America's Road to Wealth

White clouds and blue sky.

And sunshine.

It was a cold winter last year, but this year it’s the other way around.

It’s already the end of November, and it’s still not cold at all in Los Angeles.

The weather in Beverly Hills always seems to be so nice.

In the swimming pool in front of me, two mermaids from Australia were swimming freely, very happily.

Abel was talking on his cell phone while admiring the mermaid and the beautiful Hollywood overlooking the city below.

This large Spanish-style villa at No. 10410 Bellagio Road has no private beach except that it is on a mountain.

It gives Pezzi all the standard features that other luxury homes should have.

For example, it has three standard swimming pools, one indoors and two outdoors.

The two outdoor ones, one in front of the villa building, are oval-shaped fancy swimming pools, built directly in the courtyard.

The advantage of swimming in this swimming pool is that you can directly enjoy the surrounding colorful Spanish-style courtyard gardens.

Another outdoor swimming pool is behind the building. It is built directly on the hillside and is an infinity sky pool.

Behind the frameless swimming pool is the building, in front is the mountain view of Beverly Hills, and in the distance is the continuous cityscape of Hollywood and Los Angeles.

When night falls, swim here. You can enjoy the night view of the best part of Hollywood.

The two Australian mermaids like the most about the infinity straight-line swimming pool at the back.

If it were up to Nicole Kidman to choose, she likes all three swimming pools.

Swimming here in the back was Cate Blanchett's choice.

Choosing that indoor pool, Kate felt like it was a waste of such good weather.

Choose the fancy swimming pool in front, the maid who comes and goes from time to time, and the design in front of the house.

That would make Kate uncomfortable.

Kate would be uncomfortable, but she still feels a little ashamed. Even though there was no turning back, Kate still felt a little weird.

In contrast, Kate, who soaked her beautiful body in the water, turned her head and looked at Nicole next to her.

Compared to Kate, Tuao Aries is much more open-minded.

"My dear BOSS, do you want to come down and swim for a while?"

Kate saw Nicole, lying on the edge of the edge-to-edge swimming pool, looking towards the Hollywood cityscape. After looking at it intoxicatedly for a while, she turned back to greet Abel.

Abel smiled and called her, "If you want to swim, you will have plenty of time, so you can swim however you want. But you have been soaking for too long since last night, and you will get edema if you soak any longer. You'd better come up."

Upon hearing his words, Nicole had no reaction.

Kate, who was next to her, immediately gave Nicole an evaluation in her heart - Swordman!

Yesterday, Kate thought about pulling Nicole into the water.

But in that process. So it wasn't Kate pulling Nicole into the water, it was Nicole herself who couldn't wait to jump into the water.

Last night, Nicole took the initiative to throw herself into someone's arms while in the swimming pool!

Later, Kate was also pulled into the water. After soaking in the water for more than an hour, she felt a little uncomfortable.

Facing Abel's words, Nicole was unwilling to say, "We are fine. Didn't we rest for a few hours last night and a few hours in the morning? We only soaked for half an hour today! I want to continue soaking for a while, you Do you want to come down?"

Tsk!

It can be seen that Aries likes this big villa very much.

In fact, there is no woman who would not like this villa.

First of all, it is in Beverly Hills, a very central location, on Bellagio Road.

This mountain road is not yet the main route for tourists. Its location is both central and away from the annoying eyes of tourists.

Secondly, it occupies a hilltop, which protrudes a bit outward.

Even if this villa is not on the top of the mountain, the view is unique and you can enjoy the front view overlooking the entire Hollywood.

In terms of interior design, its exterior is in a Spanish style that looks very aristocratic. This Southern European style, combined with the Los Angeles climate, which is a bit like the Mediterranean climate, can be said to be really suitable.

This is why the luxury homes in Los Angeles like to use Italian and Spanish styles.

It is because these two places are both in southern Europe and have a Mediterranean climate.

The climate here in Los Angeles is very similar to the Mediterranean climate in many places.

Both the building appearance and the interior design are in line with the climate characteristics here.

More importantly, this house is expensive.

Nicole Kidman already knew about the house, which was originally worth $20 million.

But now, with the rising real estate market, its price has almost exceeded 30 million US dollars.

A mansion worth 30 million US dollars, but only Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler live here.

It is said that Liv doesn't live there often.

Nicole had read the contract last night and signed it. Once signed, it was a long-term employee contract.

Could she have no idea?

After hearing Nicole say that she still wanted to have sex, she also wanted to have sex with herself.

Abel was looking at his cell phone, but suddenly he came back to his senses and looked at the two Australian mermaids who were extremely active or passive.

They were so white in the California sunshine.

Abel immediately put down his phone and took the initiative to join in.

"Oh... Abel... why are you..."

The water splashes.

The cell phone on the lounge chair by the pool suddenly rang.

No one answered.

Kate pointed weakly at the top, "Someone called you."

"Don't worry about it. I'll pick it up later."

Having said that, what can Kate do?

Borderless outdoor swimming pool

Suddenly there was only the sound of water splashing.

Half a minute later, the phone rang again, but still no one answered.

An hour later, Abel felt a little tired given his physical condition.

