In the evening, the governor of California, Jerry Brown, invited Jiang Chen to a banquet at the governor's mansion. At the same time, Richard Fox, the vice president of Warner Bros., and celebrities from all over Los Santos were also invited.
As the richest man in the world on the Forbes rich list, Jiang Chen naturally became the center of the banquet. The pairs of eyes on him were either envious, jealous, or friendly. A lot of entrepreneurs who wanted to climb up the tree of Future Group were trying their best to get in front of him and get on his good side.
Jiang Chen never thought he would set foot in the UA in this way, but when this day came, he didn't feel too surprised.
"Welcome to the UA, Mr. Jiang Chen. This is a paradise for the rich. You'll love it here." Mr. Fox raised his champagne and gently clinked glasses with Jiang Chen.
As one of the shareholders, Mr. Fox was looking forward to the "Time Curtain" jointly shot by Warner Bros. and the world's only large-scale VR modeling company – Virtual Image Animation. Now that the shooting had entered the final stage, it would be released in January next year at the latest.
For this next-generation film and television work, major film review websites all gave quite optimistic predictions. After all, it was the world's first film based on VR technology. Even if it was for the novelty, there was no reason for the box office to be low.
"If you're referring to Mr. Brown's banquet." Jiang Chen smiled and drank the champagne in his glass.
At this time, the governor and a middle-aged man in a suit walked over.
Brown, with a shaved head, smiled and asked Jiang Chen, "How is it? Are you satisfied with the wine?"
"Very satisfied. Thank you for your hospitality," Jiang Chen replied politely.
"Haha, thank you for your compliment. Please allow me to introduce Andy Giannini, the sponsor of this banquet. " Brown smiled and introduced the middle-aged man standing next to him to Jiang Chen. "The president of Bank of America and the major shareholder of Security Pacific."
"It's too boring to write business on a business card. I prefer people to call me a golfer." Andy grinned and showed the whites of his eyes. He extended his hand to Jiang Chen. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jiang Chen."
Jiang Chen noticed that when Mr. Fox, the shareholder of Warner Bros., saw this man, he was quite reserved.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Giannini." Jiang Chen shook his hand.
To be honest, this surname was a little hard to pronounce. The first time he read it, he almost bit his tongue.
But Jiang Chen was no stranger to the surname Giannini.
Since he represented Future Group, he did his homework before coming to the UA.
The Bank of America could be said to be the financial core of the Californian consortium. Its predecessor was the Bank of Italy founded in the early 20th century by A. P. Giannini, a descendant of Italian immigrants. The person standing in front of him was one of the most powerful people in the United States. In this country dominated by Wall Street, capitalists were the core of power. Although the status of the California consortium was slightly inferior to the eastern consortium, its wealth accumulated over a hundred years was still not to be underestimated.
Many people knew that Los Angeles, California was rich in American blockbusters, but few people knew that California was also the largest arms production base in the United States. Including the famous Lockheed Aircraft Company and Northrop Grumman, the first and second largest arms companies in the United States, both came from this family. Although its shares had also been diluted by the Eastern Financial Group, its position as the military hegemon was still unshakable.
To host such a party, it was certainly not possible to use the state government's treasury. Not to mention other things, just the champagne on the table was from the famous Italian winery. The cost of the drinks alone was more than hundreds of thousands of US dollars. If the reporters knew that the governor used taxpayers' money to host a party, the media would be in an uproar the next day.
However, the fact that the Giannini family paid for the party also showed that the governor had a close relationship with the Californian consortium.
It could even be said that the party itself was held at the behest of this big shot.
The conversation between the two was very relaxed, and there was almost no mention of business matters. Mr. Giannini seemed to be quite interested in golf. When Jiang Chen mentioned that he owned a golf course at the foot of Mount Fuji, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said with a smile.
"Mr. Jiang is really bold to dare to take advantage of the biohazard crisis in Yoto. If I have the opportunity to go to Yoto, I must go to your golf course. "
That being said, Jiang Chen didn't believe that he was the only one who divided the assets of Nippon. The consortia on the West Coast of the UA had always been interested in East Asian affairs, and it was impossible for them to miss such a good opportunity. Although there was an element of gambling, ten or twenty billion was nothing to this kind of consortium.
"Haha, please do come." Jiang Chen smiled politely.
After exchanging pleasantries for about ten minutes, the governor and Mr. Fox took their leave and joined the other groups with champagne in their hands. Mr. Giannini finally got down to "business."
"I heard … Mr. Jiang has some friction with the Freemasonry? Is it true? "
After asking this question, Giannini seemed to feel that it was inappropriate to ask directly, so he added another sentence.
"Of course, I don't mean to offend. Our ancestors are from Italy. Although the Giannini family is no longer in the WASP faction, we also have reservations about the Jews. "
"Of course there is friction, and it is not small. If Mr. Giannini watches the news, he will definitely understand. "Jiang Chen smiled.
Giannini smiled and did not speak.
Of course, he watched the news. It was impossible for him not to understand something that everyone knew. It was just that hearing it from the mouth of the person involved was completely different than hearing it from a rumor. Because most of the industry was located on the West Coast, the Giannini family was far away from the economic and political center of the UA, Capital. In the eyes of the consortiums on the East Coast, compared to an evenly matched opponent, they were more like a "local tycoon" in the countryside.
This was also the reason why the California Consortium was declining and was now almost ranked at the bottom of the top ten consortiums in the UA. If it weren't for the behemoth Bank of America, the emerging T State consortium after World War II could even be on an equal footing with them.
This sense of alienation from the mainstream world made the Giannini family quite restless. This was why they were keen to invest in Asia. If they couldn't go east, they had to at least find a way out in the west.
The friction between Future Group and the Freemasonry allowed them to see an opportunity.
If the Freemasonry collapsed, the Freemasonry consortium led by Goldman Sachs would face liquidation, and the situation of Wall Street being divided into two would be completely broken. This would undoubtedly be a rare opportunity for the West Coast consortiums far from the center of power.
Of course, all of this was based on the premise that Future Group could eventually win.
Andy Giannini was certain that he was not wrong. With his vision, he thought he was worth betting on this young man.
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