Hollywood Hunter

Chapter 800.

On the east coast of the United States, at an estate on Martha's Vineyard Island at the eastern end of Long Island, Celia, returning to North America, sees Simon again on Friday, November 15.

In just a few days, in the face of strong international public attention, a special team of Kiev authorities in Donetsk quickly solved the Sherban assassination case.

At a press conference summarizing the case, the Ukrainian side said that one of the five arrested killers, resentful of layoffs at his factory after it was taken over by a company owned by Serban, contacted several other associates to launch the assassination.

That reason is bullshit.

Any onlooker with a little insider knowledge knows that the whole thing is a fierce tug-of-war between two major forces within Ukraine for East Ukrainian industrial assets, and that neither side is clean in connection with the attempted assassination of Lazarenko a few months ago.

Such scandals are certainly not fit for public knowledge.

Even if it's a cover-up.

Now that the case has been quickly solved, Leon Kuchma also personally held a press conference to assure journalists around the world that Ukraine will strengthen the protection of overseas investors, coupled with Russia and the United States after a statement made no more substantial follow-up, the matter is considered to be closed.

As for the private surges and ripples that are still going on, it's not for just anyone to find out.

In the living room of the estate house on the southern end of Martha's Vineyard Island by the ocean.

Celia Miller sipped slowly from her coffee, occasionally glancing at her own boss who was cuddling next to her on the couch with Irene Landa going over that Vegas development proposal.

After ten minutes of this, reading the information, Simon fondled the waist of Irene in his arms and also kissed the side of the girl's cheek and neck as he asked, "How do you feel about this proposal?"

Irene, who had purposely relied on the man's arms to swear her sovereignty because of Celia's appearance, quickly turned red under Simon's action, pressed one of his large, strange hands, and shook her head, "I don't know about this, but I don't even know where Rivne is exactly, and will it attract tourists in the future if we really invest a lot of money in building a casino?"

"Las Vegas was just a desert town before it became famous."

Irene saw Simon say and kissed the corner of his mouth, really embarrassed in front of an outsider, so she made a gesture to bite him and said, "Then you decide, it's all your money anyway."

Simon, not intimidated by Irene's fake bite, kissed the girl's earlobe again and said, "Why don't the Lander family get involved and leave our little Noah to be the king of Eastern European gambling in the future, that sounds awesome, doesn't it?"

Erin was even more embarrassed, "I don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet, and it's up to my dad and them to decide on the investment, I can't control it."

After saying so, Erin, who had been raised as a lady since childhood, finally couldn't stand being looked at so intimately by Celia and broke away from Simon's embrace to get up, "Alright, I'm going to take a nap, you guys can talk."

Simon reluctantly pulled on the woman's arm until she got up and broke away a little, imploring, "I know you can't sleep alone, but I'll come over soon to keep you company."

Erin gave Simon a blank look, "I like to sleep alone."

He said he saw the small hand still held by Simon and the man still had the side of his face, so he had to go forward and kiss it before it could be released.

Just as she was about to turn around and head out the door, Irene, who wasn't so dumb after all, reflected that some guy had just left on purpose, to make it too much for her to take the initiative.

Finally throwing out an 'I understand' look and not forgetting to nod politely at Celia, Erin still headed out.

When Erin left, Simon aimed a strange-looking Celia, "Is it envy?"

Simon didn't deliberately hide anything about certain things, and Celia naturally knew, though it was inevitable that she was moved inside, the woman didn't answer, but said, "Noah, nice name."

"Yeah, Erin started it, and we're all hoping it's a boy, and then we'll call it Noah Landay Westeros.

After all, it was the boss's personal business, even if it had an intimate relationship, Celia still put herself in the right position and nodded without further words, instead asking, "What does the boss think of this proposal?"

Simon: "If everything was only $200 million, it would be a good thing to try, but it's certainly not enough money to actually start."

Celia also acknowledged.

To create a gambling city, the infrastructure of casinos, hotels and the like is just the beginning, and $200 million placed in Ukraine can really spread the spread.

The key is still the subsequent operations.

