Sophia Fessey finished her work in New York on Saturday, March 11th.
Originally, she planned to return to Europe today, as Gucci still had a lot of matters for her to handle, but an invitation to a cocktail party from the Rayboulds caused her to postpone her trip until tomorrow.
Around 6:30 PM, Sophia, accompanied by Angela Ahrendts, who had officially become the president of Gucci's US branch, arrived at the Gramercy Park Hotel in Midtown.
As the two entered the hotel's banquet hall, many guests had already arrived, chatting in groups of three to five.
The Rayboulds came forward to greet Sophia and Angela, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then, after indicating that the two women should make themselves at home, turned to welcome other guests.
The new New York City mayoral election was scheduled for November at the end of the year, and tonight's banquet was a fundraising cocktail party hosted by the Rayboulds in their private capacity for David Dinkins, the Democratic candidate for this mayoral race.
Of course, everyone knew that the real financial backer behind the cocktail party was Simon himself.
David Dinkins' opponent was Rudy Giuliani, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who had previously investigated Simon.
Although there were some rifts with Rudy Giuliani, this cocktail party was not held to target him, but rather to cultivate political connections for Westeros Inc.
Having amassed billions of dollars in wealth in just a few years, Simon's companies, in their continued expansion, were inevitably going to need to deal with the federal government.
It would clearly not work to only think of scrambling for help when trouble arose.
When Simon previously refused to allow local capital to enter the Japanese financial market, James Raybould reminded him that he had missed an opportunity to establish connections with traditional American capital forces. Although Simon still chose to refuse, he did authorize James to begin cultivating Westeros Inc.'s political connections.
Furthermore, Simon directly approved a budget of $10 million, and this sum was for this year alone.
In an era where most top billionaires only possessed billions of dollars in assets, very few wealthy individuals could easily put up $10 million in cash solely to build a political network. However, after a brief moment of surprise, James quickly got to work.
Building political connections does not mean betting on presidential elections.
In fact, because every move of the US president is closely watched by many people, and their power is not as great as imagined, the return on investment for doing so is actually very low.
In contrast, becoming the hidden financial backer of members of the federal Senate and House of Representatives or key agency officials is the way to weave a truly unbreakable network of connections.
The deep-rooted political influence of the Koch family in the United States many years later was built this way; by making large political donations every year, no matter which party won the presidency, the Koch family had dozens of spokespeople occupying various high positions in the federal government. (Reading up on these guys is quite scary, they are pretty successful at pushing politics to benefit themselves)
With this powerful political influence, the Koch family controlled a vast energy empire that would be extremely sensitive in any other country, yet they basically never encountered anti-monopoly issues or similar troubles.
According to last year's Forbes data, Charles Koch and David Koch, who currently controlled the Koch Industries, each had only $1.1 billion in assets. The combined net worth of the two brothers was less than Simon's alone, so the Koch family naturally had not yet achieved the influence they would later possess.
Upon receiving James's reminder, Simon immediately conceived the idea of replicating the Koch family's political network model.
The Koch family only began to rise in the 1960s and 70s, perhaps operating for a few more years than Simon. But similarly, Simon also had his own advantages: he was not only young enough to have ample time to do this, but his personal wealth also surpassed that of the Koch family.
After making his decision, Simon unhesitatingly provided $10 million to James to 'test the waters'.
Moreover, Simon was not so greedy as to try to ride two horses, instead decisively betting on the Democratic Party.
If James could achieve the desired results with this $10 million this year, Simon planned to significantly increase the budget for this area next year. If James failed to satisfy Simon, he would decisively replace him.
Simon did not tell James Raybould his specific plan, but James also did not squander the money he had suddenly received.
Although Janette's financial audit of Daenerys Entertainment at the beginning of the year did not affect Westeros Inc., James realized that the young man, who seemed to have given him a great deal of operational authority, was not as careless as he had imagined.
Since officially becoming the president of Westeros Inc., James Raybould had managed the company's enormous assets meticulously, and Simon had not treated him unfairly.
