Chapter 370: Sports and Movies

After spending some time having fun in Dubai, Gilbert was even granted an audience with the royal family.

Several princes and princesses of the Dubai royal family were fans of the Lord of the Rings series. Among them, a prince named Abdul was a diehard fan of Gilbert.

Not only did he invite Gilbert and his family to his mansion, but he also hosted a local-style camel feast in their honor.

Prince Abdul and Gilbert had a cordial and friendly conversation about film. He even asked, "Respected Director Landrini, if the Dubai royal family wishes to enter Hollywood, what suggestions would you have?"

Generally speaking, Hollywood doesn't welcome outsiders. Even North American tycoons and Wall Street moguls face resistance from traditional Hollywood forces when they try to enter the industry.

Sony's entry into Hollywood was purely due to a combination of luck and timing.

Even so, despite Sony's deep pockets, Columbia Pictures still ranks at the bottom among the major studios. Outwardly, everyone acts friendly, but in truth, the company is not well received by the other industry giants.

Although Gilbert naturally belongs to the traditional Hollywood camp, he doesn't mind if the waters of Hollywood get even murkier.

Muddy waters make it easier to fish, after all. Sometimes, Gilbert also has his own personal interests and ambitions.

So Gilbert said, "Your Highness, if you trust me, this summer is a good time to make a move."

"Oh?" Prince Abdul grew curious. "Why do you say that?"

"Have you ever heard of MGM-UA?" Gilbert asked.

"Of course," Prince Abdul nodded gently. "Tom and Jerry and the 007 series both came from MGM."

"It's good that Your Highness is familiar," Gilbert continued. "There's currently a great opportunity. MGM is in serious financial trouble.

This year, MGM is set to release Windtalkers and 007: Tomorrow Never Dies. I'm not too optimistic about either film's prospects.

If both films perform poorly, MGM's stock performance will drop significantly this will be your chance."

Prince Abdul immediately understood. He trusted Gilbert's professional judgment.

Prince Abdul then asked, "Can you introduce me to MGM's top executives?"

Gilbert shook his head. "No, but I can introduce you to someone else."

"Who?"

"Michael Ovitz, a famous Hollywood agent. He was the middleman for Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures," Gilbert explained.

"I understand. I'll have someone reach out to him," said Prince Abdul.

For royals like them, if they have no hope of inheriting the throne, they're left to live a life of idleness and indulgence.

Such a lifestyle is the dream of most people on Earth. After all, with no worries about food or money and an endless allowance what's not to like?

But for someone like Prince Abdul, who has ambition and ideals, wasting away isn't the life he wants.

That's why he came up with the idea of investing in Hollywood to prove to the rest of the royal family what he's capable of.

Prince Abdul was also interested in football. While chatting casually with Gilbert, he mentioned that he planned to push the royal family's financial group to acquire a football club.

It wasn't just a personal hobby through football's influence, he hoped to raise the profile of the Dubai royal family and attract more people to visit Dubai.

Truth be told, when Prince Charles had brought up acquiring a football club earlier, Gilbert hadn't been very interested.

But hearing Prince Abdul talk about it opened up a new way of thinking for Gilbert. If acquiring a football club with significant influence could serve as a form of marketing for his movie brand, why not?

After all, a top-tier football club's fan base probably wouldn't be any smaller than his own audience maybe even larger.

If they were to acquire a football club, the best choice would be a team from the English Premier League. Serie A was in decline, Ligue 1 was at the bottom, and the Bundesliga wasn't worth considering unless you bought Bayern Munich.

As for La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid were completely out of reach for someone like Gilbert. Atlético Madrid might be interesting, but the club was currently in deep trouble and wasn't really a top-tier team.

That left only the Premier League.

Currently, there was news from the Premier League that a certain Russian oligarch named Abramovich was about to take over Chelsea, with an official announcement expected soon.

But if it were up to Gilbert, he would choose either Arsenal or Manchester United especially Arsenal. He had quite an interest in the Professor and the Gunners.

The reason was simple. In his previous life, at most, he was a casual football fan, but the people around him were die-hard Arsenal supporters. Without realizing it, Gilbert had been somewhat influenced.

Just based on that impression, Gilbert felt that buying Arsenal would be a bit more fun.

He remembered people around him saying the Professor's greatest pity was always the lack of funds. Every year, he had to pinch pennies, and Arsenal could only cleverly fight for fourth place.

But if Gilbert were to take over Arsenal, he certainly wouldn't be stingy.

He was a billionaire, and his net worth was still rising. According to the latest Forbes Billionaires List, Gilbert's estimated wealth had reached $21 billion, ranking ninth.

His financial sources mainly came from shares in social media companies and search engine firms, plus holdings in Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech companies.

In addition, he held shares in Disney and Time Warner, as well as other hidden assets.

According to Forbes, this was a conservative estimate of Gilbert's wealth. In fact, Gilbert secretly controlled other companies through an investment firm Fruit Company.

Since Fruit Company was not publicly listed and had no obligation to disclose financial reports, Forbes could only give a conservative estimate. Gilbert's actual wealth was probably much higher.

He was already publicly the ninth richest person in the world, and Gilbert had no bad debts or toxic assets his wallet was more than full.

So although football was a money-burning game, if it really came down to burning money, there probably weren't many who could out-burn Gilbert.

With his thoughts widening, it wasn't just football Gilbert could also buy a basketball team, like the Cavaliers.

Currently, without "LeBron," the Cavaliers' market value was less than $700 million. Acquiring them would be simple just give enough money and the NBA wouldn't say no.

Then he could grab the first overall draft pick and select "James LeBron," only to bench him for four years, completely wasting his career.

The only question would be after sitting on the bench for four years, could "LeBron" still become the GOAT?

Or he could buy the Rockets and pick a few capable teammates to support "Jail Yao" in competing for a championship. That would be quite entertaining.

After ending their trip in Dubai, Gilbert and his entourage entered the Mediterranean from the Red Sea, docking at Alexandria in Egypt, then heading to Cairo.

The main purpose of visiting Cairo was to see the pyramids satisfying a bit of Gilbert's curiosity.

After that, the yacht continued to Greece, Italy, and a few other places, eventually docking at the port of Marseille, France Sophie Marceau's turf.

Gilbert taking a group of beautiful women on a round-the-world trip made headlines daily, with paparazzi photos splashed across the front pages of every major tabloid.

Though Gilbert himself was a director, his popularity was far from low. Plus, the women around him were all high-profile celebrities, so naturally, they drew attention.

....

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