After work, Simon returned to Malibu on time today because a party was being held.
This matter goes back to the purchase of Point Dume Park. After several months of operation, George Norman had already settled with the state government, but Simon still needed to resolve the issues with Malibu residents to acquire Point Dume Park.
Although Malibu residents rarely paid attention to Point Dume Park in their daily lives, it was mostly tourists visiting Malibu who enjoyed climbing the sharp point on the cliff to overlook the sea. However, Point Dume Park was, after all, a public space in Malibu, and Simon could only completely convert it into private property after gaining the approval of the community residents.
Tonight's party was mainly to entertain representatives of the community committee and some important residents.
Due to Simon's personal habits, the party was held at Janette's villa on the east side of Point Dume Park.
As soon as he entered, Janette, who was directing the party company staff to prepare the venue, came over and whispered to Simon, "I've got it all sorted out. Our foundation will donate one million dollars to fund the construction of Point Dume Elementary and Middle Schools. We will also participate in lobbying for Malibu's independent city status. Then, they will vote in favour of us buying Point Dume Park. Tonight, you just need to eat, drink, and chat with them".
The North American real estate bubble in the 1980s spurred a peak period of construction in Malibu, but Malibu truly became a hot commodity starting in the 1990s, especially after Larry Ellison heavily speculated on Malibu real estate.
Malibu was not yet an independent city; it was merely a district under Los Angeles County, and far from being as star-studded as it would later become.
In recent years, Malibu residents had been seeking independent city status. According to California law, upon achieving municipal status, Malibu would no longer be subject to the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County government and could independently enact laws and reject various urban planning initiatives from the county government.
In these years, with the rapid development of the urban area, the Los Angeles County government had been trying to extend many engineering projects to Malibu, and Malibu residents had continuously resisted the county government's attempts to push through highways, sewage pipes, and even nuclear power plant plans.
It was conceivable that if any of the aforementioned projects were to be located in Malibu, it would be difficult for the area to remain a liveable paradise.
Therefore, if a super-rich individual with abundant financial resources like Simon could settle in Malibu, the positive impact on the area's development would definitely be obvious. In comparison, a state park that was mostly overgrown with bushes on a daily basis seemed insignificant, and it was self-evident what choice the residents would make.
When the evening party ended, there was no longer any suspense.
Inside the mansion on the west side of Point Dume.
In the bedroom, after showering, Simon walked to the bed, kissed Janette's face as she leaned against the headboard, flipping through a magazine, and asked, "You said you were going to donate one million dollars to the elementary and middle schools in Malibu this evening?"
"Yes", Janette nodded, then added, "It's not a donation 'to' them, Malibu doesn't have those schools yet. The residents have always wanted to build them, but unfortunately, the county government won't provide funding".
Simon picked up Janette's light body and tossed her to the other side of the large bed, then sat down on the bed himself and asked, "That's a good thing, why won't they give money?"
Janette, having been tossed by Simon, pretended to be angry and slapped him with the magazine, saying, "The county government wanted to build a sewage pipeline extending from Santa Monica two years ago, but it was rejected here, and many other things were blocked. These residents are so disobedient, it would be strange if they gave money".
"In that case, let's donate more and build the schools better. Our little one will have to go to school here someday".
"One million dollars is already a lot, and besides, our little one won't go to school here; they'll definitely go to the best private school".
"Alright", Simon nodded and said, "Mom will decide about school".
Janette giggled, and seeing Simon about to turn off the light, she added, "There's one more thing. The shell company Iceman helped us set up recently negotiated another building. The total property rights, including the land, amount to $30 million".
As she spoke, Janette leaned over, pulled open the bedside table drawer, took out a document, opened it, found a floor plan, and showed it to Simon.
To replicate the 'Avengers Tower' in Manhattan, Simon needed to buy six buildings between 59th and 60th Streets, east of Madison Avenue.