Like Atlantic City, although not too much of a failure, but compared to the initial build of the city was a big splash, the results are now far below the expectations of investors.

Atlantic City, with its many advantages, is a gambling city located in an unknown and remote state in Eastern Europe, and it is definitely not that difficult to make it. When the time comes, once the casino is not operating satisfactorily, the project is likely to be like a runaway movie project similar to "Waterworld of the Future" or "Titanic," which is still being filmed at the moment.

It's hard to say if it will become a bottomless pit.

A little deliberation, Celia said: "From the operation of the spa resort and military theme park, both Andre and Alexander's ability is excellent, and they continue to explore and learn, which is considered a very important positive factor, if this passion of the two can last five to ten years, or if the boss is willing to use the resources of the Westeros system to support, I I believe the chances of success in this casino are over 70%."

Simon closed the file in his hands, "I'll get someone to reassess, Celie, tell me about your trip to Ukraine the other day?"

Celia organized her thoughts and spoke in detail about the contacts with Viktor Pinchuk, Viktor Yanukovych, and Yulia Tymoshenko and some of the results of the consultations, as well as some other agendas, not forgetting even the Kolkoško family's wish to come over for Thanksgiving to give gifts.

Some of these matters Simon had already learned in the memo submitted by Celia, and when he heard that Evgenia wished to come over for Thanksgiving, he just smiled, saying that Celia would just tell Janet.

Also there was a little sadness in his heart.

Yanukovych also made an appearance.

This Donetsk gang origin once became the Ukrainian president of the politician can be called Ukraine before and after several presidents of the most miserable one, the root of the matter is the other side's pro-Russian position. Unfortunately, Russia is no longer the former Soviet Union, and the United States has been pressuring her, not to mention supporting Yanukovych's administration.

After the general discussion, Celia finally couldn't resist and asked: "Boss, this storm is a great opportunity for us to expand greatly in Ukraine, why should we give it up, everyone is sorry and confused about it? Just like Tymoshenko, if the boss agrees to that woman's pitch, we can control Ukraine's gas supply directly."

"If I wanted to invest in natural gas, I could have just gone to Russia and bought oil and gas fields, that's the real energy business, Tymoshenko is just a second-timer who relies on monopoly distribution channels for profit," Simon shrugged, saying, "As for why we don't take advantage of the opportunity to expand, I certainly know Your mind, take this opportunity to destroy the Lazarenko line while marching into Eastern Ukraine to annex the Donetsk gang, and then we'll basically be in control of the entire Ukraine, right?"

Without nodding rashly, Celia asked instead, "What's wrong with that, boss?"

"Frankly, I almost couldn't resist this desire to expand either, but fortunately, I finally held the line," Simon said, and seeing that Celia was still confused, he added, "Celia, let me ask you a question, how do you think the Westeros system has been able to grow and expand at an almost miraculous rate over the past decade? "

That's too big a question, Celia thought, and could only smile, "Because the boss is a genius."

Simon laughed and shook his head, not forcing Celia to answer anymore and volunteered, "I don't deny that I have my own secrets. However, one of the key factors in the rapid rise of the Westeros system over the past decade is that I never compete in the various traditional industries that have become monopolies, thus bypassing the competitive hurdles that many entrepreneurs tend to encounter. Like Daenerys Entertainment, from its inception, I've been working externally and ceding many of my interests to avoid the oppression of the then-former Seven, and to this day the company has joint projects with several other Hollywood giants. And then there's the Internet sector, which is much more typical, a completely new industry from scratch, so the Westeros system has also been able to grow rapidly in an environment with little or no competition."

Celia was enlightened.

Simon looked at Celia's expression and continued, "My layout in Ukraine is the same, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country's most valuable assets inherited from the former Soviet Union were in the east and south, but instead of going to the southeast, I targeted one of the most impoverished and backward border counties in the northwest and invested heavily in developing it from scratch, plus I Continuing the concessions to the Ukrainian landlubbers, that's why there's no coveting or backlash from the native Ukrainian forces."

