Chapter 713: Another Year on Forbes (5)

October 17th marked the start of another new week.

In a townhouse on East 72nd Street near Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, the Sput family, who had recently moved into their new home, were having breakfast.

The idea to move was first suggested by her husband, but Grace Sput initially disagreed. Both she and her husband had only recently revived their careers, and finances were tight. However, after Bill Sput listed the advantages of moving—such as better networking opportunities and improved education for their children—Grace eventually agreed.

For now, they were renting the house.

In fact, if they sold their property in Greenwich Village and combined that with their newly increased credit limit, they could afford to buy a place in the Upper East Side. But this time, Grace firmly refused.

She wanted to keep the Greenwich apartment for their two children.

Real estate in New York is known for its value retention, and if they sold it now, who knows what it might cost to buy again in the future.

At the breakfast table, the conversation naturally drifted to the topic everyone was buzzing about lately—the Forbes list.

Particularly the young tycoon at the top of the list.

As Grace served a bowl of sweet soup to her son, she listened to her husband analyze how terrifying the hidden strength of Cersei Capital was, and she smiled as she asked, "So, what do you think? How much is Simon Westeros really worth?"

Women are naturally adept at disguising their feelings.

Bill Sput noticed a strange mix of distance and familiarity in his wife's tone when she mentioned a certain name, making him feel a bit anxious. Nonetheless, he quickly responded, "It's hard to say for sure, but $300 billion is definitely a serious understatement. We're currently bidding on a stock issuance project for a telecommunications technology company that Westeros invested in a few years ago. The company is called Qualcomm. It went public in 1992, and with the rise of the mobile communications industry, Qualcomm's market value has reached $2.9 billion. Westeros holds 17% of the shares, which are now worth $490 million. Can you guess how much Westeros paid for those shares four years ago?"

Grace pretended to think for a moment before saying, "A hundred million dollars?"

Bill Sput shook his head and revealed the answer, "Thirty-five million. In four years, the value has increased 14 times."

Rita Sput, sitting next to her father, marveled, "That's amazing, Dad! What's so special about this company?"

The Sput family's mealtimes weren't usually so lively.

But since both their careers had revived in the past six months, even their children's personalities had changed for the better. Grace could see that her daughter was more outgoing and confident than before. Sixteen-year-old Rita Sput had successfully entered the prestigious Dalton School on the Upper East Side this fall—a school that the Sputs once never dared to dream of.

Of course, only Grace knew that her daughter's acceptance into this top Manhattan private school was due to a discreet phone call she made to a certain young man.

Bill Sput smiled at his daughter and said, "Rita's question touches on the key point. We recently conducted research on Qualcomm, and do you know what we found?"

Rita rolled her eyes in anticipation.

Grace also smiled, briefly glancing at her son, who was listening intently, signaling him to hurry up with his breakfast.

Bill Sput realized he was taking too long to get to the point and explained, "We discovered that Qualcomm has almost completely monopolized the patents for third-generation digital communication technology. Industry forecasts suggest that the global mobile communications industry could reach a trillion-dollar scale in the future. A company that monopolizes an entire generation of technology patents could earn tens of billions in annual revenue just from patent licensing fees. The current $2.9 billion market value is only the beginning."

Grace couldn't help but think of a certain young man, but instead, she asked, "But patent barriers can be bypassed, right? Would so many telecom giants really be willing to pay billions in patent fees to one small company?"

Bill Sput replied, "It's not impossible to bypass, but Qualcomm's technology is almost the best solution for third-generation digital communication. To bypass it would not only be costly but would also result in inferior technology. It's like having the Suez Canal and paying a few thousand dollars to pass through it—would anyone spend billions to dig a longer, more time-consuming route?"

Grace nodded in agreement.

Bill Sput returned to his wife's earlier question, "Because Qualcomm is public, we can see that Westeros invested in this high-growth company. But how many other companies with similar potential has Westeros invested in? What are these unlisted companies worth? Unless Westeros discloses this information, outsiders can't know, and we can't truly understand Westeros's wealth. Take the most prominent Egret Company, for example. With the internet boom, our analysts believe Egret's growth this year might exceed last year's. Even if it were to go public today, with its high growth rate, it could become another company with a market value reaching $100 billion. So, just Cisco, AOL, Egret, and Daenerys alone could already support Simon Westeros's $300 billion fortune."

Ray Sput, absorbing his father's words, asked, "Dad, what does $300 billion really mean?"

Grace had also been curious about this number after hearing it so often recently.

Bill Sput, who had clearly thought about this, explained, "It depends on who holds such wealth. For those Middle Eastern oil tycoons, $300 billion is just a house full of gold—golden dining tables, golden toilets, even gold-plated walls to show off their wealth to the world. And that's the end of it. No one would allow them to do more. But for Simon Westeros, he's quickly and efficiently turning his money into real power that can control the U.S. and even the world. Power is the ultimate expression of capital."

Ray Sput could sense the eagerness and longing in his father's eyes as he spoke, but as a 15-year-old boy, he couldn't fully grasp these concepts.

Bill Sput knew it wasn't suitable to delve too deeply into such topics with his children, but he couldn't help continuing, "Just look at the dispute between the Westeros system and the Hearst family earlier this year. Simon Westeros used his immense capital power to nearly destroy the century-old Hearst family. And with the subsequent efforts to win over other old media families in the U.S., the result is that, through a mix of incentives and intimidation, the Westeros system now largely controls the media industry. In the future, what you see and don't see in the media will be influenced by the Westeros system."

