"Is Miss Mellon's influence really that great?" Li Wei asked. "She can even get me a meal with the richest man in the world?"
"Please, call me Elizabeth. We're friends now, aren't we?" Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at the mention of the 'richest man in the world'. "I wouldn't say I'm personally that close with Mr. Gates. It's just that the Mellon Family has always been deeply involved in the art world."
Li Wei knew she was being modest. The Mellon Family's connection to the art world was far from being just 'deeply involved'.
The National Gallery of the United States was founded by none other than the Mellon Family's patriarch, Andrew W. Mellon. A hundred years ago, he had already used Mellon Bank to control the United States Aluminum Company, Gulf Oil Corporation, and five steel enterprises, establishing what was then the largest industrial and commercial financial empire in the United States.
