Last year, after Dunn made a fortune off a national crisis, he pulled out $500 million to set up the "Scott Swift Venture Capital Fund." Dunn took 80% of the shares, while Scott snagged 20%.
On one hand, it was a thank-you to Scott for running Dunn Capital like a champ over the past few years and raking in big profits. On the other, it was about maxing out Dunn's knack for seeing the future and carving out a bigger chunk of the market.
Dunn gave Scott just three tips: Alibaba, Tencent, and Samsung Electronics.
If it worked out, great—they'd crack open the Asian market and build some serious clout. If it flopped, no big deal—Dunn's pockets were already deep enough.
But Scott Swift was no slouch. The second he got the cash last year, he pulled off a major deal like it was nothing.
Little Superman's PCCW had leveraged a big acquisition of a telecom company, piling on debt and posting losses for two straight quarters. To plug the hole and cover interest payments, they had to offload some assets.
Little Superman's 20% stake in Tencent ended up in a three-way deal with Tencent and Scott Swift—and the sale went through.
Scott dropped a total of $32 million.
Of that, $18 million bought Little Superman's 20% stake, and the remaining $14 million went straight into Tencent, netting another 15% of shares.
In just two months, Scott Swift's venture fund became Tencent's biggest shareholder!
At that point, though, the internet was still a shiny new toy. In China, there weren't any investment firms focused on it, and entrepreneurs barely knew what it was. That's why the first wave of internet companies there were all backed by foreign money.
Back then, Tencent didn't have a prayer of turning a profit—they couldn't even afford servers. The founders were desperate for cash to keep things afloat, pitching to Sohu, Sina, Yahoo, Kingdee, Lenovo, Haier, you name it. Every single one turned them down.
Good thing "Tencent" was on Dunn's radar!
Scott Swift had been working under Dunn for years. Half the time, he couldn't figure out what Dunn was thinking—but the results always proved the guy was right.
With that blind trust in Dunn, Scott didn't hesitate to place his bet!
This early move shoved out South Africa's MIH (from Dunn's past life) and locked down 35% of Tencent's shares in one swoop.
Fast forward to 2002: with cash in hand, Tencent started picking up steam. QQ's user base exploded, blowing past competitors like Yahoo Messenger and ICQ, and closing in fast on the reigning champ, MSN!
Tencent going bankrupt? Dunn wouldn't buy that for a second. "What's going on?"
Scott Swift jumped in quick: "Tencent's got this key product, QQ—it's a chat app. This year, they rolled out an update with some new features that users are eating up. The user base is growing like crazy—registered users just broke the 100 million mark!"
Dunn chuckled, though he was a bit puzzled. "Business is booming—that's good, right? What's the problem? Can't figure out how to cash in?"
Scott gritted his teeth. "It's great for Tencent, sure—but for Microsoft's MSN? It's a death blow!"
Right now, two chat apps ruled the world: MSN and ICQ.
And Microsoft's MSN? It was the undisputed king in pretty much every market—a total giant in the chat game!
Dunn frowned. "Did MSN copy QQ or something?"
Scott shook his head. "If only it were that simple. The two apps cater to different crowds. QQ's user base is skyrocketing because it's trendy and cutting-edge—they added a stranger chat feature. MSN, though? It's just for chatting with friends. Microsoft sees MSN as a business tool—they don't want strangers messaging each other to avoid harassment."
Dunn was starting to get the picture.
Microsoft was coming for Tencent!
In every market worldwide, MSN was the top dog—untouchable. But in China, out of nowhere, this little-known QQ popped up. With Microsoft's muscle, crushing Tencent would be a cakewalk.
"Dunn, I've sunk $32 million into this!" Scott's voice was shaking with urgency. "Tencent's got to survive—you need to talk to Bill Gates. He can't do this! It's illegal!"
Dunn stayed calm. "Illegal? What's Microsoft doing to fight back?"
Scott practically snarled. "Don't forget—Microsoft built its empire on Windows! And QQ? It runs on Windows!"
"Oh?"
Dunn's jaw dropped, then he couldn't help but laugh.
Well played, Bill Gates—smooth as hell!
Block QQ on Windows, and what's left to fight over?
Chat apps are a dime a dozen, but the operating system? You're stuck with it!
MSN could wipe out QQ overnight!
A move that brutal wouldn't just take down a tiny outfit like Tencent—any tech company would buckle under that kind of pressure!
But in places like the U.S., Europe, Korea, and Japan, mature antitrust laws—like network neutrality and anti-monopoly rules—kept that in check.
Dunn knew Tencent had survived this life-or-death moment in his past life—otherwise, it wouldn't have grown into a global internet titan later on.
No clue, though, if Tencent's later moves—like using WeChat and QQ to hog traffic and squash rivals—were cribbed from Microsoft's playbook.
So Dunn stayed chill. Tencent made it through back then—it'd be fine this time too.
All he had to do was give Bill Gates a heads-up, lay out the stakes, and with the richest guy in the world's smarts, he'd make the right call.
A foreign company using monopoly tactics to stomp a local player in China? Come on—that's a joke!
Even if antitrust laws there were shaky, the government wouldn't let Microsoft get away with it.
Scott jumped back in. "I'll handle Microsoft China. But the headquarters—and Bill Gates' stance—that's the key. You've got to make it clear to him: this is wrecking fair competition on the internet!"
Dunn grinned. "Got it. I'll find a chance to sit down with him and hash it out."
…
At the peak of the dot-com bubble, Microsoft's market cap hit $650 billion.
But if it weren't for the U.S. Department of Justice and Congress slamming them with antitrust investigations in 1995—and hitting them hard—or the follow-up probe in 1999, Microsoft's value could've soared past $1.5 trillion. Maybe even $2 trillion!
Monopoly issues? That's a hurdle Microsoft could never quite clear.
In a fresh internet market like China, Dunn didn't buy that Bill Gates would barge in swinging with monopoly moves right off the bat.
So when it came to talking Gates down, Dunn was feeling pretty confident.
His rep in the U.S. business world was skyrocketing—ruling Hollywood, unbeatable, a living legend in entertainment no one could ignore.
Bill Gates would have to give him that respect.
By June, Dunn Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Rose Pictures held a joint press conference, dropping big movie news: Harry Potter 2, Ant-Man, and Lost in Tokyo were officially in production!
Spider-Man 2 had dominated the wild May slot but was finally easing off the gas.
That whole month, Spider-Man 2 hauled in $460 million in North America, absolutely crushing its rival Star Wars: Episode II, which limped away with just $180 million.
Based on current trends, Spider-Man 2 might even top Spider-Man 1's $510 million North American haul, hitting around $530 million.
But Star Wars: Episode II's North American numbers? A total disaster.
Dunn Walker's Star Wars: Episode I pulled $580 million in North America. Episode II? It'd be lucky to snag half that!
More importantly, Spider-Man 2 was a global smash—fans anywhere could watch it without missing a beat.
Star Wars: Episode II, though? Overseas markets were a whole different ballgame from North America.
At this rate, its global box office might get sliced in half compared to Episode I's $1.18 billion!
After surviving May's brutal slot, Hollywood's big studios kicked into high gear for June.
Warner's Scooby-Doo, Disney's Lilo & Stitch, Fox's Minority Report, Universal's The Bourne Identity, Sony's Mr. Deeds…
And, of course, MGM's war flick Windtalkers, backed by John Woo.