Chapter 368: Interview on "Today Show"

James Raybuld arrived at the NBC headquarters in Midtown Manhattan at 7:00 AM sharp.

Simon Westeros typically avoided media appearances, yet some matters had to be addressed directly. Today, he was scheduled to appear on NBC's morning news program "Today Show" to address recent discussions and controversies surrounding Westeros Corporation.

After spending over half an hour confirming the interview details with his assistant, media relations, and the producers of "Today Show," James was led to the studio entrance at 7:40 AM.

"Twenty-one billion dollars, an astonishing figure—that's the latest net worth of Simon Westeros as announced on Forbes' list of the 400 wealthiest Americans this Monday. In the past year alone, this 22-year-old billionaire has increased his net worth by $15 billion, which is equivalent to earning $41 million per day."

"What kind of magical prowess does Simon Westeros possess to accumulate such immense wealth so quickly? Today, we have Mr. James Raybuld, President of Westeros Corporation, here to discuss many of the questions about Westeros Corporation that have been on everyone's minds."

After her introduction, the show's host, Deborah Norville, stood up and shook hands with James as he entered the studio.

On a Sunday morning, in front of countless home TV viewers, those who initially thought Simon Westeros himself would appear felt a moment of disappointment, but hardly anyone changed the channel.

Since his guest appearance at Madonna's concert in late June, Simon had been keeping a low profile.

With the media frenzy over the new Forbes list of America's 400 wealthiest individuals, having a spokesperson from Westeros Corporation on air was enough to satisfy public curiosity.

Inside the studio, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Deborah Norville dove into the topic: "Jim, let me start with the question everyone is most curious about: what has Simon been up to these days?"

"He's primarily focused on movies. Daenerys Entertainment has several projects currently in production, and this week Simon has been visiting sets across the federation."

"He sounds very busy," Deborah commented with a smile before asking, "How did he react when he learned about his ranking on this year's Forbes list?"

"He was very pleased, of course—it's a remarkable achievement."

"Indeed, it is remarkable. From 1986 to now, Simon has created all this in just four short years, and he's only 22. As president of Westeros Corporation, Jim, you must know him very well. Why do you think he has been able to achieve all this? Is he perhaps a clairvoyant?"

The host's tone was light and playful as she asked.

James smiled and responded, "Simon often jokes about being a clairvoyant in his private life, but he's not one. He's also said he wishes he could prove the existence of spirits because that would mean death is not the end, and we wouldn't need to fear it anymore."

This conversation, originally with his daughter Jennifer, had made a lasting impression on James.

Deborah looked enlightened, saying, "I've never thought about it that way. To be honest, I used to fear death and ghosts alike, but now, it seems not so daunting."

"I feel the same," James agreed, then preemptively addressed her earlier question: "Simon is a very special person. He excels in many areas and possesses exceptional foresight and creativity. I believe these are the keys to his success."

"Many people would agree with that," Deborah acknowledged, then shifted the topic: "Jim, according to yesterday's Hollywood Reporter, Daenerys Entertainment is planning to acquire MCA, which owns Universal Studios. Is this true?"

Approaching the interview's critical subject, James Raybuld gathered his thoughts: "Since the beginning of the year, there's been a lot of media speculation about how Simon plans to use that overseas fund. We've considered many options and discussed various targets, but there are no conclusions yet."

Deborah pressed on: "But, Jim, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Westeros Corporation has formed a 60-person acquisition team. How do you explain that?"

"I'm not sure where the Hollywood Reporter got their information. Simon values cooperative synergy among all companies within the Westeros system, whether it's Cersei Capital, Daenerys Entertainment, or our tech enterprises. Frequent collaboration might have led to some misunderstandings."

"So, Simon has no intentions of acquiring MCA?" Deborah looked for clarification.

James avoided a direct answer: "As I said, we've considered many targets, including MCA. However, everything requires Simon's final approval. Plus, he hasn't decided whether to repatriate that overseas fund yet, given the hefty 28% capital gains tax it would incur."

The sudden exposure by the Hollywood Reporter about Daenerys Entertainment's plans to acquire MCA caught Westeros Corporation's senior management somewhat off guard.

Before today's interview, James and his team had meticulously

 discussed and decided to provide a non-committal response to avoid a passive situation where silence could be construed as agreement, and to prevent speculators from rushing into MCA's stock.

