Chapter 589: How to Spend It

[Chapter 589: How to Spend It]

Eric looked at the increasingly astonished expression on Elisabeth's face and continued to smile as he enumerated, "Two years ago, when the domestic internet business was just taking off, I invested $60 million in a web service provider called America Online and acquired a 30% stake. Back then, there were only about a million internet users across the country, and America Online had a market share of only 10%. However, after the explosive growth in the past two years, the number of internet users in North America has expanded tenfold. Recently, a business report from America Online showed its market share had climbed to roughly 20%, with Wall Street valuing the company at $1.8 billion."

Elisabeth calculated in her mind the returns on Eric's $60 million investment and finally felt she had found a flaw. She interrupted him, saying, "That's impossible, a 900% return in two years? Do you expect me to believe that?"

"Have you not noticed?" Eric pinched Elisabeth's defiant cheek. "A whole new high-tech industry is rapidly emerging. Just like how operating systems and personal computers in the '80s created a wave of billionaires like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, with the Clinton administration pushing the Information Superhighway initiative, in the coming years, the rise of the internet industry will create another group of corporate giants and billionaires. During such a period of explosive industrial growth, a 900% return on investment in two years is not at all surprising. Besides, I feel the potential of the information industry hasn't even fully erupted yet. Perhaps in a few years, if you invest a million dollars, you might turn it into ten million overnight."

Under Eric's influence, Elisabeth had been gradually getting acquainted with the internet, but she hadn't paid much attention to what these new trends really represented. After Eric pointed it out, and connecting it to the changes in life and work she had experienced in the past two years brought about by the internet, she found herself somewhat agreeing with him.

"In addition," Eric continued, "I also bought a mobile phone company in Europe and Firefly Software, which was spun off from Firefly Films. Both companies are doing exceptionally well, and they are certainly worth at least $1.5 billion. If Chris completes the acquisition of Ltd, my share would be no less than 40%. Let's say it's $800 million. So, doing the math," Eric pondered for a moment and laughed, "my wealth outside of Hollywood is close to $7 billion, which seems to be a billion more than your family's assets."

Elisabeth glared at Eric's somewhat 'annoying' smile for a few seconds before she shyly turned away, raising her little fist and giving him a weak punch, playfully saying, "With all that money, let's see how you spend it!"

Seeing Elisabeth's once pale face turn a rosy red, Eric felt a rush of affection and leaned down, pinning her beneath him while easily grabbing her restless little hands. He leaned closer, whispering in her ear, "Why don't you help me come up with some ideas?"

Elisabeth turned her head weakly, her tone sweetly protesting, "It's not... um, what's that to me?"

Just as they were about to continue their playful banter, Eric's mobile phone, which he had left on the bedside vanity, rang rather inconveniently. They had to part slightly, and the good moment was interrupted. Elisabeth frowned and playfully pinched Eric's chest a few times.

Eric quickly grabbed her arm and pressed the answer button. On the other end of the line, a high-pitched voice chirped excitedly, "Eric, Eric, we're the richest people in the world now! I want to buy a plane!"

Alright, Eric couldn't help but chuckle silently to himself; this girl sure knew how to spend money.

Feeling a bit disturbed by the sudden interruption, Elisabeth, hearing Drew's voice, became even more annoyed. Before Eric could say anything, she shot back into the phone, "Can you afford to maintain a plane?"

Although the young girl was a bit surprised to hear Elisabeth's voice, she didn't hesitate to retort, "My man has plenty of money, not only can he afford the plane, but he can also afford me. Aren't you jealous?"

Elisabeth snatched the mobile out of Eric's hand, biting back, "Relying on a man's money is just pathetic."

"Ha ha, I recorded that!" Drew's voice suddenly sounded exhilarated on the other end. "If I let that out, housewives around the world will have a 'better opinion' of Murdoch's second daughter. Let's see how you explain yourself!"

Elisabeth did not believe the girl would actually record their conversation and defiantly replied, "Go ahead! If you don't put it out, you've to call me mummy!"

