Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 286 Someone should help us look decent
The light blue waters of the Pacific Ocean reflected the white clouds. Looking from Tommy's Beverly Hills mansion, which took four years to complete, the entire Pacific Ocean looked like a large, dazzling sapphire.
"I saw in a fashion magazine that your mansion is rated as the second largest private property in the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area." Stephen sat on the terrace, feeling the gentle sea breeze, and said, "It feels good. I just have one question, Tommy."
Tommy was sitting at the coffee table flipping through some materials Stephen had brought when he said absentmindedly, “What?”
"One hundred and twenty-seven rooms. Are you sure you and Otilia won't get lost in your own house? Your backyard is big enough to host the Super Bowl." Stephen looked into the distance and said, "I think I need a telescope to look at your front door from here."
Stephen used to think that he was absolutely good at spending money, until he saw Tommy's mansion, or the castle after it was completed, he felt that his previous ability to spend money and enjoy life better than Tommy had been surpassed by Tommy. This bastard helped him build a castle.
Construction of this six-acre residence began in 1984, with at least 130 workers busy every day until it was completed not long ago. The entire building consumed nearly a thousand tons of steel, countless wood and rocks. The overall shape of the residence is divided into three main buildings connected by a covered bridge. Looking down from the sky, the three uniquely shaped houses and the covered bridge cleverly form an eagle with spread wings, and it is a bald eagle.
The last name Hawke means eagle, so Tommy named his mansion Eagle's Nest.
This eagle's nest has more than a hundred rooms of various sizes, including a home library, home cinema, home gym, home bowling alley, ice rink, tennis court, private hair studio, private kitchen, private medical room, gardening room, material storage room with humidity system, etc. Let's put it this way, if a person doesn't want to go out, he can stay in it from birth to death.
This guy also built a parking lot with 100 parking spaces, a helipad, two swimming pools, one open-air and one indoor, plus a family zoo with giraffes, zebras, monkeys, alpacas, flamingos, kangaroos, turtles, rabbits, and two damn elephants. Not only do the children like it, but even my own mother would stay for half a month to tease the monkeys every day when she came to visit.
There is also a women's cloakroom covering an area of 2,000 square meters. There are four female maids who help Ottilia take care of the cloakroom every day. Getting up every day to change clothes in the cloakroom is as exaggerated as going directly to a luxury store to go shopping. After seeing it once, he completely gave up the idea of bringing his girlfriend to Tommy's house as a guest. He would never let his girlfriend see that cloakroom.
And the most exaggerated thing is that this house took four years to build. The architectural design studio responsible for the entire architectural design work, with more than a dozen designers from the police station, traveled around the world for four years. Italian handmade furniture, British decorations, French lamps, Nordic oak stair railings, every rock, every screw, and every tree you see here may have a unique story.
This bastard even had the bad taste to buy a baobab tree from Africa at a high price and transplant it in his own home, simply because he wanted to prevent the future descendants of the Hawke family from becoming friends with black people.
He would personally teach his descendants how to become close friends with black people. His teaching method was that if any black person showed kindness to his descendants, he would let the children dig a few pieces of baobab tree pith from his home and give them to the black person. This would ensure that they would never be able to gain the friendship of those black people in their lifetime and that his descendants would be judged as extreme racists by black people.
The entire estate covers an area that is one-third larger than the President's White House. It takes more than 40 long-term servants plus five housekeeping companies' hourly services to complete the daily housekeeping work of Tommy's family.
"First of all, the servants will have to take up more than 40 bedrooms as servant rooms, and more than 30 parking spaces, all for the servants' cars. I have to consider them. Secondly, old Paige, George, Dorothy and her daughter also need independent spaces. Although George has not moved in yet, he still needs a room. Most importantly, if Otilia gives birth to the baby in her belly, according to her living habits, the baby's nanny, bodyguard, tutor, pediatrician and the like will also need rooms." Tommy finished flipping through the information and looked up at Stephen:
"Finally, let's say I get excited one day and invite ten Hollywood actresses to my house for in-depth discussions and a crazy party. There are so many rooms here that Otilia will never notice their presence. As long as I want, ten women can live under Otilia's nose until they give birth to my children. Of course, I'm kidding. I won't do that. I won't do those crazy things at home."
