Chapter 1 Bubble

It seems that in the West, at the turn of the century, some inexplicable rumors always appear, and these rumors always like to mix with disasters, especially when thousands of years alternate, these rumors are particularly exaggerated. It is said that when 1,000 AD is approaching, the continuous plagues and famines make the whole of Europe panic, and many people think that the doomsday is coming.

Even in 2000, the most famous ones are Nocha Danmas' prophecy and the Millennium Worm, one involving mystics and the other involving science, which complement each other. This is probably related to the religious factors rooted in Western society.

Of course, at the moment when the most luxurious crystal ball in Times Square fell, the terrifying demon king did not fall from the sky, and the nuclear bomb did not jump to 00 and then fired because of the timer. The world was running as usual, and a scene of singing and dancing rising to peace.

This is especially true in Hollywood, where the past decade has once again pushed the film industry to a peak and a large number of outstanding directors and producers have emerged, the most famous of which is Adrian Cowell, known as the miracle director.

As of the millennium, as many as 15 movies have been directed and released by him personally, and the global box office has almost reached nearly $3 billion.

If we look at it, although this result is good, it is not surprising.

James Cameron has only directed six movies so far. "Titanic" alone has swept away more than 2 billion box offices worldwide, while Steven Spielberg's box office in North America alone has reached nearly 3 billion.

But the problem is that some things need to be combined with time. It took Adrian less than ten years to complete these, and these movies have all kinds of styles, which is dazzling. Many people say that without style is his style.

What's more, the calculations are all films directed by him. If you add those works that have something to do with him, basically no one can compare them.

Moreover, Adrian is not only a director and producer, but also a very young AC Media chairman who is comparable to large media groups such as Viacom and News Group. It took less than ten years from its establishment to its current scale. It acquired TBS, then ABC, and then Universal Pictures. It is a multi-pronged approach but progressing in parallel. It rarely makes mistakes. The Rocket-like development speed is magical and cannot be copied, attracting many scholars to conduct research.

Adrian made an indelible contribution to making them stabilize quickly after acquiring TBS, ABC and Universal Pictures. He can always think of some excellent stories with high commercial value and make them into movies or TV series. The current highest ratings are also related to him. All of this has given him countless titles, such as ace screenwriter, miracle director, gold medal producer, and no one questioned anyone who questioned anyone was swollen.

His vision is always talked about, and countless directors, actors, and producers want to work with him, especially actresses, even if they know that he is a famous playboy.

The media has named the Miracle Girl for the actress who has worked with Adrian. Everyone knows that he has a good relationship with them, even if there are almost no photos of other women alone with him except Julia Roberts.

There are even rumors that Hollywood's golden boy Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman will divorce because of him.

And this is all public news. As for those who are only known to people in the circle, there are more.

Even so, the actress is still very enthusiastic about him. As long as she gets Adrian's favor, it is never difficult to soar to the sky.

He can always accurately grasp the qualities of women. Cate Blanchett, one of the Miracle Girls, won the Oscar for Best Actress early last year because of him. Gwyneth Paltrow, who is also the Miracle Girl, also won the Oscar for Best Actress nomination several times because of him. "The Legend of the Beautiful Sicily" fully released in January received a lot of praise as early as the pre-screening, and also made another Miracle Girl Monica Bellucci, who had been silent for almost a year, shine. It is already certain that he won the Oscar for Best Actress nomination this year.

With power, power and talent, how can the actresses not move forward with such attractiveness?However, the popular director of Miracle is now doing things that have nothing to do with the movie.

Have you already taken it off?In the spacious office, Adrian at the desk looked at Claude and asked.

Not yet, but it's almost too, Claude smiled, Don't worry, haven't you completely taken it off yet?

Then, he turned the LCD flat panel display in front of him: Cisco's market value has exceeded 500 billion, which is really crazy.

In 1998, Apple developed an LCD monitor, and then a year later, the LCD flat panel monitor was also released. I have to say that Jobs is such a great guy.

As Apple shareholders, it is normal for Adrian and Cloud to use Apple computers, and there is no problem in customizing dedicated LCD flat panel displays.

But what is depressing is that Apple computers never provide a mouse with a left-click, and they are unwilling to give in no matter how users react or protest. Although Apple's technology is powerful, it is also stubborn in some aspects.

Fortunately, Apple computers have begun to be compatible with other mice since last year, otherwise Adrian would have to worry about the LCD monitor and mouse.

Yes, this is the bubble, which may break anytime, anywhere.Adrian nodded.

In the past year, IT stocks have begun to soar like crazy. Cisco, which has a market value of only more than 100 billion yuan at the beginning of last year, has now passed the 500 billion mark in mid-January 2000.