James tactfully changed the subject, and Deborah did not pursue further, as NBC did not want to jeopardize future interview opportunities, so she followed his lead.

"Speaking of capital gains tax, the President recently announced, albeit reluctantly, that he would break his campaign promise of no new taxes by proposing a tax increase to address the increasingly severe federal deficit. Due to the rise of hedge funds in the past two years, Senator Peter Briggle from Texas suggested this Wednesday strengthening regulations on hedge funds and revising the related tax structure to prevent excessive financial speculation from harming the federal economy. Jim, what's your view on Briggle's proposal?"

Both Simon Westeros and James Raybuld were aware of Senator Briggle's proposed bill from the moment it was introduced.

It was well-known that Texas was a stronghold for the Bush family and the Republican Party, making Briggle's targeted proposal all the more obvious.

Moreover, this proposal came at a crucial time for soliciting votes during the U.S. mid-term elections, with the Republican Party at a disadvantage in gaining control of Congress. Coincidentally, the Westeros system had inadvertently become a significant financier for the Democrats this year by investing $20 million in the political arena.

The government's controversial move in 1986 to unify the previously separate long-term and short-term capital gains tax rates at 28% equivalent to income tax was already contentious. If the Bush administration raised taxes further, it would not only alienate Wall Street but also severely limit capital market liquidity, exacerbating the sluggish U.S. economy.

Specifically targeting hedge funds for taxation, regardless of feasibility, would likely drive many hedge fund firms out of the U.S., and the substantial overseas earnings would not return home, ultimately hurting the U.S. itself.

Most crucially, after surviving the 1987 stock market crash, the Japanese stock market bubble, and the crude oil futures market operations, Simon had completed his initial capital accumulation and would not heavily rely on Cersei Capital in the future. Even if the Bush administration did strengthen regulations and increase taxes, it would not greatly affect him.

Simon was also not worried about being targeted by the Bush administration due to his political stance. The American two-party system is mutually restraining; if the Republicans targeted him, the Democrats would naturally intervene. If they couldn't protect their major financier, who would stand with them in the future?

In the studio, of course, James Raybuld would not directly confront the senator over these issues but expressed his views on the matter as it stood.

The two continued to explore various topics, and the ten-minute interview concluded swiftly.

Leaving NBC headquarters, it was not yet 8:00 AM.

James had breakfast plans with Simon and his wife, so he hurried to the Upper East Side, where his wife, Carol Raybuld, had already arrived early.

The topic of breakfast naturally revolved around recent events.

Due to intense media scrutiny recently, to prevent the premature leak of the Bell Atlantic acquisition plan, that initiative had been temporarily halted.

The negotiations for an exclusive deal with three companies for America Online were clearly impacted by the public disclosure of Simon's personal wealth, with all three firms holding firm on their terms. Simon was adamant about not accepting any of the three companies as shareholders in America Online.

As for the acquisition of MCA, considering the impact of the leaked news about the competitive bid from Daenerys Entertainment, Simon had started to prepare for both outcomes.

Although it was Sunday, after breakfast, James Raybuld still went to the Westeros Corporation headquarters in Midtown to start his day's work.

These days, as Simon's spokesperson, James navigated countless invitations and attentions with great enthusiasm. Moreover, not just superficially; Forbes magazine had omitted James last month from its list of Westeros system's billion-dollar club members.

Having personally participated in two capital market operations last year and this year, James would not miss such opportunities, with Simon personally arranging for James's involvement.

Although initially only $20 million was raised, the smaller amount of capital actually facilitated maximizing returns. After over a year of continuous operations, the funds recently transferred back from overseas still exceeded $160 million after taxes.

On this year's Forbes list of America's wealthiest 400, the last entry, Donald Graham, heir to The Washington Post, had a personal fortune of only $260 million. James Raybuld, with a net worth of $160 million, already belonged to the top tier of America's wealthiest individuals in this era.

Under Simon's guidance, the Raybuld couple took advantage of the recent stock market downturn to invest all their money in Microsoft and Intel stocks. If Microsoft and Intel reached their peak market values from the original timeline during the internet bubble, just this investment could potentially propel the Raybuld family into the ranks of billionaires.

Of course, these were thoughts for the future.

Inside

 the apartment on Fifth Avenue, after seeing off the Raybuld couple, Simon and Janet spent the day at home.

After returning to New York yesterday, Simon had sent his Boeing 767 to Los Angeles. Not many people knew he was in New York, which made it a quiet day.