"You'd be a real jerk if you did that. Otilia is pregnant now, you can't mess around at home, brother, Otilia... is inseparable from our CS." After hearing Tommy teasing about the benefits of a big house, Stephen reminded him seriously: "Are you sure you're not going to propose to her? Just let her give birth to your child as your girlfriend?"
"I didn't know Otilia had quietly punctured the balloon, which put me in a passive position. According to my thinking, it would probably take another year or two before we got engaged, got married, and then started married life and had children." Speaking of Otilia's pregnancy, Tommy rubbed his forehead with his hand: "Let's change the subject. Dealing with Otilia is much more difficult than dealing with Murdoch. She actually colluded with Ashley and deliberately chose a time to exploit me and Tony. Now, both women have successfully become pregnant with Hawke's children. Can you imagine my dad's reaction when he learned of this surprise? He stopped all the stray dogs on the streets of Warwick to inform them of the good news."
Otilia's pregnancy was a small accident. No one knew what was going on between her and Tony's wife Ashley. In short, Ashley was pregnant with Tony's child, and Otilia was pregnant with his own child. By this time next year, the Hawke family would have a new baby, but Tommy was not ready to propose to Otilia. It was not that he was afraid of marriage, but he did not have enough time to manage it for the time being. In the next two years, he had to devote himself to another matter.
But except for him, Tony, Dad, and Bethia were all overjoyed in the Hawke family. The Hawke family should have had a new life a long time ago, which gave him a headache.
"I saw in the information you brought that Citibank, Murdoch's backer on Wall Street, has begun to put pressure on us creditors, hoping that the maturing loans can be extended." Tommy took the initiative to change the subject and said to Stephen.
Stephen nodded. "Citibank hopes that the Federal Reserve will put pressure on News Corporation to allow the loan to be extended. However, Benjamin's connections on Wall Street played a role, and it may also be that Ed Curtry's end was too scary. In short, the committee ignored Citibank's proposal and refused to put pressure on News Corporation. But the other party did not gain nothing. The committee gave an assessment report. You can see the report. If News Corporation goes bankrupt, it will have serious consequences. As a media company with sufficient influence in the world, its bankruptcy will accelerate the recession of the world economy and have a serious impact on the US financial system. It is recommended that all creditors continue to believe in and support News Corporation. This will benefit both parties. However, at present, everyone is obviously not prepared to listen to the opinions of the committee. Citibank is interviewing creditors one by one, hoping to reach a consensus. However, before it was our turn, we took the initiative to express our refusal."
"Then Murdoch should also know that the biggest force opposing the extension is KeyBank in California?" Tommy looked at Stephen.
Dorothy, Tommy's housekeeper who is now in charge of all daily affairs, personally brought a freshly baked cookie to Stephen. Stephen picked up one and put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. "Man, it's not just KeyBank. Murdoch almost put pictures of Mr. Shriver, me, you and Jim in his office in London. You asked me to make those crazy statements to the public all day long, saying that we want to buy Fox and his American assets, for fear that the other party doesn't know what we are going to do."