After the real estate bubble burst last year, accompanying the stock market crash, this became much easier. The chosen plot was not on the 'centre of the universe' level like next to Fifth Avenue. The shell company that Janette's aunt helped establish had previously bought two buildings for $20 million and $35 million, respectively. Including this current one, Simon had acquired half of the land he needed.
Simon looked at the information for the other three buildings marked on the floor plan, which included a 16-story apartment building, the tallest of the six, and clearly the toughest nut to crack: "It'll be difficult to continue acquisitions from now on, won't it?"
Janette also reached out and pointed at that apartment building, saying, "It's a bit difficult to convince the residents in this building to sell their homes together. There are two options: for those residents unwilling to sell their property, one is for us to buy equivalent apartments nearby for them to move into, and the other is to exchange it for property in our future building".
Simon said, "Try to choose the first option as much as possible; it's not convenient to reveal our building plan yet".
"That's what I thought too", Janette nodded and said, "But, Simon, you need to pay attention to your financial situation recently".
The original two buildings had already cost $55 million, and with the upcoming $30 million in expenses, that was already $85 million.
Simon's $300 million cashed out from selling Motorola stock was already running low after several months of spending. Moreover, James Raybould had consistently been investing in new technology companies according to Simon's instructions, and the remaining money was now insufficient to pay for the next $30 million for the building purchase.
With 'Final Destination' and 'When Harry Met Sally' generating revenue, Daenerys Entertainment's financial situation had eased. But if Simon intended to find a film studio for the company, that would certainly be another huge investment.
Money was needed everywhere.
Furthermore, due to public promises made during the reduction of Motorola stock, Simon would only be able to cash out funds from the stock market again next year.
"Raybould will be coming from New York tomorrow; I'll talk to him first", Simon said after a moment of thought. "Besides, relative to my assets, my personal debt ratio is still very low, so banks would certainly be very happy to lend me money, right?"
Janette said, "Of course, but you actually don't like borrowing money at all, do you?"
"Yes", Simon nodded and said, "Speaking of which, where did you hide all those IOUs I wrote? I should be able to get them back now, right?"
"I'm not giving them to you. I want you to owe me forever".
"That's too cruel".
"Mmm-hmm".
The next day, James Raybould arrived in Los Angeles, bringing Simon news that still involved spending money.
Fortunately, it was all good news that Simon was pleased to hear.
"Cisco's new round of financing ultimately confirmed a valuation of $120 million. We invested $18 million and acquired a 15% stake in the company. Additionally, Quantum-Link, a small company, recently wanted to break away from its collaboration with Apple and operate independently. After negotiations, we invested $5 million and acquired a 25% stake in the company. At the same time, I obtained priority for Quantum-Link's next round of financing. Next is..."
James Raybould had recently finalized equity investments in a total of five companies.
However, Simon was only concerned with two of them.
Cisco, needless to say, this super giant, whose market value once exceeded $600 billion during the new technology wave of the late 1990s, had long been targeted by Simon.
Acquiring a 15% stake in Cisco for $18 million, even if it would be diluted over many years in the future, if only 10% remained, at Cisco's peak stock price, this stake would be worth $60 billion, a return rate exceeding three thousand times.
Moreover, Simon would naturally not be satisfied with the current shareholding ratio and would certainly continue to increase his stake.
The other company, Quantum-Link, was one Simon had to search carefully to find.
He found that many technology companies like to use the word 'quantum' in their name. As for Quantum-Link, this company is still relatively unknown now, but its later name is a household word, America Online.
What Simon remembered most vividly was the massive collapse of America Online after its merger with Time Warner around the turn of the millennium.
At its peak, the combined America Online-Time Warner had a total market value exceeding $300 billion, but just a few years later, with the bursting of the internet bubble, America Online's market value plummeted by over 90%, and Time Warner was also severely damaged as a result.