The apartment's rooftop had been transformed into a garden by Janet, with the autumn sunlight perfectly warming the area. The couple sat at a simple wooden table, with various documents Janet had collected over the week spread out before them.

"The hedge fund team will definitely see good profits in the coming months, but we'll need to keep some funds overseas. By the end of the year, we might be able to bring back about $6 billion. If we want to complete two acquisitions simultaneously, based on a purchase price of $7 billion for MCA Group and $8 billion for Bell Atlantic, we'll need to secure an additional $9 billion in loans. It's easy to get this money, but even at a 4.5% annual interest rate over ten years, the total interest would reach $2.19 billion, requiring an annual repayment of about $1.12 billion."

Janet, sitting close by, brought out another document: "This is the current management profile for Bell Atlantic. The chairman and CEO, Raymond Smith, is an outstanding professional manager, 56 years old. He started as an intern in the original Bell system and worked his way up to CFO before AT-T was broken up. He was one of the contenders for the highest executive position at AT-T."

Simon began to review the information on Raymond Smith.

Apart from being the head of Bell Atlantic, Raymond Smith was also a talented poet and playwright with several published works. Additionally, he held directorships in several major corporations and had five doctoral degrees.

Recalling information from his memory, Simon found that in the original timeline, it was indeed Raymond Smith who had gradually expanded Bell Atlantic into North America's second-largest telecommunications company, Verizon. In contrast, the other six "Baby Bells" that emerged from AT-T in 1984 either failed to escape acquisition or went bankrupt.

Simon had no immediate plans to replace the management team after acquiring Bell Atlantic. After reviewing Raymond Smith's profile, he was even less inclined to do so.

As Janet waited for Simon to finish reviewing the information, she said without prompting, "Impressive, isn't he? However, he's also our biggest obstacle in acquiring Bell Atlantic. The company is performing much better than its neighbor, NYNEX, and Smith is very ambitious professionally. Once we acquire Bell Atlantic, the company will inevitably take on substantial debt, which could be detrimental to its future development. Unless we address this issue, Raymond Smith is unlikely to easily agree to our acquisition."

Simon looked at the information before him, picked up a pencil, and began making calculations on the blank part of the document. "Bell Atlantic's shares are too dispersed. Even if we reach an agreement, we might not be able to acquire 100% of the company, which could save us some funds initially. If we start buying shares now at the current stock price, we can save even more. Let's calculate based on acquiring 75% of the shares; if the deal is for $8 billion, we only need to pay $6 billion."

Janet watched Simon calculate, adding, "But, if we want to start an ISP business, we'll definitely need to invest heavily in technology research and infrastructure. We can't save that remaining $2 billion. Moreover, if we can secure more than 90% of the shares, under federal securities law, we could force a buyout of the remaining shares for full privatization."

"Okay, what I mean is," Simon quickly wrote several figures on the paper, "we should try to transfer the debt to Daenerys Entertainment as much as possible. If necessary, we could use loans to acquire MCA entirely, which would minimize the resistance to acquiring Bell Atlantic."

"If we do that, because of the high debt ratio, the future IPO of Daenerys Entertainment would be severely impacted."

Simon couldn't help but smile wryly.

It was indeed difficult to have the best of both worlds.

Simon's initial plan was to launch the IPO of Daenerys Entertainment after the release of "Toy Story" next year. However, once the acquisition of MCA was completed, digesting this company would take at least two to three years, and the IPO would have to be postponed.

Speaking of which, Simon wasn't actually short of money.

Not just the overseas funds, but the tech stocks held by Westeros Corporation, based on their three-year agreement, could be sold next year. If Simon chose to, he could easily realize over a billion dollars, and the same was true for many other assets within the Westeros system.

If he was willing to welcome external shareholders into core enterprises like Daenerys Entertainment, Igret, and Melisandre, he could easily raise substantial funds.

However, whether it was the

 tech stocks or companies like Daenerys, Igret, and Melisandre, all had significant growth potential, and Simon was reluctant to sell off their shares or share their equity too readily.

After considering for a moment, Simon decided, "Let's draft the acquisition plan based on this approach for now. MCA will be entirely financed through loans, and Bell Atlantic will be purchased as much as possible with our own funds. We'll deal with future issues in the future."

Janet nodded, and they began to discuss more specific details of the plan.

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