The same is true for other IT stocks. Not to mention the old IT companies such as Microsoft and Dell, Microsoft's market value has also exceeded 500 billion. Yahoo's market value has exceeded 100 billion, and eBay has tens of billions.

This is definitely something that makes all investors and investors crazy. If you invest 1 dollar, it can turn into dozens of dollars in a few days, and hundreds of dollars in a few months. No wonder someone shouts that this is the best era.

But is this really the case?

If you don’t look at the crazy market value, paying a little attention to the actual assets of these companies will make you feel cool. For both large companies with a market value of more than 500 billion, Cisco’s actual assets are only more than 10 billion, while Microsoft has not exceeded 40 billion. General Electric, which has the largest market value for many years, has actual assets of more than 500 billion, which is almost equal to its market value!

The value of a company in the stock market must be based on the actual assets of the company. If the market value exceeds the actual assets too much, it will form a bubble and be very unstable.

Cisco's actual assets are only more than 10 billion yuan, but its market value reaches 500 billion yuan. It is still a common phenomenon in IT companies. What is this a big bubble that may be broken at any time?

In fact, most financiers have come to know this, but what's the use of knowing it?

Some things are not transferred by human will.

When will the bubble burst? Even the guys on Wall Street who are waiting to withdraw and make money by the way cannot be sure, not to mention that there are still many people who are applauding the strong IT stocks, and speculators and dizzy people are everywhere.

As a rebirth, Adrian naturally started preparing for a long time. In the early 1999, he let Regit quietly start selling the stocks in his hands and transfer equity.

Stocks are not worth as much as they are in their hands, but they can get after selling. Each sale will cause fluctuations in the stock price. Once the amount sold at one time is very huge, the bubble may burst in advance. Several major investment banks are ready to withdraw at any time.

You should know that if the Cisco and Microsoft stocks held in Adrian's hands are now worth at least 60 billion yuan. Once they are smashed into the stock market, they will collapse immediately without any negotiation. At that time, the stocks will be a pile of waste paper. It is lucky to be able to recover 20 to 3 billion yuan, and the taxes that need to be paid have not been included.

In addition, AC Media Group itself and Claude personally hold some IT stocks, and together, the amount of money is even greater.

Therefore, when selling, you must be careful and grasp the degree in the hearts of some people, so that they can raise the affected stock prices for more benefits, rather than selling them together to make the bubble burst early.

In a sense, Adrian was snatching food at the mouth of a tiger. Although he is already a media tycoon and AC Media is one of the few media groups, he is still not good enough than some people on Wall Street, and his qualifications are a little shallow.

The entire process used countless accounts, and each trader tried his best to grasp the market, but fortunately there was no problem.

In addition, under the excuse of using money, AC Media transferred most of Yahoo's shares to Jerry Young on the grounds of competing with Bertelsman for Random House.

Every founder hopes to keep the company in his own hands, and Jerry Young is no exception, even though AC Media has not interfered with Yahoo's affairs too much.

However, Random House was still taken down by Bertelsman, but it didn't matter. Adrian said early on that there was no Random House and Horton Mifflin Publishing House, and in a few years, there would be no need to expand this area. The current publishing company is already famous for its Harry Potter series.

In short, so far, except for some stocks that have been considered in the future, such as Apple and Amazon, the former is definitely a fool to sell now, and the latter, Jeff Bezos, who serves as CEO, is a rare talent.

When the IT bubble began to expand, when the market value costs of various companies grew, he was the only one who under pressure from all sides to maintain the stable development of Amazon. His current market value was only more than one billion.

Seeing that others were making a lot of money, most of Amazon's shareholders were very dissatisfied. Many people contacted Adrian and Crowder's agents, hoping that they would come forward to put pressure on Bezos. After all, the shares in their hands together are Amazon's major shareholders.

However, after thinking for a long time, Adrian declined their proposal with Claude and even helped Bezos share some pressure.

If you just want to make a big profit, it's very simple. As a major shareholder, join forces with all shareholders to force Bezos to absorb more funds, and then also increase dozens of times, and get out of the way when tens of billions of dollars, but how much can you make?

You should know that it took more than a year to cash out those stocks.

Moreover, there are not many CEOs of IT companies as visionary as him. What will happen to Amazon if he resigns after the bubble bursts?

Well, even if Amazon goes bankrupt, there are other e-commerce websites to replace it, but that is equivalent to breaking away from Adrian's control. Although he does not know who Amazon's CEO was in his previous life, he also remembers that he has been developing very well, and Amazon also occupies a certain position in his plan.

