Chapter 575: IMG

Capet Tower, Charles was dining with his mother.

"Teddy Forstmann is not an easy guy to compromise. Why would he be willing to sell IMG Entertainment?" Charles asked in confusion.

Evelyn put down her knife and fork, wiped her mouth, and smiled slightly, "Firstly, Teddy Forstmann is quite old now. Secondly, IMG Entertainment is the dominant player in the golf industry. The scandal involving Tiger Woods at the end of last year left the company somewhat embarrassed. And to be fair, Forstmann hasn't had it easy in the past couple of years. The offer was quite high, much more than what he paid when he acquired it."

Charles nodded, "This guy was always a Wall Street acquisition expert; he was never going to hold onto IMG Entertainment for long."

"By the way, Robin Hood was released, right?"

"Robin Hood? Yeah, it was released just last Friday, in over 3,500 theaters in North America. It grossed only $36 million on its opening weekend. And the reviews are pretty mediocre. With a $200 million production cost, this epic film Robin Hood is bound to lose money!"

Evelyn chuckled, "Seems like your judgment was spot on."

"Ari Emanuel seems to have met with Harvey Weinstein. You should pay attention," Evelyn sternly reminded her son. "Though they're both small-time players, you've been in the limelight too much recently. Hollywood, Wall Street, and even Washington are all aware of your presence!"

After Ari Emanuel left, he sold his shares to Evelyn. Add a blacklisted Harvey Weinstein to the mix - would Charles even care?

"Does he want to return to Hollywood?" Charles laughed, "I'll believe it when I see someone in Hollywood dare to go against me openly. There might be more behind this. Ari Emanuel's brother, Rahm Emanuel, is the White House Chief of Staff and we've had some run-ins in the past."

Evelyn frowned, "Jews?"

Charles looked at his mother, "I'm the one playing chess now; these pawns showing up just to annoy me are nothing. If there's a real issue, let the feminists stir things up again. Everyone can get disgusted together!"

Charles was a shareholder in Bank of America, representing the West Coast consortium. The industries under the bank's control were vast.

This wasn't just financial, internet, or entertainment services; it included military, energy, and manufacturing industries that involved massive populations.

What is the standard for a consortium? It must involve foundational industries affecting large populations, like food, energy, and military manufacturing.

Moreover, Charles held considerable power over feminism, making him a significant figure in Hollywood.

Whoever chose to confront Charles had to face various forms of opposition!

"Alright, no one in Hollywood dares to challenge us. The real problem lies outside of Hollywood."

Evelyn was now the Chairwoman and CEO of the largest talent agency, and her son Charles was the head of the world's second-largest media conglomerate.

It was hard to imagine anyone in Hollywood daring to challenge the Capet family now.

...

In the afternoon, Charles went to Brooklyn to inspect the construction progress of the Barclays Center. The NBA draft lottery was about to start.

The Premier League had just ended, with Chelsea leading Arsenal by two points and winning the championship. Arsenal still had the Champions League final against Inter Milan coming up.

In the evening, Arianna Huffington visited Charles's townhouse in the Upper East Side.

"A congressman has proposed investigating the antitrust relationship between Capet Media and Endeavor Group," Charles handed a file to Arianna Huffington.

"Just because my mother currently manages Endeavor Group?" Charles laughed.

Arianna Huffington flipped through the file. Indeed, someone had proposed that the Antitrust Committee should investigate the relationship between Capet and Endeavor.

"Don't worry, aside from the fact that the heads of Capet and Endeavor are mother and son, everything else is just normal business cooperation. Such a proposal would never be accepted," Arianna Huffington thought for a bit, then looked at Charles again.

"This must be the idea of Nevada Senator Harry Reid. Do you have any connections with him?"

Charles shook his head, "Nevada Senator Harry Reid? No connections."

"Harry Reid became a senator in 1988 and is a senior representative of the Democratic Party," Arianna Huffington explained. "Businessmen seek profits; politicians seek reputation."

"Is that why he's using me as his weapon?" Charles squinted his eyes.

"Don't worry, there are also significant forces in Nevada. The three major casino moguls in Las Vegas are all Republican supporters," Arianna Huffington shook her head.

"It's different from the Democratic power in California. Nevada is a swing state; maybe you can leverage that."

*****

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