Chapter 756: I Can Talk Movies with Them

[Chapter 756: I Can Talk Movies with Them]

"Eric, Chris, let me introduce you. This is John Neff. To be honest, I don't agree with many of his economic views, but we can't deny that under John's leadership, the Windsor Fund has nearly outperformed the Dow Jones by over 3% annually for the past twenty years."

It was the day after Halloween in Queens, New York, and Eric arrived punctually at the gathering Buffett mentioned, held in a wealthy villa in the area.

Upon hearing Buffett mention the Windsor Fund, Eric raised an eyebrow slightly but maintained a warm demeanor as he extended his hand to shake with the older gentleman who somewhat resembled Buffett, even sporting similar tortoiseshell-frame glasses.

"Hello, Eric and Chris," John Neff said, a broad smile on his face as he shook hands with both of them. He glanced at Buffett with a touch of dissatisfaction, "Hey, Warren, are you criticizing me in front of these young folks again? We should set aside some time to discuss your views on the efficient market hypothesis."

"Of course, I have all the time in the world," Buffett chuckled before adding, "But now, I need to introduce these two young men to some other old-timers."

In response, Buffett raised his glass toward John Neff and led Eric and Chris over to another gentleman in his sixties. "Another John," Buffett said as he lifted his glass. "John Bogle, this is Eric and Chris. You should meet."

Chris, on the other side of Buffett, eagerly reached out to John Bogle, "Mr. Bogle, I'm Chris Hansen. It's great to meet you. Oh, I've read many of your economics papers in college."

"Hello, Chris. I know you; Firefly Investment Company has done a remarkable job with its portfolio in recent years. Perhaps we can chat sometime."

"Absolutely, if I have that honor," Chris nodded vigorously, giving Eric the impression of a fan meeting a superstar.

Then again, this wasn't too surprising; Buffett wasn't the only big name in the room. Many attendees were infamous figures in the investment world.

Eric had done some homework on John Bogle; even without that, the name behind the Vanguard Group was legendary enough. He recalled that at its peak, the firm controlled more than a trillion in assets. Even now, Vanguard managed around $200 billion -- a substantial amount surpassing even Eric's considerable wealth.

From his encounters with major players like Seymour Gilbert of Morgan Stanley yesterday to this morning's introductions by Buffett, Eric had slowly come to realize that what represented a person's power was not merely how many resources they possessed but rather how much they could control.

Although he had harbored similar thoughts before, witnessing the capital moguls over the past few days had sharpened this realization. John Bogle, despite his personal wealth being dwarfed by Eric's, maintained firm control over over $200 billion in assets. The board memberships those assets represented among Fortune 500 companies were the true power the big funds wielded to influence industries and even national economies.

...

As Buffett made his rounds throughout the hall, he stopped by a bar and exchanged his drink. He chatted with Eric and Chris for a bit before saying, "Alright, Eric, feel free to mingle with anyone you're interested in. Of course, you can also meet some of these young folks your age."

Chris seemed eager to engage, raising his glass towards Eric and Buffett before heading off to another corner. As a top finance student, it was clear he admired many of the investment legends in the venue -- far more qualified than those so-called economists who only talked big.

The hall also housed numerous young people, presumably the proteges of the older veterans. Just then, a silver-haired elder walked over with a man in his thirties. "Hey, Warren, good evening! Oh, and Eric, let me introduce my brother's son, Nate. He's currently an investment manager at the Cahn Brothers Company."

Knowing they were primarily interested in Buffett, Eric smiled at them before stepping away.

...

After wandering through the crowd for a while, Virginia noticed Eric and approached him. "What are you discussing?"

Eric raised his glass toward the group of women he had just been chatting with nearby and grinned at the woman linking her arm with his. "Movies and fashion and stuff, nothing you big men would be interested in."

Eric chuckled, "Oh, I'm actually quite interested in those things."

As they conversed, a male voice called from behind, "Hey, Eric."

Turning around, Eric spotted Bill Gates and his wife. He smiled and extended his hand, "Hey, good evening, Bill, Melinda, this is Virginia Madsen."

"Hello, Ms. Madsen. Melinda and I happened to watch your movie when we were dating, The Others, right?"

"Yes, quite the surprise that was, years ago," Virginia said graciously as she shook hands with Bill and Melinda Gates.