The main thing is that this time, it's not like the last time I was in a hot spring in Milan.

Although we were in the water that time, the hot spring was not very deep and you could stand directly under the hot spring water.

This time it is a standard swimming pool, your feet do not touch the ground, and you have to pay more.

What's more, he had to support their weight during the process, which made it even more tiring.

Abel half dragged and half hugged Kate, whose turn was behind her, to the shore.

She had been tortured to the point where she had no strength left.

She seemed much more tired than she was from swimming.

As for Nicole Kidman, she had been dragged up a long time ago and is still resting with her eyes half closed.

After placing the two of them on the lounge chairs lined up together, Kate was also covered with a white towel.

Looking at the two Australian mermaids who looked particularly tired and with gloomy beautiful eyes.

A sense of accomplishment unique to men could not help but arise in Abel's heart.

Hey, Aussie Double Wall.

Thinking this way, he shook the water from his hair and wiped his hair and body with a towel.

After drying his body a little, Abel finally touched the phone, looked at the caller ID, and dialed back, "Hey, Warren, did you call?"

It's Buffett.

"Well, why didn't you answer it just now? Didn't your assistant bring it to you?"

This is Abel's No. 2 mobile phone, which is also a business phone.

Usually it is held by Alan Baker, Edward or David.

Abel was calling someone just now, and there were two more naked mermaids here.

They didn't dare to come over, and no one answered Buffett's call.

"Oh, I took my phone into the bathroom just now. I was taking a shower and didn't notice it. What's wrong? Is something wrong?"

"Why are you taking a bath at this time? You are so weird. I am calling you to tell you that I have a way to get about 20% of California Pacific Electric's shares. Do you want it?"

"oh?"

Abel took his mobile phone and came to another recliner.

To his left is Nicole Kidman, who has regained some energy.

Seeing him approaching, the Australian beauty showed a satisfied and flattering expression on her face.

As he passed by, he smiled and touched her smooth face.

She is very cooperative and a very obedient toy.

As proactive as Liv.

Then he lay down on the couch next to Nicole, took the phone and said to Buffett:

"Where did it come from? Purchased on the stock market? Or maybe it belongs to Jeffes and the others?"

California Pacific Electric was an energy company that Abel acquired at the same time when it acquired Sempra Energy.

It and Sempra Energy at the time, now Pacific Energy, were the two giants in local power supply and natural gas supply in California.

Together, these two companies can affect the lives of more than half of the people in California.

The difference is that Abel privatized Sempra Energy at that time and restructured it into what is now Pacific Energy.

As for California Pacific Electric, Abel purchased only 50% of the shares at that time and became its first shareholder and chairman.

Subsequently, because the stock price rose too high and there was already a similar Pacific Energy, he did not take action on California Pacific Electric.

Mainly because at that time, many people thought that he already held 50% of the shares.

California Pacific Electric should also be privatized in the future.

Those people all wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, and continued to absorb its shares, raising the price at that time very high.

Abel never liked being taken advantage of. Even if he had the strength, he would not be taken advantage of.

This matter will be settled.

According to Buffett, some major shareholders of California Pacific Electric want to sell their shares.

"It's Jeff and the others. They are also investors of Berkshire Hathaway. They came to me and hoped to sell you those stocks at a suitable price."

Because Abel didn't mean to avoid it at all.

Next to her, Nicole Kidman stood up.

The white towel opened on its own.

She was also secretly listening to his conversation with Buffett.

Of course, she is not a business person after all.

For a moment, I couldn’t tell that “Warren” was Buffett.

But she also knew that this should be another big deal.

Just like Abel yesterday, he asked people to buy the company Hasbro.

The U.S. stock market is closed today, but there is news about Hollywood today.

There is already news that Smith Media Group plans to acquire Hasbro Toys for US$995 million.

As soon as this news came out, the happiest people were probably Hasbro shareholders.

The most unhappy one will definitely be Disney.

The reason is that last year, Disney and Hasbro have reached cooperation in many aspects.

Hasbro licenses Disney to use many of their toy images and copyrights.

But if Hasbro is acquired by Smith Media, this authorization will definitely be taken back by Smith Media.

There are already rumors that Disney will also intervene in this acquisition and snatch Hasbro toys together with Smith Media.

This incident immediately became big news in Hollywood.

And the main core of such super big news happened right next to me.

This gives Nicole Kidman a sense of accomplishment in participating in a "historic event."

"What about the price? I won't agree if it's too expensive. You know who I am. I'm not afraid of buying expensive things, and I'm willing to spend money. But I don't like others making money on me. It feels very bad."

"You vampire, capitalist! Well, they said, just follow the current market price." Buffett complained.

The stock god doesn't want to think about how much better he can be.

According to the current market price

Abel did the math.

California Pacific Electric's current stock market value is approximately US$40 billion.

This price is much higher than Abel's purchase at that time.

It is also slightly more expensive than California Pacific Electric last year, when its share price peaked at $38 billion.

But this is an acceptable price.

Compared with the original Sempra Energy, California Pacific Electric's assets are of higher quality and have more users.

This can be seen from the fact that it has more than 5,000 more employees than Pacific Energy.

