Chapter 122: A Visit

Inside the study.

As Janet nestled in his arms saying those words, Simon chuckled and patted her waist, asking, "So, what do you want to do?"

Janet just nibbled lightly on Simon's wrist, looked up at him, and asked, "You rascal, how do you plan to spend all that money?"

Simon pointed to a stack of stock transaction documents on his desk, "Didn't you see? I've already bought $800 million in stocks. After setting aside money for taxes, I plan to convert the rest into stocks."

As the saying goes in America: In this country, only death and taxes are inevitable.

$1.62 billion coming in also meant an immense tax bill that was hard to stomach.

According to the tax reform plan introduced by the government last year, the profit from stock index futures trading in Westeros Company's account, amounting to $1.62 billion, was subject to a 28% capital gains tax. The revenue from "Run Lola Run" was also taxable.

Roughly calculated, Westeros Company would have to pay over $450 million in taxes by the end of the year. After deducting Janet's share from "Run Lola Run," Simon would be left with approximately $1.1 billion.

Hearing Simon's plan to convert everything into stocks, Janet seemed surprised, "All into stocks? Don't you plan to do anything else?"

"Now is the perfect time to buy the dip. If we need cash later, we can always sell," Simon explained, then asked, "How about you? Do you want me to convert your money into stocks as well?"

"My dad has mentioned a few times that the family could use the money. I plan to send it back to Australia," Janet replied with a shake of her head, then playfully caressed Simon's face, saying, "So, you rascal, I'll be broke then. You'll have to support me."

Simon turned his head and kissed Janet's palm, replying, "Alright, we'll go to New York tomorrow. We'll spend that $20 million loan. What do you want to buy?"

Janet tilted her head, pondering, "A house. Don't you want to own a house in every major city around the world? Let's start with New York."

"That's my plan," Simon responded, "What about yours?"

"Your plans are my plans. And as for my plans, it's you."

"Oh, that sounds like a sweet nothing."

"Hehe, slow as always."

...

"Harry Meets Sally" has been shooting for six weeks and is expected to wrap up before Thanksgiving next month.

The turmoil of the North American stock market crash continued, but having completed his operations on the stock index futures market, Simon took Janet to New York to check on the progress of "Harry Meets Sally."

Meanwhile, "Final Destination," produced by Daenerys Cinemas and managed by Janet, was released on October 23. Despite the financial market's gloom, the film's box office was barely affected.

Simon had initially demanded a minimum of 1000 screens; thanks to positive feedback from several internal previews, Fox finally allocated 1350 screens for the film's release.

From October 23 to October 25, "Final Destination" earned $12.56 million over its opening weekend, dethroning "Fatal Attraction," which had been the box office leader since late September.

"Fatal Attraction" had earned $11.01 million in its opening week and was still pulling in $10.98 million in its sixth week. Its box office curve barely declined over a month and a half, accumulating a total of $69.49 million. Its North American total box office, while unpredictable, was certainly set to break $100 million.

Simon was well aware that the total box office of "Final Destination" would not match that of "Fatal Attraction." However, an opening weekend of $12.56 million meant the film was projected to earn $18 million in its first week.

$18 million was enough for Fox to recover the entire production cost.

If the film could maintain a relatively low rate of decline, its North American total could even exceed $60 million. While $60 million would not place it among the top ten of the year, it would comfortably secure a spot in the top fifteen.

According to the original contract, after surpassing $20 million in box office, 10% of North American box office shares and 5% of video sales royalties could bring Simon about $10 million in revenue.

Although he had made over a billion dollars on the stock index futures market, Simon did not plan to use this money in the short term. Revenue from movies would be his main source of funding for Daenerys Cinemas in the coming years.

On October 26, a new week began, and Simon withdrew all funds from the stock index futures account. After setting aside $450 million for taxes and paying Janet's

 $67 million share, he poured the rest into the stock market.

The North American stock market was in disarray, and over a billion dollars suddenly flowing into the tech sector could not go unnoticed. Many Wall Street analysts noted unusual fluctuations in tech stocks during those days.

As people calmed down from the panic of the crash, some also started to realize that a 'little crocodile' had emerged from nowhere and amassed an astonishing fortune from the stock index futures market.

As the identity of this young individual became clearer, the spread of the news became unstoppable.

Simon had originally chosen only Lehman Brothers as his broker for confidentiality. Although placing all his funds with one company would inevitably attract attention, as long as Lehman Brothers maintained discretion, the secret could be kept.

However.

Developments later inevitably strayed from Simon's expectations, forcing him to turn to other brokers and ultimately abandon the idea of keeping secrets. After all, it was impossible for a young man under 20 to amass over a billion dollars from the capital market without attracting attention.

The best Simon could do was ensure this fortune genuinely remained in his hands.

Thus, even though the tax payment deadline at year's end was still over a month away, if he invested all funds in the stock market, he might make more money. But just in case, Simon instinctively chose to set aside a massive $450 million for taxes.

Americans can never escape taxes, and attacking someone through taxes is usually the simplest and most effective method.

October 28.

Wednesday.

All $1.1 billion of Simon's liquid assets had been converted into stocks, and he and Janet had been in New York for five days.

Besides checking the production progress of "Harry Meets Sally," Simon and Janet mostly just wandered around New York.