Just the director positions in those 16 tech companies alone brought him over a million dollars in income annually. Although his fixed salary at Westeros Inc. was not exceptionally high, Simon was quite generous with bonuses.
In the past year, including the $5 million bonus Simon had offered him, James's total annual income reached $8 million, a salary that only CEOs of top-ranked Fortune 500 companies could typically command.
Although Simon's personal assets grew even more astonishingly, James did not overestimate his own abilities. He was very satisfied with the compensation he received. After all, without Simon, the law firm he and his wife operated could at most bring him only a million-dollar level of income annually.
What's more, as long as Westeros Inc. continued to operate well, James believed Simon would certainly not be stingy in rewarding him more in the future. Furthermore, what he gained was not purely monetary reward; the social standing of the Raybould family within society also saw a significant improvement.
Sophia is French, and according to the Federal Election Campaign Act, foreign nationals are not permitted to make political contributions. To avoid unnecessary trouble, James Raybould had specifically reminded Sophia of this.
Therefore, Sophia's attendance at this cocktail party was purely for social networking.
Although Simon was a new wealth elite who had only recently risen in the last two years, his billions of dollars in assets, ranking him third in the United States, were undeniable. The numerous companies in which Westeros Inc. held stakes naturally formed a very large potential network of connections.
James Raybould also happened to be a very skilled manager.
Approaching seven o'clock, the ballroom of the Gramercy Hotel was filled with hundreds of Hollywood stars, media moguls, tech company executives, Wall Street elites, and Manhattan socialites.
David Dinkins, around sixty years old this year, had previously served as the Manhattan Borough President in New York.
After James Raybould personally hosted the warm-up, David Dinkins took to the stage at the front of the banquet hall and began a routine speech about his campaign philosophy.
Minutes later, Dinkins concluded his speech, and amidst applause, the cocktail party officially began.
Connections in the film, television, and media industries could greatly assist Gucci's business operations. Sophia and Angela moved through the crowd, quickly exchanging business cards with many guests. Angela even made an appointment with a leading actress from Daenerys Entertainment's hit show, 'The Ultimate Police Network', to personally host her tomorrow at the Gucci boutique on Fifth Avenue.
Celebrities are, in fact, the best medium for luxury brands to gain exposure and spread awareness.
The cocktail party continued for over an hour, almost unnoticed. Sophia was conversing with Robert Iger when the Rayboulds approached, bringing with them a young man of about eighteen.
Iger saw the boy standing beside Raybould and chuckled, "Jim, you've finally decided to let Philip come out and see the world".
"Yes, he's about to go to college, so he can start getting exposed to these things," James Raybould replied, then introduced to Sophia, "Sophia, this is my son, Philip. Philip, this is Ms. Sophia Fessey".
"Hello, Philip", Sophia extended her hand and shook the boy's, noticing his slightly flushed face, and said with a smile, "Your sister and I are very close. Jim said you're going to college; have you decided which school you'll apply to?"
Philip glanced at his father and politely replied, "Yale, Ms. Fessey".
Sophia nodded and said, "Yale, that's a wonderful university".
After a brief chat and introductions, the Rayboulds left with their son to greet other guests.
Iger watched the Rayboulds leave, shaking his head slightly as he said to Sophia, "Jim and Carly are actually a bit too strict with their children. For the past few years, Jim has kept Philip in boarding school, even though they're in Manhattan, he doesn't allow the child to commute. Philip is as smart as Jenny, but his personality is also as shy as Jenny's, which is all a result of his parents being too dominant".
Sophia had a good impression of the polite young man she had just met, and hearing this, she said, "That's nothing; I'm very strict with my own children too".
On the other side, the Rayboulds were entertaining guests with their son in the crowd. James's assistant approached and whispered something in his ear. Hearing that David Dinkins was about to leave, James gave a few instructions to his wife and then headed towards the banquet hall exit.
