Chapter 133: Classmate Damon

After work, Simon Westeros headed straight to George Norman's house in Belair.

On Wednesday, Simon had revealed his intentions to Jennifer, and early the next morning, he received a call from James Rebelde. The two talked for over an hour, during which James listed a multitude of reasons trying to persuade Simon to abandon the idea of having him and Norman each handle one of the coasts, claiming that he was more than capable and more professional on his own.

After careful consideration, Simon agreed.

Still busy with movie matters during the workdays, the Rebelde couple made their way over today, planning to discuss more details with Simon over the weekend and also extended a dinner invitation to Simon through the Normans.

Having already agreed with James Rebelde, Simon did not introduce any complications by sharing his original plans with his personal lawyer. Technically, George Norman, being a civil lawyer, indeed wasn't the best fit to manage the assets of Westeros Corp.

Unaware of the opportunities he had missed, George Norman was very enthusiastic that evening, and even congratulated his brother-in-law for managing to collaborate with Simon, making for a delightful gathering. Jennifer, however, occasionally showed a slightly guilty expression when facing her uncle, knowing all too well that her father had seized the opportunity meant for her uncle.

The new year was just around the corner.

Over the past few weeks, Simon had paid his personal income tax for 1987 and the various taxes for his two companies. Of course, primarily those of Westeros Corp.

After settling the taxes, the primary assets of Westeros Corp were the stocks of 26 companies.

It's worth noting that when Simon applied for Westeros Corp, he had designated its business type as a Limited Liability Company (LLC). The greatest advantage of an LLC is that it avoids double taxation. The income of Westeros Corp was treated as Simon's personal income, meaning taxes were only paid once, and Simon could enjoy the profits he deserved. Naturally, LLCs have notable disadvantages, such as being unable to go public.

Luckily, Simon had never planned on taking Westeros Corp public.

In contrast, for future IPOs and financing considerations, Daenerys Film Corp was established as a corporation (Corp), which means the profits and dividends are taxed.

As the North American stock market gradually moved past the October crash and the "Westeros portfolio" caused technology stocks to be highly sought after, the tech stocks held by Westeros Corp continued to appreciate in value.

According to the latest statistics made by Simon's private accountant after today's market close, the total value of the tech stocks held by Westeros Corp had surpassed $1.67 billion. Compared to the initial capital investment of $1.1 billion, the cumulative appreciation was 51%.

This appreciation essentially replenished the substantial taxes Simon had paid.

On the other hand, Westeros Corp's 4.9% ownership in each of the 26 tech companies essentially placed it among the major shareholders of these companies. However, gaining a seat on their boards of directors to share in the governance wasn't so straightforward.

Still, these companies had benefited from the "Westeros portfolio" effect with significant stock price increases over the past few months, and it seemed very likely that Simon would secure board seats.

After the weekend negotiations, authorized by Simon, James Rebelde formally sent out applications to join the boards of all the tech companies Westeros Corp held shares in. The media quickly picked up on this development.

The new week.

Hollywood's focus was undoubtedly on the announcement of the nominations for the new Golden Globe Awards.

At nine o'clock Monday morning, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association held a press conference in the banquet hall of the Sunset Tower Hotel in Beverly Hills to announce the nominations for the 45th Golden Globe Awards.

Given the "maneuverability" of the Golden Globes, which far exceeds the Oscars with many judges, "Run Lola Run" unsurprisingly received nominations for Best Drama Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best Score, making it the hot favorite for this year's awards.

Simon was aware that unless the Hollywood Foreign Press Association completely abandoned its integrity, his nomination for Best Director would merely remain a nomination. Regarding Best Drama Picture, he recalled that the winner should be Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor," and Simon didn't think "Run Lola Run" could compete with the well-established European filmmaker.

Nevertheless, it was a reason to celebrate. Simon spent the entire morning receiving congratulatory calls from various parties.

Until noon.

At a restaurant in downtown Santa Monica, as the host, Simon arrived ten minutes early, and Bill Gates soon arrived as well.