"He refused to extend the bonds when they matured. He can't go bankrupt. His TV network in the UK is at a critical stage. In addition, the American people are disgusted with Fox for giving away free movies and harming actresses. Selling Fox is his best choice. He spent 600 million to acquire Fox Film Corporation and 2.5 billion to build Fox Television Network. The consulting company gave a figure that Fox Television Network and Film Corporation are worth about 4.3 billion. As for his American newspaper business, although it seems not expensive, it is only about a few billion, but the intangible value of the three major newspapers, the New York Post, the Washington Post, and the Boston Herald, is higher than 4.3 billion, not to mention other Regional newspapers and magazines are his bridgehead for landing in America next time. Compared with Fox's film and television assets, newspapers are his real high-quality assets. After selling Fox, he can still hold 1.2 billion US dollars in his hands after repaying the due debts, ensuring that he can continue to promote the Sky TV network. At least for half a year, he doesn't have to worry about the upcoming debts. It must be Fox, but it will never be sold to us. According to Murdoch's character, even if he makes 1.2 billion, it will be a miserable failure. As the troublemaker who ruined his good deeds, he must teach us an unforgettable lesson, just like the unlucky British politicians who angered him. "Tommy also picked up a biscuit and put it in his mouth, and said slowly:
"Wolf Tucker told me that the four financial reporters who were fired by me and who had previously conducted an in-depth investigation of KeyBank but were forcibly stopped by him halfway have already established connections with Murdoch's newspapers. Those newspapers will definitely publish KeyBank's glorious deeds of lending money at high interest rates to black people so that they could start a business selling drugs, and plundering high-value assets in Africa, Europe and other countries in the name of public welfare and charity. Once these are exposed and widely publicized, the president who did not speak up for him before will definitely signal the federal judicial authorities to investigate in the name of justice. Normally, in their view, the three of us have no choice but to commit suicide. Even if we don't commit suicide, someone will help us save our dignity. I guess Murdoch will definitely realize this, so he must want to see the obituaries of us troublemakers appear in his newspapers."
“So you’ve had Ted preparing for this for a long time.” Stephen swallowed the biscuit and licked his lips.
Everyone now thinks that Tommy must have set his eyes on the two big pieces of fat from Fox. This is true, but that is underestimating the appetite of this bastard. If Murdoch did not choose to lie down and take the hammer, but wanted to teach him a lesson before leaving, he would have fallen into the trap prepared for him by Tommy.
The best option for Murdoch is to be a coward and quietly get out of America. If he dares to fight back, not only the Fox film and television industry, but also the newspaper business in the United States will have to be sold.
…
Murdoch acted very decisively. When Citibank told him that it could not convince all creditors to agree to a loan extension and give him half a year, and that no capitalist was willing to help him take over the billions of maturing debts at a high price, he immediately made the decision to sell Fox Film Corporation and Fox Television Network, quickly and without any hesitation.
For the current News Corporation, it is certainly very good to continue to own Fox, but it will take many years of operation to stand out in the United States. But now in the UK, Murdoch only needs a bloody battle to deal with the BBC, and his Sky TV network will dominate the whole of Europe.
After all, a bird in the hand is worth a thousand in the bush. He chose to give up the hard bone of America first and swallow Europe.
Just after News Corporation submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to sell Fox Television Network and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, Turner, Steve and the heads of the other three major television networks, who had previously shared a common hatred with Tommy, immediately showed their abilities and started to contact News Corporation.
Tommy, who made the greatest contribution in the process of discrediting Murdoch, Tommy, who was regarded as a close partner by the three major TV networks, and Tommy, who was treated like a son by Turner, seemed to be forgotten by everyone, as if they did not know this young man at all.
The three major television networks and Turner are all aware of the value of the Fox Television Network. The wonderful programs produced by Fox are like honey, attracting advertisers to spend money. They are determined to get it, but unfortunately, the core assets of the Fox Television Network, the eight flagship TV stations in seven major cities in the United States, were not acquired by one of the three major television networks, and Murdoch's enemy Turner Sr. didn't even have a chance to contact for negotiations.
John Krueger, former richest man in the United States, used the priority repurchase right agreed upon when he sold his television assets to Murdoch, and repurchased the Fox television network for $3.5 billion in cash. When asked by reporters why he sold it for $2.5 billion four years ago and now wanted to buy it back for another $1 billion, the German-American man humorously said that it was because his grandson liked to watch Fox's "The Simpsons" with him.
