Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 180 The hunt begins!

John Weinberg was born in 1925 and graduated from Princeton and Harvard Business School. He joined Goldman Sachs at the age of 25. His initial position was senior investment manager. Within two years, he became chairman of the management committee and became chairman and CEO in 1976.

Not only that, he also participated in WW2 while in school and was awarded the rank of lieutenant.

The reason why his life was so wonderful was purely because power was only transmitted through mother and child, blood and *. He was the son of Sidney Weinberg, and Sidney Weinberg was a retainer of the Sachs family, and the Sachs family... their Samuel Sachs was the son-in-law of Marcus Goldman, and both were founders of Goldman Sachs.

So, the place where John Weinberg is at the moment is the headquarters of Goldman Sachs. Next to him is John Whitehead, his father, who was chosen by the Goldman Sachs family to assist him. The purpose of the two of them standing here is to make money for Goldman Sachs, make more money, and a steady stream of money.

Since the two had the same goal and could talk about anything, when John Whitehead said that the column in Fortune magazine might be related to their old friend, John Weinberg, with his hands behind his back, immediately laughed, "Wenlock, right? Lawrence?"

"Well—who else but him?" asked John Whitehead.

The next second, he continued, "Before, when we all wanted to invest in Destiny Game, Fred helped Destiny Game reject it. Now, the guy Fred is protecting has accepted the investment. No matter who the investor is, they will publicize it after the investment is successful. After all, it's all about face."

"Besides, the person who invested this time was Rockefeller. Lawrence wanted to prove that our Wall Street way of playing games was wrong decades ago. Now, he has incubated a new company, and it is a new company that is likely to succeed. For him, this is another victory."

"Hahahaha——" John Weinberg burst into laughter at his companion's words.

The first thing Lawrence Rockefeller inherited after he came of age was his family's seat on the New York Stock Exchange, but he did not like speculative transactions in finance. Instead, he wanted to accompany the growth of companies, so he entered the field of venture capital and provided funds for companies with growth expectations.

As early as the 1950s, he was called the "Father of Venture Capital" by the Wall Street Journal, and his success stories were like a slap in the face of Wall Street speculators time and time again.

At first, the guys who played with finance were a little unhappy, but after being beaten by Lawrence Rockefeller many times, they got used to it. Although everyone knew that Lawrence Rockefeller used a lot of tricks when incubating start-ups, their speculative transactions were not aboveboard. Since everyone was not clean, it meant that everyone was clean. In this case, Lawrence Rockefeller's crazy success could only prove that he was awesome.

"He has already proven himself with many successes. He still wants to prove himself now? This is really... persistence!" John Weinberg sighed, and then said: "Then what do you think about this matter? You should understand what I mean, right? I'm talking about video games, civilian computers, and... Ethan Jones, who is a headache for all of us on Wall Street."

Although it is very common in America to eat alone, because the real tycoons will never share profits with others, even Goldman Sachs is the same. When the Goldman family was in charge, they refused to go public. When their retainer Sidney Weinberg was in charge, they still refused to go public. Now, after John Weinberg took office, the first document he signed was that Goldman Sachs would not go public.

But even so, they were only closed in a single field, but Ethan Jones was different. Before, when they were communicating with Stanford, President Fred Terman showed a very tough attitude, almost saying - I want video games! I want personal computers too! I want civilian chips too! I want them all!
If Ethan Jones only touched a hot industry, Wall Street would have accepted it. But when he touched one, two, or three industries that could represent the future, then his behavior of eating alone is a bit too much, right? What's more excessive is whether it's his company or the industry top?

People on Wall Street actually have ten thousand ways to break this deadlock, but no one dares to be the first to speak out. After all, everyone knows that Fred Terman is in poor health. If they accidentally make the old man angry, then his disciples, fellow students, and all the subordinates he had promoted would definitely come forward to demand an explanation.