"If Eric is interested in that kind of play, I wouldn't mind being your daughter!" Drew replied with a teasing tone. After she said this, Elisabeth's earlier line about spending a man's money came ringing back over the phone.

Elisabeth was about to fight back with more words, but upon hearing the recording, she froze. The comment she made had been rather ill-considered. A large portion of American housewives didn't work and relied solely on their husbands' income. If her ambiguous remark got leaked, given her status as the daughter of a media mogul, it would surely stir public controversy.

As those thoughts sank in, Elisabeth felt an overwhelming sense of grievance. She threw the mobile phone towards Eric and flopped down on the bed, pulling a pillow over her head and muffling her cries.

Eric, somewhat helpless, leaned over and patted Elisabeth's back, picking up the phone and telling the young girl, "Don't mess around. You need to delete that recording."

On the other end, the young girl promptly dropped her fierce stance, laughing, "I already deleted it! I was just teasing her. Eric, what do you think of the Boeing 777? It's Boeing's latest wide-body aircraft. I heard it can reach a maximum length of 240 feet, which is about the same as an office loft in Digital Domain. If we place an order now, we can get the first batch by next year."

Eric pulled the pillow off Elisabeth's head, letting her rest on his knee as he combed through her slightly disheveled hair. He then intentionally exaggerated his tone towards the girl on the other end, saying, "Why buy such a large plane? If you want, just get a Gulfstream. You can play however you like; I'm not getting involved."

"No way! Those small business jets like the Gulfstream are just so boring. If we buy the large Boeing 777, we can redecorate it with a bar, restaurant, bedroom, home theater, and we can throw a party on the plane! Eric, just imagine, inviting a whole bunch of beautiful women, and you'd be the only man on board..."

Every man would be tempted by such a scenario. As Eric started to imagine it for a moment, Elisabeth, lying on his leg, interjected, "Eric, if you really go through with this, I... won't speak to you anymore, not even to Julia."

The girl on the phone quickly piped in, "Hey, you can just ignore her! The best thing would be for you to go back to Australia and not pull anyone else into this. Julia might not agree anyway."

"You little brat!"

"Eric, she's calling me names!"

Eric had no choice but to cover the microphone temporarily and whispered to Elisabeth, "Sweetheart, could you help me prepare breakfast? I'll be there in a minute."

Elisabeth huffed and stood up, adding, "No buying a plane!"

Eric quickly nodded, "Okay, I promise not to buy one."

It was quite common for the rich to own private jets. Eric might not buy one immediately, but at some point, it would be inescapable. Thus, although he knew the chances of keeping that promise were low, Elisabeth was still satisfied with Eric's attitude and left the bedroom.

Once Elisabeth had gone, Eric turned back to the girl on the line. "We definitely can't buy a big plane just yet. You know how much the acquisition of ABC is going to cost. Let's wait until those companies I own go public in a couple of years and then we'll think about it."

Sensing Elisabeth had left, the young girl turned agreeable, showing no interest in contradicting Eric, "Alright, Eric. Today, Amy and I are going to scout locations for Mission: Impossible. Do you want to come?"

"I'll pass. Amy is a very experienced manager and producer; you should learn a lot from her."

"Got it."

...

After being chatted up by the girl for quite some time, Eric finally hung up the phone. However, before he could set the mobile down, it rang again, and this time it was Chris from New York. Once connected, Chris laughed and complained about the busy line earlier. Eric could only juggle answering the phone while getting dressed and washing up.

As the morning went on, Eric gradually came to realize that the influence of topping Forbes' North American 400 Rich List was far greater than he had imagined.

Throughout the morning, until the battery on his Motorola phone ran out, it hardly left Eric's ear. The calls he received varied widely in purpose, and even a charity organization he had never heard of somehow got his private number and called him up asking for donations. Even Elisabeth's private mobile phone rang from Eric's line, and after picking up and realizing the caller's intention, Elisabeth became quite embarrassed.

