King of Hollywood

“Hmm... are you serious, Claude?” Adrian still feels dizzy, even as he walks under a ready umbrella, sits on a chair with a cup and drinks coffee, "we did roll $14 billion out of the Soviet Union? ”

“You're right, I'm not wrong.” Claude picked up the cup and bounced it gently, "and didn't have to pay taxes. ”

“Damn, this is really...” Adrian pinched his nose after he vented. Although he knew it was a great opportunity to make money, he never thought he could make it to this point. Claude shocked him again like the last oil futures.

“The cake we shared was only moderate, even smaller than my father's, not to mention the long-prepared guys on Wall Street, and the wealth accumulated by the Sleeve Empire for 60 years was so easily put into their pockets of income.” In the end, Claude's tone has become somewhat emotional.

Adrian understands how he feels. After all, just a few years ago, the polar bear was a daunting giant, but at this moment it was weak enough for anyone to come forward and share a cup, just to taste the history and emotion of both countries. At this point, he wants to know more about how Claude got 14 billion dollars. And there seems to be room for a rise in his breath.

“Can you tell me exactly how you did it?” Adrian asked, "I'm sure it must have taken a lot of work. ”

“It's simple, it's very simple, and it makes you incredible.” Claude Haha laughed, and he put down his cup and thought about it before opening it again: “I started arranging it long ago after you talked about it last year, first I got people to pay for some bureaucracy; then I opened about 30 banks in cities big and small in Russia; then I raised the deposit rate to 20% or even 30%, depending on the circumstances - of course, a certain amount of time had to be saved; then I kept advocating for the Russians to deposit the money in our banks; finally, and most importantly, every time I deposited a ruble, it was converted into dollars. ”

Adrian couldn't help but take a deep breath, and he had largely understood Claude's practice of absorbing roubles and converting them into United States dollars - roubles that existed before the collapse of the Soviet Union were still strong. And when the Soviet Union collapses, the economy deteriorates, the value of the rubles plummets all the way, and the last billions of rubles will be repaid in thousands or even millions of dollars.

“Wait, Claude, is this how all this $14 billion is obtained by absorbing money from ordinary people?” Adrian came up with something to ask.

“Of course not, almost half of it, not just us targeting funds in the hands of ordinary people," Claude knew what he meant, "the other half came from the Russian Government, where large-scale dollar exchange had to go through the Russian Central Bank, so it was bound to be good relations with them, of course, not to say how. So after the funds absorbed by the bank had accumulated to a certain extent, I took the funds as collateral, loaned the same amount of rubles, and then converted the rubles back into United States dollars, so long as the repayment period exceeded three years, it didn't matter how much interest. ”

“I see.” Adrian took another deep breath, and it was too simple.

Indeed, currency manipulation is the most profitable business in the world, and no wonder those giants want to enter the Fed. The Soviet Union is probably the only country that can compare after World War I, except that the Soviet Union lost far more than Germany did at that time, and the surprising wealth was simply evaporated or poured into the pockets of others.

Of course, this opportunity, and only once, fortunately Adrian and Claude seized it firmly.

“No wonder you're not interested in sniping 10% of the Pounds.” Adrian said with emotion.

“There are plenty of opportunities to make money, unless you have to, really don't have to take risks," Claude shrugged, "but you're right, Ed, we're not doing anything wrong together. ”

“In that case, how about tonight's treat?” Adrian said half a joke.

“Although you've already lost two dinners before… no problem.” Claude answered with a smile on his chin.

“What a jerk.” Adrian shook his head and sipped his coffee.

It was pointless to think about manipulating the value of money or the loss of the Soviet Union, which was not something he could relate to, and which, if it had not been for him, would have taken away most of its wealth. So now that this opportunity has been seized and such a huge sum of money made, the ideas and ideas of the past are perfectly within reach.

However, while $14 billion sounds amazing, it may not be enough once it starts to be spent, especially what Adrian is counting.

“Well, let's go on, it's not over yet.” Claude said he was going to get a club.