Since the success of Windows 95, Microsoft had rapidly accelerated its engagement in the internet industry within the past six months. Not only had they launched a portal, but they'd even started acting as an internet service provider, seemingly following the old tactic of "shooting down a goose that flies by, whether you eat it or not." At this point, they were competing head-to-head with Yahoo! and America Online.

Eric had kept a keen eye on Microsoft's business activities. From their recent lackluster expansion results, he sensed no need to overreact to Microsoft's potential threat.

With the significant loss of the browser as a vital internet interface, he was less optimistic about Microsoft's internet prospects compared to the past. Besides, with Windows 95's success granting Microsoft monopoly status in operating systems, the symptoms of corporate bloat had begun appearing, leading to loss of agility. Despite having vast resources, entering a rapidly evolving industry wouldn't be easy.

Although a fierce competition had clearly begun behind the scenes, both sides maintained a facade of politeness. After a brief discussion, although they both remained polite, Eric sensed they wouldn't find much common ground. As they parted ways, Eric raised his arm for Virginia to link hers and said, "Let's go. Since Warren brought me here, I shouldn't waste his good intentions; connecting with these old-timers is definitely beneficial."

Virginia glanced at Chris, who was animatedly chatting with a bespectacled middle-aged man alongside Emily, and smiled, "Sure, but in this setting, you probably won't be as comfortable as Chris."

"That's fine," Eric laughed, "I can talk movies with them."

"Ha ha."

Quietly chatting, Eric made his way with Virginia into the crowd.

In such settings, people typically engaged in less serious business; mainly, it was about cultivating connections.

Years prior, Eric often found himself in a whirlwind of busyness, not particularly fond of such social gatherings, so he had been oblivious to this.

But recently, reflecting on a series of details -- from the video Terry Semel recorded for his daughter to Morgan Stanley Chairman Seymour Gilbert inviting him to yesterday's party and today, Buffett bringing him here -- Eric began to feel the omnipresent "web" pulling him in. Various groups, different powers, and diverse industries... What they all shared was significant influence and an undeniable desire to reel him into their networks to amplify their own strength.

...

After this party, the end of the year began to loom closer, and Eric's more relaxed lifestyle was coming to an end.

In the following week, the most closely watched event by most media across the U.S. would undoubtedly be the upcoming second annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

This year's show was scheduled for November 9th, a Thursday.

The formal broadcast time would be set for a month later, just like last year. Although this year's show would start at 10 PM, taking into account audience age restrictions, waiting two hours wasn't a burden for the viewers who had anticipated the show all year long, especially since many fans were young people used to nightlife. Although the delay pushed the airing back by an hour compared to last year, viewership projections remained conservatively estimated at 25 million.

For the general audience, they would only silently seek out pictures or video reports about the fashion show in newspapers or on television after November 9th to satisfy their curiosity. Yet those hundreds of guests invited to the show would have the chance to feast their eyes early.

Thanks to Eric's rigorous training last year, the Victoria's Secret Angels had become very familiar with the show format. However, the most pressure this year lay on Michael Bay, who was directing the event.

Since Michael Bay's appointment as the director for the second Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was announced, the media had scrutinized him for over six months. As his popularity surged, he was naturally under considerable pressure.

Nevertheless, Firefly Group welcomed this entirely, for just a week after the show, Michael Bay's new film, Bad Boys, would be released. Given that the movie had already garnered substantial anticipation, Eric believed it was almost certain that it would surpass the original box office numbers, especially since it was landing in a prime Thanksgiving slot.

Although the lead role had shifted away from Will Smith, in the original timeline, it was this very film that had propelled Will Smith to stardom, not the other way around. Consequently, the change in leads wouldn't significantly affect the film; moreover, there was an added benefit that once Bad Boys achieved the expected success, Firefly could immediately commence work on the sequel. After all, once Will Smith was replaced, the sequel wouldn't have to navigate as tumultuous a fate as in the preceding timeline.

...

Manhattan, Lexington Avenue Armory.

On November 9th, as evening approached, crowds began to gather on the streets, and luxury vehicles lined up at the end of the red carpet. Each guest who got out sparked rounds of excited screams and applause.

In contrast to last year when Eric had kept all the spotlight on the Victoria's Secret Angels, this year's project team slightly altered the strategy by inviting a broader array of well-known celebrities to attend, and attendees were eager to participate given the event's influence.

Eric didn't oppose this strategic shift but opted to maintain a lower profile, heading straight backstage at the fashion show.

*****

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