After breakfast, as Elisabeth was about to leave for work, she quickly turned back because she found the road outside her mountaintop mansion flooded with reporters, blocking the narrow access road completely.

Feeling a bit frustrated, she called her office to give them a heads-up, throwing her mobile casually on the round table. She complained to Eric, who was busy checking his emails, "This is all your fault! They'll definitely write nonsense tomorrow. It's a good thing Julia is in New York; otherwise, how could I face people?"

While going through a mail pile in his inbox, Eric casually deleted an interview invitation and chuckled, "Don't worry! I'm officially the richest man in the country now. Even though they know I'm right here, they wouldn't dare print nonsense without evidence. Suing a celebrity enhances a newspaper's reputation, but going up against a billionaire may lead to bankruptcy. My current status is certainly inclined towards the latter."

Murdoch built his empire on tabloid journalism, so Elisabeth naturally understood the rules of engagement. Even though tabloids often went to extreme lengths to dig into celebrities' private lives, they also knew which figures to provoke and which ones to avoid. They were both unmarried; if the newspapers captured their photographs, the headlines would likely read something along the lines of "North America's Richest Man in a Romantic Relationship," maybe with some commentary on their family backgrounds.

As she thought these things over, Elisabeth felt a twinge of anticipation. It wouldn't be so bad if this matter got public; after all, since she was helping Emma adjust to life in New York, Julia had been absent from Los Angeles, making it impossible for the media to capture any of their interactions.

But then, she quickly remembered how Eric had once fled at the mention of marriage, feeling a sense of disappointment and shooting an annoyed glance at him.

"What's wrong?" Eric caught her look.

"Nothing, I'm just angry," Elisabeth turned away.

"Ha ha!" Eric mistakenly thought she was upset about not going to work. He chuckled, "Did you forget? We're rich people! We don't have to drive to work all the time."

Saying this, Eric gauged their luxurious yard and picked up Elisabeth's mobile phone to dial a number.

After more than half an hour, a Bell helicopter descended swiftly onto their estate.

...

Initially, the plan to showcase Firefly Films' capabilities took an unexpected turn, making Eric a newsworthy sensation once again. After leaving Elisabeth's house, his previously understated personal life was unable to continue; he found himself returning to his own villa diligently every day due to a swarm of paparazzi following him, possibly accompanied by other stalkers with ulterior motives. Eric was forced to ramp up his personal security.

The day after Forbes published its North American 400 Rich List, Warren Buffett, who had been far outmatched by Eric in terms of wealth, publicly questioned the accuracy of Forbes' data in the Washington Post. The investment mogul insisted Eric's net worth was not even as high as $17 billion, only acknowledging Eric's wealth to be $13 billion.

Warren Buffett had dominated the North American business world for thirty years, and his personal influence was beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Consequently, his article sparked a wave of reactions.

To maintain its credibility, Forbes stood firmly in defense of its figures, and Firefly naturally mobilized its media resources to counter Buffett's viewpoint.

Meanwhile, many investment banks, financial assessment firms, professional financial media, and even government departments became embroiled in this war of public opinion for various vested interests.

In no time, the average person was bewildered by the media mudslinging.

Those who understood the backstory recognized that this dispute fundamentally stemmed from the negotiations over the acquisition of ABC by Firefly Films. The primary reason behind this was that Firefly had yet to go public, making it impossible to provide an accurate valuation of the company through simple and clear earnings ratios, leaving a vast arena for maneuvering.

From ABC's perspective, acknowledging Eric's wealth would mean conceding a market value of around $20 billion for Firefly Films, almost double that of ABC's market value. If this notion solidified, ABC would find itself at a significant disadvantage in the acquisition talks.

Conversely, if they could reduce Eric's asset valuation to the $13 billion figure suggested by Buffett, the rising stock prices of ABC and Firefly would effectively level the playing field, giving ABC a considerable advantage during negotiations.

*****

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