However, before the internet bubble burst, America Online was definitely a company worth investing in. Moreover, acquiring a 25% stake in America Online for $5 million, considering America Online's peak market value of over $160 billion, was an absolute steal.
Acquiring equity in these two companies made the investment worthwhile, even if all investments in the other three companies were lost.
"As for Qualcomm in San Diego, they currently have no financing plans, but they also stated that if they do have such an intention, they will contact us. Simon, the total amount for these five investments is $65 million, but Westeros Company currently only has $28.55 million on its books. If you are sure there's no problem, we might need to take out a loan".
Of the over $300 million cashed out from Motorola, excluding a portion reserved for taxes, Simon spent more than half on increasing his stakes in companies like Microsoft, a large sum on acquiring the rights to 'The Lord of the Rings' and other series, and also the expenses for the two buildings in Manhattan.
Now, with $28.55 million remaining, it was already considered a lot.
Pondering this, Simon also recalled the Gulfstream IV business jet he had ordered earlier. The bare aircraft cost $16 million, and with interior decoration, it would likely total around $18 million.
Simon had only paid a deposit initially, and the plane was due for delivery next month, just in time for him to fly to Europe for the Cannes Film Festival in France. However, Simon also needed to pay the remaining balance, which was another expense.
The budget for the Manhattan building, the investment budget for the five technology companies, and the private jet budget alone would likely amount to one hundred million dollars.
Simon could not sell shares in Westeros Company. Due to Westeros Company's limited liability company nature, publicly issuing bonds would be very difficult. Therefore, a loan was essentially Simon's only option.
Although he inherently disliked borrowing money, Simon understood that to rapidly expand his business, borrowing was essential.
Moreover, compared to Simon's current net worth, considering only the loan for Daenerys Entertainment, his personal debt ratio was still less than 10%, which was extremely low among the wealthy, and banks would certainly be very willing to lend him money.
After a detailed discussion with James Raybould, Simon decided to take out another $100 million loan.
With his personal financial issues resolved, April was also nearing its end without him noticing.
After two subsequent weeks of continuous screening, 'When Harry Met Sally' cumulative box office in North America surpassed $70 million, which was already the threshold for the top ten in last year's North American box office rankings. Although the single-week box office had fallen below $8 million, with the film's continued run, 'When Harry Met Sally' domestic box office hitting $100 million was already a certainty.
The selection for the male lead of "Batman" had been ongoing, and this matter inevitably became a hot topic in the media. Five film contracts and a fifteen-year contract period led many to believe that Simon Westeros had gone mad. This contract was even dubbed 'Hollywood's slavery contract' by one newspaper.
Regardless of outside commentary, Daenerys Entertainment showed no signs of backing down and continued to advance its plans systematically.
While balancing the 'Batman' casting, Simon was also arranging to move the two special effects software companies to Los Angeles.
Wavefront Technologies in San Francisco was relatively easy to handle. Americans don't have a strong habit of staying put, and storylines involving moving are rampant in Hollywood films and TV shows.
Simon selected an office building in Santa Monica, and most employees quickly relocated. Alias Research in Toronto was a bit more troublesome because it was a Canadian company, involving overseas labour issues, but it would fundamentally be resolved within the next few months.
Regarding the film studio.
Simon could tell that Amy was clearly very much looking forward to him buying the MGM studio in Culver City, because in the past, whenever Simon wanted to invest a large sum in a project, Amy would always offer some advice, but not this time.
However, after careful consideration, Simon still decided to postpone this matter.
He genuinely didn't have much feeling for the MGM studio. In fact, compared to Fox's Century City studio, Paramount's Hollywood studio, and Universal and Warner's studios in Burbank, the MGM studio in Culver City was merely pure real estate, and its appreciation potential wasn't very high.
Moreover, Simon was more eager to establish a brand-new filming base.
Amidst this busy schedule, as May arrived, Simon's Gulfstream IV business jet was successfully delivered, and the Cannes Film Festival followed.