Businesses never hire redundant employees unless it is profitable.

The key is that if you get this 20% stake, Abel's stake in California Pacific Electric will exceed 67%.

exceed this line.

Then Abel can start a new round of privatization.

Completely turning California Pacific Electric into his private company.

In this way, the energy carriage of his troika will be announced immediately.

Thinking of this, Abel held the phone in one hand and unconsciously reached out to Nicole Kidman with the other hand.

"That's eight billion dollars? That's a big deal."

"That's eight billion dollars. Do you want it? If so, I'll ask them to contact you."

When he heard the figure of eight billion US dollars, Abel didn't say anything.

But Nicole just felt like her heart was broken.

Transactions of US$800 million or US$8 billion are common.

She felt that just scraping off a little bit of skin would be enough to make her life worry-free.

But transactions like this, with amounts like this, seemed to happen around Abel every day.

Compared with Abel, Nicole only felt that her ex-husband was like a little ant in the soil.

"How many people are there?" Abel asked.

"19 people, the total should be... let me see. 20.56% of the stock."

"Tell them. I bought these stocks."

"Ha, okay. But do you really want to privatize California Pacific Electric?"

"Of course. I think only one American energy company called Pacific is enough. They are all still in California, and business integration is very easy."

"Okay. Congratulations, as long as you successfully privatize it and merge these two companies, you will immediately have one of the top three public utility energy companies in the United States." Buffett congratulated him.

"Would you like to invest one share?"

After Abel said this, Buffett hesitated a little.

“How open are you willing to be?”

"5%-8%%, in exchange for original shares of the same value in Berkshire Hathaway."

Buffett was silent again. After a few seconds, the old guy whispered:

"Okay. I'll have someone talk to you about the specific details."

"OK~" Abel said with a smile.

This is the second collaboration between the two outside of Smith Capital.

Once achieved, it will also mean that his relationship with Buffett will become closer.

If this cross-shareholding happens a few more times, the two parties will be completely bound.

Those large consortiums and chaebols basically do this.

It can be said that it is all about you and me. A dozen or even dozens of families hold shares in dozens of companies.

Among them, the company with the largest number of shares is in a dominant position and has the greatest say.

Just like the Rockefeller family in the Rockefeller Foundation.

With this kind of cross-shareholding, Abel was not prepared to open up his troika at the beginning.

Namely energy, industrials and manufacturing.

He originally did not plan to open these three companies to the outside world.

At that time, he also had some ideas about the male protagonists in Chinese online novels, those urban business war novels.

That's good, the core industry can be monopolized by one person!

In these novels, everyone else is stupid and only the hero is smart.

The problem is that this is the world of a novel, and the male protagonist has an omnipotent system.

In addition to his financial talent, Abel is also relatively handsome. He does not rely on his father who is omnipotent and can change the reality of the system.

Even as powerful as Koch and Cargill, they cannot monopolize their own private companies.

Twenty-six members of the Cargill family hold 88% of the shares of Cargill Group.

The Koch brothers only hold 65% of Koch Industries.

The Rockefeller Consortium controls eight of the sixteen largest oil industry groups in the United States, but the one with the largest shareholding only has 63%, and the smallest only has 35.6%.

The average shareholding ratio of the Rockefeller family in the companies within their consortium is about 20%-40%.

This is the practice of only taking the lead, and then crazy cross-holdings, crazy collusion and entanglement.

This is the main reason why these world-class chaebols can become bigger and stronger.

As Abel grew up, his understanding of this kingdom deepened.

Abel also knew that he had to gradually change and open his core enterprises to allies.

Otherwise, others are not fools. Why exchange their core for Abel's periphery?

Then this kind of alliance relationship and this kind of interest group will not be stable.

Abel only needs to maintain the largest shareholding ratio in the core enterprise while doing this.

Then you don't have to worry about being overshadowed by others, and you can ensure that you always have the upper hand.

Cargill’s 88% holding leaves it with few allies.

Koch's 65% holding gives the Koch brothers more allies.

Abel's plan is that he controls more than 60% of the core enterprises.

Most of the remaining shares are divided into 2%-5% to attract allies to join.

He is creating a shared vested interest group for himself.

Just like when he took the initiative to distribute 2% of Smith Capital's dry shares to the Bush family, which had not formed an alliance at the time.

Now these 5%-8% of the energy group shares are said to be given to Buffett.

But Abel knew that Buffett couldn't eat it alone.

It’s not that Buffett doesn’t have that much money, but that Buffett also has to give an explanation to the people behind him.

These 10% shares are for those powerful people in the Midwestern United States.

In exchange, they must also give something back to Abel.

That is the corresponding original stock of Berkshire Hathaway, the shares of the core financial giant in the American Midwest.

Or the shares of their other core companies.

Through this seemingly simple cross-holding of you and me, I have you.

Just like a spider spinning silk, it keeps spreading its web of interests outwards, slowly weaving a spider web belonging to the Smith Consortium.

In this spider web, there will be more and more spiders spinning silk together to make large spider webs.

What Abel wants to do is to be the largest lord spider in this place that can distribute food and profits.

A model called "Concern" is nothing new.