Of course, he could also deliberately use this method to bankrupt Amazon, then acquire it in full and then hire Bezos back, but it will take a lot of time, and who knows what accidents will happen in the middle, and it doesn't fit his vision for the future.

So, it’s better to help Bezos now, and he has made enough money on it.

After those confirmed stocks were cashed out, Adrian made almost 20 billion in addition to tax payments and traders' dividends!

This number seems to be a bit far from the market value of 60 billion, but don’t forget that this is cash!

And he's alone!

Which private person can give out such cash at once?!

Even with Cisco's current reserves, probably no more than 10 billion yuan!

And it is almost the same as what Cloud and AC Media’s entire group earns from it, although the entire group also holds more stocks in their hands because of the future considerations.

In addition, while selling the transfer, Adrian also exchanged 2% of Microsoft stock for 1% of General Electric's stock.

In this country, those guys who control energy and arms business are the real giants. Otherwise, how could GE's actual assets be comparable to their market value?

This super company, which dates back to the last century, is the largest defense supplier in the United States. From aircraft to missiles, there is no one they cannot produce. The neutron generators of the B61 nuclear bomb are also provided by them. To be exaggerated, if General Motors are about to collapse, the United States will be almost done.

A 1% stake seems useless, but Adrian himself does not want to enter General Electric, and General Motors' financial statements can sometimes play a big role and can get some useful information better and faster.

To put it bluntly, just like he invested in Blackwater in 1997, but in addition to understanding the situation to prevent being kicked out, he never cared about it most of the time, just wanted to share a small piece of cake with those giants.

Taking advantage of the IT bubble, Adrian made a big profit, but he was not ready to stop. Although the sell-off and transfer were over, there were other aspects to make money, and it was easier to make money.

I must remind you that Ed, predicting dates is the most critical and difficult.Claude said at this time.

Yes, I know, what day do you think it will be?Adrian, who was staring at the computer screen, nodded.

It's hard to say, I'm afraid no one in the United States knows, even those guys who are ready can't be sure when it's best to take action, Claude shook his head and said, "You're gambling again, man."

Is there any way to make a lot of money in this world?

Of course there is, that is futures trading!

Often, tens of thousands of dollars can become millions in a few days, while hundreds of millions can become tens of billions, just like magic. The profit is so abundant that many people will persevere. Even if they know that the risks are equally high, if they are not careful, they will still be a millionaire today and will go bankrupt tomorrow.

When the IT bubble burst, at least trillions of funds were flowing in the derivative financial market. How could it be possible if you didn’t make a fortune from it?!

Moreover, futures are not stocks. As long as someone takes orders, you are not afraid of not getting money.

Futures speculation does not require too profound knowledge. The key is whether the date can be accurately predicted.

Adrian was able to obtain further start-up capital by Claude's oil futures speculation, and the most important thing about Claude's successful completion of the task was that Adrian gave him the accurate date for the US military to launch an attack.

But the world is developing linearly. Although some things are inevitable, such as the launch of the Gulf War, and the bursting of the IT bubble, some are very accidental, such as the launching of the war and the bursting of the bubble.

Adrian has never been a gambler. Although he has been to Las Vegas and Atlantic City several times, he has never gambled heavily.

Compared to the kind of excitement that he spent a lot of money, he prefers to let everything develop according to his plan. In addition to the fact that he had to force oil futures to accumulate funds quickly 9 years ago, he did not have enough influence on the world at that time, and it was completely worth a bet.

But it's not possible now. He vaguely remembers that the IT bubble burst in his previous life should have been in early February 2000. However, in the past year, because he has been cashing out and transferring equity, the fluctuating stock market must be different from his previous life. Therefore, Cisco's market value has now exceeded 500 billion, and there are only a few companies that can reach this level. It is hard to say whether the bubble will burst ahead of schedule.

If you think about it carefully, we will definitely find clues.Adrian continued.

I really don’t understand, you have made enough money, why do you have to take such a big risk?Claude teased.

He is right. According to estimates, AC Media's actual assets are at least more than 50 billion. Adrian, who owns 45% of the shares, will have a net worth of more than 20 billion. If listed, including those virtual assets, the group's market value will at least double.

In addition to the 20 billion yuan earned and some real estate have been earned, it is no pressure to become the world's richest man than the cap.

What's more, there are still many industries waiting for him to develop in the future. At that time, wealth will only grow further. It's a pity that there is no need to take risks at all. This is also the reason why he did this. Anyway, there is still a chance in the future, and he only bought 10 billion yuan to lose. Even if he is a waste, he can afford to lose.

I also have to squander it to the best of my life, and there are still about ten women and five or six children to raise, which is under a lot of pressure.Adrian shrugged very seriously, then Claude rolled his eyes.