Seeing Celia's nonchalant nod, Simon still didn't stop: "People always like to get what they don't work for, it's just that what is too easy to get is also often hard to hold in your hands for long, like the fierce fight between the Lazarenko line and the Donetsk gang over industrial assets in Eastern Ukraine, they both thought it was something they could get without giving too much, and as a result Well, Yev Sherban even lost his own life. And then there's Tymoshenko, the gas princess who seems to be in a great position, but as soon as the political situation in Ukraine changes, the monopoly gas distribution channel she now holds will be taken away almost immediately, and that's something that can't be held. By contrast, our layout in Rivneo State has taken shape in the last two years, and all we need to do next is to operate patiently and create a super Rivneo consortium that is strong enough to easily control the Ukrainian economy, and then the Eastern European country, naturally, will be in our hands. Just like Hollywood, with the current strength and size of Daenerys Entertainment, do you think anyone will object if I say I'm the king of Hollywood?"

Celia subconsciously nodded her head slightly, reacted, and shook her head in succession, and finally didn't know whether to nod or shake her head, so she could only smile, "Boss, I understand."

Simon showed a satisfied expression, but took the initiative to change the subject: "However, I've actually been thinking about this in the last few days."

"Huh?"

"We've made so much noise that if we don't ask for something, instead of asking for something, we'll make it hard for the Ukrainian landlubbers to settle their minds that we're planning something bigger."

Celestia paused in deep agreement, "Boss, that's actually what I'm trying to say."

Simon said, "So, next, Rivne's side can apply to the Kiev authorities to set up a free trade zone, just as we hope to get this time."

"A free trade zone?"

"Yes, you know about this, it was brought up two years ago on the Rivne city hall side. However, the initial proposal to mimic China's proposal to set up a special economic zone definitely won't work, and neither Kiev, as long as they're not crazy, will be able to fully resource Rivne again, they don't have enough resources of their own. Then take a step back and push Rivne to set up a free trade zone with tariff exemptions, without the restrictions on trade categories and tariffs, which would not only attract more investors to Rivne, but Sergei's proposed 'light industrial complex' plan would also get a better platform for development. Moreover, with the storm over the Sherban assassination case having just passed, neither the Kiev authorities, nor any other forces, will jump out against this plan."

Celia then recalled the proposal that had been temporarily suppressed by Simon in the first place.

The core of the Rivne region's industry is still light industrial products and foundry industry, both of which are export-oriented. In this case, in order to promote the further development of Rivne Oblast, it would indeed be perfect to turn Rivne into a free trade zone.

Moreover, the current situation in Ukraine is such that there is minimal resistance to the FTA proposal getting a release from Kiev.

So quickly raised the mood, and seriously discussed with her own boss for more than half an hour, before Celia finally left, intending to immediately make contact with the Rovno side.

Simon personally sent Celia aboard the helicopter back to Greenwich, watching the helicopter disappear in the clear blue winter sky, feeling the surrounding because of the withering of the leaves and less shade of lamented sparse, randomly raised arms and stretch some body, it took a while to go to the direction of the villa.

This is actually a manor of the Lauder family.

After Irene's pregnancy, still alive, the founder of Estee Lauder, of course, is also the grandmother of the girl, Estee Lauder personally decided to allocate the estate to the granddaughter's name, said it was a gift to Irene's belly a little guy.

Back in front of the white-walled, blue-roofed villa common in the United States, Simon looked up at the sound of voices, saw the woman who had woken up by the second floor bedroom window greeting her, smiled in response, made a momentary gesture, and quickly entered the villa and went to the second floor bedroom.

However, while obediently allowing the man to pick himself up from the window sofa on his lap, Irene is leaning in between Simon's collar to sniffle, dissatisfied: "After talking for so long, but also said to accompany me to take a nap?"

"Want to sleep again?"

"Where are you still sleeping," Erin raised her hand to the man's shoulder and leaned in softly again, her tone grumbling, "Are you leaving later too?"

All this tone, although the afternoon before the day before yesterday to arrive has accompanied the woman for two days, Simon can still only Road: "Of course not, tonight we still live here, to tell you a ghost story."