He was the one who founded the original Fox television network, but later he shifted his investment focus from media to industry, and sold this part of the assets to Murdoch. He then turned to run the communications cable and optical cable business in the United States, Eastern Europe, and the CIS. The reason was that he was more optimistic about the Internet era that had already arrived. But it is normal to repurchase now. After all, although the Internet has arrived, it is still far from entering the lives of the masses.
Fox Film Corporation was eventually led by President Barry Diller and jointly acquired by Columbia Pictures' major shareholder Entes, oil tycoon Marc Rich, and French Vivendi Media's major shareholder Yannick. The total acquisition amount was US$900 million. Barry Diller continued to serve as president of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation and promoted the production of existing film projects.
The three major TV networks and Turner, Tommy's scandal offensive against Murdoch was like a farce. Murdoch was eventually driven out of the American film and television industry due to the financial crisis, but he took away 1.4 billion in cash. All those who jumped up and down with Tommy, in the end, like Tommy, got nothing.
“Why would Vivendi Group, which is far away in France, jump out to participate in the acquisition of a Hollywood film company!”
"Damn John Kruger! He said before that he was not interested in TV and chose to bet on the Internet! But now this old guy is back? Just because his grandson likes The Simpsons?"
The Hollywood tycoons and the bosses of the three major TV networks had two pieces of fat meat right at their mouths but failed to eat them. They could only roar in anger, but after roaring they were glad that although they got nothing, they were still luckier than Tommy Hawke, who not only got nothing but also got into trouble with Murdoch.
Because Murdoch lost after making only $1.4 billion, his American newspapers, including The Washington Post, New York Post, Washington Herald, and Wall Street Journal, quickly published an investigative report on KeyBank. This investigative report was completed by four financial reporters who spent several months anonymously infiltrating KeyBank to gain an in-depth understanding of the situation. During this period, they encountered a lot of resistance, including KeyBank executives directly asking financial television tycoon Wolf Tucker to fire them.
Fortunately, the four journalists had the American spirit of perseverance and insistence on the truth. They insisted on making the investigation public, and only then did they make the investigation report public. The investigation showed that KeyBank, a credit union bank, was suspected of not conducting any credit investigation, lending high-interest loans to low-income groups, and encouraging these borrowers to engage in illegal and criminal activities. Moreover, overseas, KeyBank was also suspected of colluding with international grain traders to force the countries where famine occurred to pay for the high grain prices. It was also suspected of bribing officials of other countries, allowing those countries to mortgage high-quality assets to KeyBank without telling their citizens, and then KeyBank resold them for profit.
The report even named the owners of KeyBank, Tommy Hawke and the group of emerging computer industry tycoons he represented, Stephen Bean and the group of California bankers he represented, Jim Manz and the group of American politicians he represented, and Benjamin Rosen and the Wall Street group he represented.
This investigative report almost seamlessly replaced the previous scandal of Murdoch's alleged collusion with the Communist Party and became the new gossip of the American people. KeyBank, a bank that provides loans to support poor people to start drug trafficking businesses? Frankly speaking, a week before the report was released, many poor people who had just learned about this way of doing things actually increased KeyBank's micro-loan business a lot more than before, thanks to the free publicity from Murdoch's newspapers.
This time, the President did not remain silent. When questioned by reporters, he said that he would push the federal judicial authorities to launch necessary investigations into KeyBank. If the illegal acts mentioned in the report were indeed involved, the offenders would be sent to where they belong.
"Normally, according to the plot, at this point, the group behind us should send someone to help us save our dignity in order to avoid being implicated." Tommy read the investigation report on KeyBank in the newspaper, threw it directly on the ground, and then spit the gum in his mouth on it:
"The president needs to learn a lesson. He shouldn't be so eager to help Mr. Murdoch vent his anger and prove to him that he would not just take money and do nothing. I mean, he should at least let the FBI, CIA or some other powerful organization figure out how this report came about. If he knew that the explosive materials in this report were carefully selected by Tommy Hawke and leaked to those four idiots, he would not have launched such a hasty investigation."