Although the release of "Final Destination" had once again brought Simon into the media spotlight, with "Run Lola Run" and "The Butterfly Effect" off the screens, paparazzi were increasingly realizing that following Simon and Janet didn't yield much explosive news.

Thus, although their whereabouts were quickly exposed by the media, only a few paparazzi followed them, allowing the couple to stroll the streets without much trouble.

In the evening.

Simon and Janet, accompanied by a real estate agent, had spent the entire day touring Manhattan. They had just returned to their hotel, the Plaza, intending to rest before dinner when they unexpectedly found Noah Scott waiting in the hotel lobby.

Though somewhat surprised and even wary, Simon readily accepted Noah's invitation to dinner.

Leaving the Plaza, the three headed to a nearby restaurant.

After ordering, Noah Scott observed the couple across from him and couldn't help but ask directly after a moment, "Simon, can you tell me how much money you really made?"

Simon smiled and shook his head, "Noah, would you tell me if it were you?"

"No," Noah Scott chuckled helplessly, then said, "But these days, I can't stop thinking about it. I heard you were in New York and flew here from Chicago just for today."

Simon shrugged, "If this has been troubling you, I can only apologize."

Noah Scott continued, "Then, can I at least share some of what I know? For instance, Simon, why did you make that move in September?"

"What move?" Simon countered.

"The 6,000 contracts," Noah Scott explained, "Why did you only buy 6,000 contracts? You know, despite the severe volatility, the overall trend of the S&P 500 in September was still downward. You could have bought an 80% position as usual."

After listening to Noah Scott, Simon paused, then admitted, "If you really want the truth, I was afraid."

"Afraid?" Noah Scott looked puzzled, and Janet turned her attention curiously.

Simon relaxed and confirmed, "Yes, I felt fear."

Noah Scott, misunderstanding the implications of Simon's words, said earnestly, "But this month, you must have made more, right?"

"Yes, but at that time, I was afraid," Simon nodded and stared directly at Noah, "Noah, you followed up, right?"

Noah Scott was silent.

Insider trading, even if widely acknowledged, was not something openly admitted.

Simon didn't wait for Noah Scott to respond, continuing, "I felt Lehman Brothers following my moves, then I thought about more possibilities. If you followed, could the news spread further? If others followed, the entire market trend might deviate from my predictions."

Noah Scott nodded slightly, patiently waiting for Simon to continue.

"Let me put it this way, Noah, I predicted the stock market crash would happen around October. You know, in October, the federal government publishes the third quarter's national trade and fiscal deficit, which could be the last straw. And looking back, September was a delivery month; with increased trading volume, the S&P 500 index fluctuated wildly. I couldn't set up my positions in such a market environment. So, I was scared. But

 you misunderstood earlier; I wasn't afraid of making too much money. I was worried that the entire market, because of everyone's follow-up, might behave in a way completely outside my expectations, perhaps even crashing early. So, I adopted a conservative positioning strategy, making it hard for you to guess my real intentions."

Hearing Simon's explanation, Noah Scott had no response.

After a moment of silence, Noah Scott quickly composed himself, looked at Simon again, and said, "However, Simon, I don't know if you've been paying attention to Wall Street lately. I guess you definitely don't want to be exposed, right? But your actions have already caught a lot of people's attention."

Having been busy for months, Simon and Janet had been playing around these days, indeed not paying much attention to Wall Street.

Hearing Noah Scott say this, Simon sat up straighter, asking, "Can you elaborate?"

"Tech stocks," Noah Scott said with a slight smile, "Simon, you've bought a large batch of tech stocks, right? A very large batch?"

Since it was directly pointed out, Simon didn't hide it, admitting, "Yes."

"Compared to other sectors," Noah Scott continued, "tech stocks have risen over 15% from the day of the crash to now. Many people even think it's us investment banks quietly buying in, and they've started to enter the market hoping to make a quick profit. They don't know that it's actually you. And if I'm not mistaken, you've invested at least a billion dollars."

This time, Simon did not nod.

Pausing for a moment and not hearing Simon confirm, Noah Scott went on, "Moreover, your operations on the S&P 500 futures have also caught a lot of people's attention."

Simon remained silent, but Janet stared intensely at Noah Scott, demanding, "Noah, what are you trying to say?"

Noah Scott raised his hands in a surrender gesture, smiling, "Janet, don't worry, I don't have any ulterior motives. I'm not speaking for anyone else today. I just wanted to tell you what I know. Simon, maybe you should start preparing in advance. Also, I would love to continue our collaboration. Maybe we could work together again in the future?"

Simon, hearing Noah Scott's words, nodded, "Of course, there will definitely be opportunities for us to collaborate."

Seeing Simon's response, Noah Scott's smile widened. Noticing Janet still glaring at him, he turned and said, "By the way, last time I also secretly bought some S&P 500 futures. Guess how much I made?"

Simon shook his head in puzzlement.

Noah Scott held up two fingers and wiggled them, "Two million dollars. Pretty pathetic compared to you, right?"

Janet scoffed.

Simon just smiled, saying nothing.

Noah Scott continued, "Just by following a bit of your strategy, I made two million dollars. So, I think it's best if I keep in touch with you, which is why I came all the way from Chicago today. Simon, I've given it a lot of thought. You're only 19 and already have such a vast fortune. It's like a child holding a pile of gold. You definitely want to avoid as much outside attention as possible, and I can help with that."