Chapter 313

Charles Capet had been making a ton of money thanks to Capet Pictures' stellar performance over the past two years. He bought new properties in Los Angeles, as well as Lake Tahoe.

Seizing the opportunity of falling real estate prices in the U.S., he started buying luxury homes in New York. He first purchased a vacation villa covering over four acres near the Gold Coast in East Hampton, Long Island, featuring a modern European-style villa with a floor area of 1000 square meters.

Next, he bought a four-story, 1280 square meter luxury villa on East 72nd Street, between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue, in Manhattan's Upper East Side.

He also bought a Ferrari 430 Spider, a Lamborghini Murcielago, a BMW X5, and a $1.6 million Bugatti Veyron.

In less than a month after returning to the U.S. from China, Charles spent nearly $80 million. Including his real estate investments in China, he spent a total of $200 million!

Previously, Charles had discussed the idea of jointly acquiring a golf club with Ivanka Trump. However, after meeting Charles in New York, Ivanka seemed to have abandoned that idea.

"What's up? Did Trump Organization take some hits too?" Charles asked Ivanka as they sat on a bench in Central Park chatting.

Ivanka frowned, "Yeah, a lot of houses aren't selling. Even lowering prices isn't helping!"

Charles smirked, "I noticed your dad wasn't too worried when I ran into him at a golf resort in South Lake Tahoe the other day. He had a pretty lady with him."

"He's always with a porn star!" Charles added mockingly.

Trump had his third wedding the year before and had a baby boy last year. Pretty impressive stamina for a sixty-year-old.

Ivanka awkwardly shook her head. She knew her father's tendencies all too well - cheating was as normal as eating and drinking for him.

"Enough about that. You're buying property in New York; aren't you worried about losing money?" Ivanka knew Charles had bought luxury homes in East Hampton and Upper East Side Manhattan, areas for top-tier wealthy people.

"Losing money? How much could I lose? Villas in these prime locations will always have a market," Charles replied nonchalantly. He was confident prices would rise in a couple of years.

"Come join me tonight for the ball News Corp is hosting to celebrate their successful acquisition of Dow Jones," Charles nudged.

"This is a big event. I read that Capet Pictures was also involved. Are you interested in the Wall Street Journal?" Ivanka was clueless about businesses outside of real estate, like the multi-billion-dollar merger involving Dow Jones.

"Many people are interested in the Wall Street Journal, including me. Do you think I'd limit my vision to a small weekly newspaper like the New York Observer?" Charles said, standing up and looking at the artificial lake in front of him.

Moreover, the Huffington Post was developing better than the New York Observer. After all, it was just a weekly newspaper.

Ivanka nodded thoughtfully. Charles Capet was quite famous now. He had built Capet Pictures from scratch, turning it into a new power in Hollywood thanks to his exceptional instinct for movies.

Likewise, his investment sense was sharp. For instance, he had bet against the real estate market, borrowing billions and winning his bet on the falling prices.

Years ago, he made a fortune betting on the World Cup, and now with his stock market investments, Charles Capet's star was shining even brighter.

Fortunately, the public didn't know Charles was leveraging. If people found out he used $1.2 billion to leverage $12 billion for shorting, jaws would drop.

In the evening at the entrance of the five-star Fasano Fifth Avenue Hotel in Upper East Side, a luxury Lincoln pulled up.

Dressed in a deep blue tailored Italian suit, Charles entered the hotel, arm-in-arm with Ivanka, who was wearing a light yellow Dior low-cut evening gown.

"Charles, Ivanka, welcome!" Rupert Murdoch greeted warmly, hugging Charles intimately.

"Congratulations! With the Wall Street Journal, News Corp's media influence in the U.S. has reached a new level," Charles offered his congratulations.

"Charles, Mr. Murdoch, I'm going over to chat with Mrs. Murdoch," Ivanka said, intending to give them space.

"Go ahead, Wendi misses you!" Rupert Murdoch replied with a smile.

As Ivanka left, Charles and Rupert Murdoch each picked up a glass of wine from a waiter's tray and clinked them together.

"Iron Man and Transformers have blown up this summer. Capet Pictures is getting stronger," Rupert Murdoch noted with a knowing look at Charles.

"Sony's Ghost Rider and our 20th Century Fox's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer didn't match up to Iron Man's success!" Murdoch added.

"Didn't you complete the script for X-Men Origins: Wolverine last year? Why hasn't it started filming?" Charles inquired.

"The main actor, Hugh Jackman, isn't available, and both Zack Snyder and Bryan Singer, the directors we had in mind, turned down the role," Rupert Murdoch explained candidly. "Well, we have Gavin Hood signed on as the director now."

The X-Men franchise had so many characters. After developing the first X-Men trilogy, it was obvious 20th Century Fox would expand further.

But who would be the final boss in this X-Men Origins: Wolverine film? Deadpool's rights were still with Marvel; they hadn't been sold to Fox.

...

On the other side, Kushner Group executives, Charles Kushner and Jared Kushner, were chatting because of their $1.8 billion acquisition of 666 Fifth Avenue.

Charles Kushner, who was just released from prison last year, had significant concerns about his successor, Jared Kushner.

"That's Charles Capet. He's close with Ivanka. He also acquired the New York Observer, as you may know," Jared noted, glancing at Charles Capet, who was laughing and chatting with Rupert Murdoch.

"Is he one of those Hollywood stars blessed by God?" Charles Kushner had briefly researched Charles Capet.

After all, the Kushner Group was in real estate and had no dealings with Hollywood.

"Now, Capet Group is the seventh largest film group in Hollywood. Its scale far surpasses Kushner Group," Jared noted. He had become a laughingstock in the real estate circle due to his high-leverage loan to acquire 666 Fifth Avenue during the subprime mortgage crisis.

"Stay confident. One or two failures don't mean much. Hollywood's relationships are very complicated," Charles Kushner reminded his son.

"Ivanka's family has a significant presence in New York's real estate sector. Your marriage would benefit both our groups. So, give it another shot!"

*****

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