Having done some homework, Gates politely congratulated Simon on the Golden Globe nominations for "Run Lola Run" as soon as they met. The two sat down at the table, discreetly sizing each other up.

Bill Gates, only 32 years old, wore large black-framed glasses, making him look even younger

, almost like a middle schooler, specifically the type often bullied by tough kids at school.

Just by his looks, Simon could understand why, in many biographies and movies, Damon classmate was often bullied by his contemporary, Jobs.

However.

Once Gates started talking, there was nothing submissive about him.

After ordering, and once the waiter had left, Gates cut straight to the chase: "Simon, I'd like you to explain why you're interested in Microsoft's stock."

Ignoring Gates' confrontational tone, Simon replied casually, "Bill, I'd say I'm interested in the entire electronic information industry, and Microsoft is just part of it."

"If that's all," Gates pulled out a fax from his briefcase and handed it over, "I'm afraid I can't agree to Westeros Corp's representative joining Microsoft's board."

"I'm not that keen on joining Microsoft's board myself; it's quite time-consuming. But since I've invested so much money, I do hope to offer some personal advice for these companies' development," Simon glanced at the fax, set it down, and looked directly at Gates, "Bill, you own about 45% of this company. Are you really worried I'd contest for control?"

"Alright, let's be frank," Gates relaxed his tone, "Simon, if Microsoft refuses Westeros Corp's request to join the board, would you sell off your shares?"

"I've already told you, my main goal is investment. If holding Microsoft shares continues to make me money, I definitely won't sell them. As for the board, if I think it necessary, maybe I'll continue buying shares, increasing my stake to 10% or even more, until you agree."

"What if I continue to refuse?"

"You and Paul Allen together, the publicly traded shares of Microsoft should be about 30%," Simon smiled, "Maybe I can buy up all of Microsoft's publicly traded shares. Then you, me, and Paul Allen can discuss the future of the company together."

After going public last year, Bill Gates and Paul Allen still held about 45% and 25% of Microsoft, respectively, with 30% on the market. With Microsoft's market value still only a little over a billion dollars after the stock rebound, Simon indeed had the capability to buy up all the publicly traded shares.

Under the rules, once the publicly traded shares dropped below a certain percentage, Microsoft would have to delist.

Bill Gates, looking across the table at the young man, realized he could clearly sense the eagerness in the tone of the statement just made.

He really might do something like that!

After a moment of silence, Gates finally spoke again: "Simon, I don't like you. You're a madman."

"That's common knowledge. I'm not quite sure if I'm cured yet," Simon shrugged off with a laugh, then turned serious, "Alright, Bill, why don't we talk about Windows? I've been studying the recently released Windows 2.0. Frankly, it's still pretty bad. However, your approach is correct. Compatibility is crucial for an operating system to quickly expand at this stage. And a graphical user interface can also help personal computers quickly become popular in the mass market. Only by selling personal computers to the general consumers can the electronic information industry rapidly grow. Like VCRs, ten years ago, less than a million North American households had a VCR, but now, that number is 50 million. As a result, last year's video cassette sales in North America surpassed box office revenues. In my view, the market potential for personal computers far exceeds that of VCRs, and because of the demand for standardization, it's hard for the market to sustain many different operating systems. In this respect, Microsoft is not at an advantage, because you don't produce hardware, and companies like IBM can easily outpace you. So, while maintaining compatibility, Microsoft must also develop some unique strengths."

Simon paused there, giving Gates a moment to focus on listening.

Seeing Simon suddenly stop, Gates asked subconsciously, "What kind of strengths?"

Simon gestured to the fax from earlier, "First, give me a board seat."

Gates insisted, "You first."

"Do you have a pen?" Simon asked.

Gates took out a pen from his briefcase and handed it over. Simon wrote something on the back of the fax and then passed the paper and pen back, saying, "A suggestion, in exchange for a board seat. Actually, I feel like I'm at a loss. Maybe you could sell me some of your shares at a discount."

Gates ignored Simon's comment and picked up the fax, but it only contained a strange word: Wintel.

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