-long heritage was fully displayed at this small party. The guests in the villa tonight were essentially influential figures from various political and business circles in the United States, and more guests continued to arrive during the socializing.
Finally, after chatting for a few moments with a Congressman who was reportedly interested in restricting foreign investors from acquiring American enterprises, Simon and William Hearst III moved aside. Janette had already discreetly excused herself.
"Meros will probably submit his bill next month in conjunction with several other congressmen. We really can't allow the Japanese to continuously acquire our country's assets. Coincidentally, this should provide excellent assistance for your acquisition of MCA. Matsushita, wary that the acquisition might be vetoed by the Department of Justice, certainly won't be able to compete with you".
"I hope so".
William Hearst III directly assumed Simon intended to acquire MCA, and he didn't deny it. However, Simon didn't show much interest in the congressman's proposal either.
In recent years, there have been calls in the United States to prevent Japanese companies from acquiring American enterprises, but given the openness of the American capital market, Simon didn't believe such a bill could be enacted, and he didn't recall any such related legislation. Hollywood belongs to the entertainment industry, so the Department of Justice couldn't exercise a veto using excuses like 'national security'.
Seeing Simon's lack of enthusiasm, William Hearst III got to the point: "Regarding the 20% stake in ESPN, Simon, Metropolitan ABC and the Hearst Group are already very good partners. We hold shares in each other to achieve better complementarity. Moreover, you should know that Metropolitan ABC not only has veto power over the buyer of this stake, but even if you buy it, you won't have any say. Therefore, I hope you can withdraw. Hmm... perhaps we can have other cooperation opportunities in the future".
Although he had already planned to give up the 20% ESPN shares, hearing William Hearst III trying to make him withdraw from the competition with just an empty promise, Simon no longer stood on ceremony and said, "Actually, William, there's a good cooperation opportunity right now".
William Hearst III paused, then showed an interested expression: "Tell me about it".
"I've opened an internet company in Silicon Valley that provides internet information services, perhaps you've heard of it, called Ygritte. Coincidentally, the San Francisco Chronicle is also in San Francisco, and I hope Ygritte can obtain some news content from the San Francisco Chronicle".
William Hearst III's face showed obvious hesitation.
The San Francisco Chronicle is a very important newspaper under the Hearst Group, second only to the Los Angeles Times on the West Coast, bringing tens of millions of dollars in profit to the Hearst Group annually. Moreover, competition among American print media platforms is largely a competition for exclusive news. Sharing the San Francisco Chronicle's news content with Ygritte, William Hearst III would definitely refuse immediately if it were any other time.
However, William Hearst III also understood at this moment that this was probably Westeros's bargaining chip for withdrawing from the ESPN stake competition.
Recalling the discussion with Tom Murphy at the beginning of the party and connecting it with Simon's current request, William Hearst III couldn't help but feel even more dissatisfied with the young man before him.
The Hearst Group, in fact, learned about Reynolds Nabisco's impending sale of ESPN shares even earlier than Simon, but before they could make a final decision, Westeros Company had already begun communications with Metropolitan ABC and Reynolds Nabisco regarding these shares.
Hearst Group executives originally believed that without other competitors, they could likely push the price down to under $170 million to buy the stake, as not many investors would be interested in a 20% stake with absolutely no voting rights.
However, due to Westeros Company's sudden involvement, Reynolds Nabisco is now unwilling to sell for anything less than $200 million.
The Hearst Group wanted to acquire these shares primarily for a tax exemption agreement obtained after selling some of the group's cable television assets in the first half of the year. The agreement stipulated that if the Hearst Group purchased another equivalent type of cable television asset within a year, it could be exempt from the income tax payable on the previous asset sale.
The price of the 20% stake in ESPN, rising from an estimated $170 million to $200 million, had completely offset the less than $20 million tax exemption amount from that agreement. This was also why William Hearst III couldn't help but ignore Simon after his arrival today.
Now, this young man was actually proposing a bargaining chip for him to withdraw from the competition.
After a moment of consideration, William Hearst III still didn't directly refuse. If Westeros couldn't withdraw from this deal soon and continued to entangle, and the news got out, the price of that 20% stake would only be driven higher: "Simon, I need to consider this carefully".
Simon raised his glass of red wine to William Hearst III and said, "Of course, no problem, William. I'll be in New York for a few days, and I look forward to hearing good news from you".