Irene pursed her lips, pulled Simon a large hand to the mouth as a gesture to bite down, in the end no force, after letting go still grumbling: "You don't even love me, nor marry me, only think of possession, but also make me pregnant, now more with me is the right thing to do, right?"

Simon in turn pressed one of the girl's small hands to his heart, "Feel it, it's about to guilt stop beating."

Erin did feel it for a moment and threw a blank stare over, "Liar."

Simon bowed his head and kissed the girl on the lips again.

After a moment of warmth, they parted, more than a little satisfied Erin didn't unleash any more ghost magic, and her thin socked toes nudged a thick stack of information on the coffee table beside her. These were brought by Simon yesterday, and the damsel just couldn't resist the curiosity to look them over, "All the information on the Mellon family, are you planning to do something bad again?"

Simon subconsciously played stalker: "Why say again?"

Irene, obviously unable to GET, just said, "The Mellon family is much more powerful than the Hearst family, so I advise you to stay out of trouble."

Simon nodded his head, seeing that there was still concern and reminder in the lady's eyes, and smiled, "In order to avoid being messed up by others in the future, and even affecting our children, I certainly won't mess up easily, definitely all within the rules."

Erin saw that Simon understood what she meant and said no more.

Simon scanned the pile of information and was also overcome with emotion.

Through the investigation of the Mellon family these days, Simon discovered that compared to the Hearst family, which had trapped itself in the media field, the Mellon family's asset map and network of contacts was almost the ultimate target template that he had been subconsciously laying out for the Westeros family.

At this stage, the Mellon family has financial capital including Mellon Financial Group which controls a large number of local city banks, mining capital including Alcoa which ranks first in global production capacity, transportation capital including GTI which controls a large number of domestic railroads, pharmaceutical capital involved in Warner-Lambert which was acquired by Raffles with a huge capital of $90 billion in memory, and energy capital holding shares of the famous Chevron Corporation.

All of these listed companies have market capitalizations of over $10 billion, and their annual profits are quite substantial and stable, which collectively form the current asset base of the Mellon family.

Over the centuries, the Mellon family's holdings in these companies have been very small, less than 10 percent, and less than 5 percent for companies like Warner-Lambert or Chevrolet. However, through the family's hundreds of family foundations, trusts and philanthropic foundations, as well as the network built over the past century, the Mellon family directly or indirectly controls a large number of board seats of these companies and their affiliates, so even though only a small number of shares are held, the Mellon family still has considerable decision-making power over these companies.

For example, the industrial transportation company GTI is still controlled directly by the Mellon family, with Timothy Mellon as CEO.

This is the entire Mellon family, although only billions of dollars in assets but can influence hundreds of billions of industrial empire of capital reserves.

The small and intricate capital structure makes the Mellon family involved in the industrial scale of the Westeros system to form a quantum absolute overwhelming, but if Simon wants to make the Mellon family like the Hearst family decline in the short term, the traditional means of suppression, it will not work.

Because once Simon attacked the Mellon family, he was tantamount to touching a huge capital system involving finance, medicine, energy, mining and other fields.

And that was just the capital level.

The Mellon family's network of contacts in the political, economic, cultural and other fields is even larger through the continuous donations of more than a century of various types of funds under the name of almost every family son and daughter.

Once a conflict arises with the Mellon family, if the family is unable to compete with the Mellon family, perhaps just a word from the other side will be able to close the doors of a large number of prestigious schools to their rivals.

That's what was truly entrenched.

Simon wanted to suppress old money like the Mellon family, and within the rules, it could only be done through a long period of negotiation, first extracting the capital that the Mellon family relied on, then slowly cutting its network of contacts, eventually causing the family to completely lose its influence on the Federation.

As the Westeros system began to expand globally into the traditional industries that were still controlled by a large amount of old money capital after its foundation was firmly established, conflict with the US and even the world old money system was almost inevitable. Therefore, Simon did not intend to give up just because he found the Mellon family's bone too hard to chew, but instead became more ambitious, treating it as a trial, as long as the Mellon family can be beaten down, all other old money, in front of the Westeros system will be vulnerable.