Seeing James approach, David Dinkins shook his hand again and said, "Jim, thank you very much for tonight's arrangements. However, I have to fly to Washington tomorrow morning".
"Of course, no problem", James said, and after Dinkins had greeted some of the other departing guests, he added, "I'll see you out".
Leaving the banquet hall, James and Dinkins' entourage consciously maintained a certain distance behind them.
"Actually, David, I heard something very interesting. Have you been following the recent Michael Milken case?"
As the two passed the elevator, David Dinkins naturally continued towards the stairs, saying, "Of course I know. Giuliani was relentlessly pursuing that case before he left office. Unfortunately, he left before he could close it".
The insider trading case of Michael Milken, the "Junk Bond King," was arguably the most sensational financial case on Wall Street recently.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York had been secretly investigating Michael Milken since the Ivan Boesky case, the prototype for the protagonist of 'Wall Street,' three years ago, and only recently formally brought multiple felony charges against Michael Milken.
Rudy Giuliani had been trying to close this case before leaving his position as prosecutor for the Southern District Court, because sending a securities magnate like Michael Milken to prison would add a significant amount of political capital to his name.
James casually held open the stairwell door for David Dinkins, and as they walked down the steps together, he continued, "Everyone knows that while the SEC and the Southern District Attorney's Office cooperate, there is often a competitive relationship between them. The SEC has always been ahead of Giuliani in the Milken case investigation. From what I know, as early as late last year, Gary Lynch, who was in charge of this case for the SEC's Enforcement Division, wanted to sue Milken, but Giuliani stopped him".
David Dinkins shook his head slightly and said, "Jim, this kind of thing is normal between the SEC and the prosecutor's office".
"However, I heard", James looked back behind him, and seeing no one following closely, he continued, "It's just a rumour, David, but I heard that Giuliani, in order to prevent the SEC from prosecuting Milken prematurely, threatened Gary Lynch on the phone, saying that if Lynch dared to do so, the Southern District Attorney's Office would side with Milken".
Upon hearing this, David Dinkins immediately stopped and looked at James: "Are you sure?"
Rudy Giuliani had been widely proclaiming his various achievements in combating gangs and financial crime during his tenure as the Southern District Attorney, which was his biggest political asset in this election. However, if Giuliani truly said something like the Southern District Attorney's office would side with the criminal if the SEC initiated a lawsuit prematurely, it would absolutely cause a severe blow to the image of a righteous law enforcer he had cultivated.
James also stopped and said, "David, I can only say that the credibility of this matter is very high. Moreover, you should get confirmation from Lynch, not from me".
David Dinkins nodded, a hint of urgency already showing in his expression. He re-extended his hand and shook James's, saying, "Also, please say hello to Simon for me. I'm really looking forward to having a chance to get together".
James smiled and said, "There will definitely be an opportunity".
Since everything that needed to be said had been, James did not continue accompanying Dinkins downstairs. After watching Dinkins and his assistant, who had caught up, leave, James returned to the banquet hall.
The words he had just told Dinkins were naturally not fabricated, but the source of the information was not for outsiders to know. As a former financial lawyer, James had accumulated quite a few connections in this area, and now with strong capital support, doing certain things was completely effortless.
Due to the strict limits on individual donation amounts in the election campaign act, the donations David Dinkins would receive from such a fundraising cocktail party might not even cover the cost of the party itself.
Everyone was actually investing in connections.
To establish this network, Westeros Inc. naturally needed to offer some more valuable chips. Otherwise, even if elected, David Dinkins would only treat Westeros Inc. as a general funder, and not as a closer political ally.
As for Rudy Giuliani, James actually held him in very low regard.
A purely opportunistic politician, he easily switched parties in order to serve in the Reagan administration, and had no firm stance when it came to his own political achievements. His ambition was too great, yet he couldn't let go of his personal desires, and his past was far from clean. Running for New York City mayor was already Giuliani's political ceiling; it was basically impossible for him to advance further.