Grace noticed the contemplative expression on her daughter's face and the way her son was processing his father's words. She decisively signaled her husband to stop and told her son, "Alright, Ray, finish your soup quickly. I don't want you starting the new week by being late."

After breakfast, Bill Sput's driver had already parked the car in front of the townhouse where the Sputs were renting.

Grace personally saw her husband off. When he leaned in, out of habit, she didn't refuse, but slightly turned her head, allowing him to kiss her cheek instead.

Their children were unaware that since moving into the townhouse, their parents had quietly begun sleeping in separate rooms.

The reason for this wasn't Grace's secret relationship with Simon, but something on Bill Sput's side.

At a First Boston internal gathering two weeks ago, where both Sput and his wife attended, a young woman suddenly appeared at the party, taunting and provoking Grace. From her husband's reaction, Grace immediately understood what had happened.

Afterward, faced with Bill's guilty, anxious, and even fearful demeanor, Grace didn't react strongly. She simply warned him to resolve the matter within three days; she didn't want the Sput family's reputation or their lives to be affected by some woman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

However, it wasn't so easy to get rid of a determined and clever woman.

The young woman demanded $1 million to leave Bill Sput alone, along with a significant promotion within First Boston.

Grace nearly laughed in anger.

She was furious at her husband's incompetence but amused by the woman's audacity.

She wouldn't bother a certain young man with such trivial matters, though he had quietly provided her with some connections.

Within two days, the ambitious young woman, hoping to climb the corporate ladder by exploiting her boss, was visited by the FBI—not on charges of blackmail, but for drug trafficking.

It wasn't a setup.

The young woman's secret lover was indeed a drug dealer.

In the U.S., drug trafficking isn't considered a major crime, but if the case became public, the woman could kiss her Wall Street career goodbye.

After receiving certain hints, the young woman quickly signed a non-disclosure agreement and agreed to leave the sugar daddy she had just snagged. The police then shifted their focus, offering her the chance to act as a witness without facing prosecution.

Of course, the woman's seemingly successful but actually corrupt lover wasn't so lucky.

After resolving the matter, Grace had an open and honest conversation with her husband. For the sake of their children, she wouldn't divorce him, but he had to ensure that their family wouldn't be subjected to similar disruptions in the future.

Bill Sput promised repeatedly.

His wife hadn't said what would happen if something like this occurred again, but Sput could guess. After this incident, he realized that his wife could very well strip him of everything he had gained.

And so, the couple quietly began sleeping in separate

 rooms.

Bill Sput didn't feel much disappointment.

The higher he climbed in society, the more he realized how common such arrangements were. The most typical example was the current couple in the White House—everyone knew they were just a surface-level partnership. Yet, the Clintons had worked together seamlessly to reach the White House. Recently, as President Clinton was embroiled in the Paula Jones sexual harassment scandal, the family frequently appeared in the media with warm, happy photos to show unity.

Having been married for many years, Bill Sput could certainly sense some changes in his wife.

But as someone who had spent years as a small player on Wall Street, surrounded by money and power, Bill Sput knew exactly why he had suddenly gained everything he had now.

He used to think that those who chose to end their lives after going bankrupt or losing their jobs were too fragile. But now that he was on the path to power and had tasted its sweetness, Bill Sput felt that even jumping from the top of the World Trade Center would be preferable to falling back into obscurity.

It was worth sacrificing some things for this.

So, after the situation was resolved, Bill Sput truly heeded his wife's warning.

Even though they were now sleeping in separate rooms, he hadn't gone after any other women. Some things simply weren't as important as the career he had stumbled upon and still had a chance to advance further.

As for the young man at the top, Bill Sput didn't dare to forget him either.

The current Qualcomm stock issuance was still in the bidding phase among several investment banks, but it was no coincidence that Bill Sput's team came across this project. The information he casually mentioned at the breakfast table was actually from a dossier quietly sent to him by Simon Westeros's personal assistant's office.

It was clear that Simon Westeros was subtly supporting him, and Bill Sput had no doubt about the accuracy of some of the predictions in that dossier.

Using the information he had, Bill Sput and his team had already crafted a bid strategy that they were determined to win. Although the plan might face some criticism for being too aggressive in the short term, if Qualcomm's growth matched expectations, this bid would become a stepping stone for his further promotion. And all the investors who profited from Qualcomm stock wouldn't forget who had brought them this lucrative opportunity.

That's how Wall Street worked.

Whoever could bring profit to the investment banks and returns to the investors would be worshipped like a god.

After sending off her husband, Grace arranged for the newly hired housekeeper and driver to take their children to school before driving herself to Elite headquarters in Midtown.

The fashion season was nearing its end with the final Milan Fashion Week.

Grace's three top models were all in Italy at the moment, but she didn't accompany them. Elite had just established a new media operations department under her full responsibility, and managing it was far more important than simply escorting three models to Milan for fashion shows.

Upon arriving at Elite headquarters, Grace saw her assistant Michelle blocking a woman from entering her office.

As Grace approached, the woman arguing with Michelle noticed her presence and turned around—it was Karen Mulder.

When Grace had initially secured three Victoria's Secret Angel slots from Simon, she had reluctantly recommended Karen, who wasn't to Simon's liking due to her full lips, under pressure from Elite's president, Casablancas. After it didn't work out, Grace paid her no further attention.

With fashion season still ongoing, it was telling that this once-highly sought-after supermodel was still in New York.

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