“Wait, Claude, I remember what you said before, it's not over yet, is it?” Adrian suddenly asks, "So how much do we get in the end? ”

Claude raised his eyebrows and the first half of his body sat back: “Looks like he can't fight anymore today. ”

“If you want, I'll take the time to play golf with you all day, so you can laugh at me all you want." ”Adrian puts his hands together and puts a smile away and looks at Claude:“ I need this answer. ”

“Okay, well," Claude sighed without showing impatience, "as things stand, we can finally make 15 billion dollars, which, of course, is just an estimate that the actual situation should float up and down that number. ”

“Well, let's call that a number for now.” Adrian thought about it again and then asked seriously: "Claude, how likely do you think we are to succeed in acquiring ABC? ”

“You mean, buy abc?” Claude, who repoured himself a cup of coffee, picked his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yes, yes, as a media company, we need a nationwide television network, and I can't think of a better television station than ABC.” Adrian said to make a slightly restless gesture, "I know what you're trying to say, Claude, but look, a few well-known broadcasters, NBC under General, CBS under Sony, FO under News Group, ABC being acquired sooner or later, within two years, I'm sure. We have to get ahead of others. ”

After a pause, he went on to say, "As for ABC's long-standing loss, believe me, Claude, if we could be the masters, I'd have enough confidence to bring it back to life."

“Ha, so confident?” Claude couldn't help but pat himself in the face with his hands.

“Of course, don't forget what I'm doing right now, just a few excellent TV dramas and art shows.” Adrian lifted his chin in his arms, which made him look a little proud.

Claude dropped the cup in his hand and looked at Adrian with his hands together for a few minutes: “Well, let me think… although I can't sit down for more analysis right now, I can assure you, Ed, 15 billion is definitely not enough. ”

“We can finance it,” Adrian said calmly, "Morgan, Goldman, Goldman Sachs, Citizens, they'll all be interested, and Godfather and my uncle can help. ”

“It's still not enough, and I'm sure my father and Mr. Anderson will help, but business is business, and there won't be more than 3 billion, and we need at least 20 billion dollars to acquire ABC," Claude shook his head.

“Need so much?” Adrian frowned.

“Although ABC has always lost its operations, it is, after all, a large company with a strong foundation and history, which still has a high standing in the eyes of the public, and it is not possible to acquire it without spending a large price.” Claude explained briefly.

“So, is there another way?” Adrian's eyebrows grew deeper, and the excitement to acquire huge amounts of wealth in the Soviet Union had begun to calm down completely. Even with such a large sum of money in his hands, it was far from enough to do something. How could it be depressing, even if he knew that in his heart?

“Don't tell me there's nothing you can do, man.” Adrian looks at his best friend.

“Well, there's another way.” Claude thought for a few minutes before he spoke again, "but it was a hassle to work with and it could have an impact on our reputation. ”

“Tell me about it.” Adrian, make a gesture.

“It's simple, take ABC as collateral to lend to the bank. ”

“With abc as collateral? Are you saying you're mortgaging something that doesn't belong to us? ”

“Yes, you heard me correctly, commercially speaking, that's true.” Claude nodded, "and the biggest advantage of doing so is that if the acquisition succeeds, the loan's debt will be borne by all ABC's shareholders, not just us. But it's a hassle, first of all, that you have to prepare enough material for the bank to evaluate, and the smart guys absolutely don't want to see you declare bankruptcy after paying the money - frankly, I don't think any bank would risk that with ABC's current operations. Secondly, if the acquisition is followed by a continuous loss that eventually leads to bankruptcy or a transfer for sale, ABC's shareholders will inevitably have an impact on our reputation because the loan is repugnant to us. ”

Adrian knocked his fingers around the table and looked at the distant landscape before turning his gaze back: “The most critical thing to say is how to revitalize ABC after taking over. It's not really that hard, remember what I told you earlier, Claude, as long as there's a good operating team, I'm pretty sure I'll bring ABC back to life. So I think this is a credible solution, so long as you can convince the bank that we can save ABC and get this money, then the rest of it will be fine. ”

“You're so confident, Ed.” Claude laughed, "I know you can always make some unexpected successes, and I'm sure if you say so, there must be a way to make ABC profitable - even though it's up to me to do the actual business. But I regret to tell you, Ed, the premise of our discussion is that no one competes with us."