Although the severity of the incident may not be as great as the Oppenheimer Tongliao accident, it would be easy to blow up the entire American scientific community. No one wants to do such a thankless task, and now, Lawrence Rockefeller has become the first to speak out?

This……

What a warrior!

"How do you see it? Of course, use your eyes!" Whitehead said with a smile.

“……”This response made Weinberg’s face darken.

The speechless pouting made Whitehead wave his hand with a smile, "Okay, Okay, just kidding." After a pause, he continued, "Before coming here, I looked through the intelligence we have collected over the years. I personally think that Lawrence's announcement of the successful investment has a deeper meaning, and it is not simply to prove to us that he has succeeded again."

"If I remember correctly, the Rockefeller family has a habit of having a lot of children, but only focusing on training a few with potential, and keeping the others in captivity to ensure the continuation of the bloodline."

"Lawrence emerged from the fierce family competition because before he officially took over the family business, Nelson held the power of the Rockefeller family."

"Lawrence is used to fighting, and he is used to stepping on his brothers to get to the top, so now, he may be blaming Ethan Jones for the Rockefeller family's competitive style."

"He asked Fortune magazine to publish a report just to tell the world that the video game and computer industries are very profitable. In this case, greedy people will inevitably join in. Their joining will make Ethan Jones' development environment extremely bad, but at the same time, this is also the best way to make a person grow faster, because even if you recite the cases in the book ten thousand times, you will forget them, but if someone stabs you..."

Whitehead paused.

"Then I will be in pain for the rest of my life," Weinberg continued with a smile.

"Yeah~that's it." Whitehead nodded.

“So you think this is a trap?” Weinberg asked.

"At least I don't think Lawrence would let his tens of millions of dollars go to waste." Whitehead replied, "Besides, Fred hasn't made a statement yet, right? If he was very angry, he would have called us by now and scolded Goldman Sachs, Morgan, and Lehman. He could even have Fortune issue an emergency statement saying that the new report was wrong, but he didn't do that."

"Perhaps he himself knows that his long-standing lung disease may kill him at any time. Since no one knows which will come first, tomorrow or an accident, the faster Ethan Jones grows, the better it will be for him. As long as he is still alive, all business struggles will not involve violence. Lawrence's acceleration should be what he wants to see most. This will allow him to help those children solve many problems while he is alive. And if he sees with his own eyes that several high-tech companies have been established in Palo Alto, then he can also go to see Vannevar with a smile, right?"

"Vannevar wrote The Endless Frontier, and Fred turned his ideas into reality, which will greatly inspire those scientists because from the beginning, they are unwilling to accept constraints."

"Electronic games may not be cutting-edge technology, but the technological demands brought about by electronic games are visible to the naked eye. Without computers, it would be difficult for them to make games. The iteration of storage devices may change the development of games? Our people have discovered that Destiny Game is investing money in the field of optical storage. And image chips? They seem to be purchasing these things recently."

Whitehead said a lot with emotion.

Weinberg agreed with a smile: "Yes... they have been targeted for a long time... Maybe the two little guys themselves don't know how many people hope they can succeed. After all, only commercial technology can change the world, right?"

"Uh-huh." Whitehead shrugged.

"Then do you think we can make a profit from this?" Weinberg asked again.

"There is an opportunity to make a profit, but we don't need to enter the market in advance." Whitehead thought for a while and said, "Everyone can see the news released by Lawrence, so there will definitely be people who can't wait to get out. After all, the temptation of 100 million cash a year is too great."

"Moreover, Ethan Jones himself has opponents. He has irreconcilable conflicts with Steve Ross of Warner Communications and Philips. We just need to watch them fight, and then short or long those listed companies."

"Of course, we still have a chance to make a profit after the war, right? Lawrence won't allow the companies he invested in to remain private. They will definitely go public. If Ethan Jones wins, the value of his companies will definitely skyrocket. We can try to get the status of the main underwriter so that we can share the profits."

“Although there is not much investment, it is…very stable.”

The safe approach made Weinberg take a deep breath.

He stopped teasing and turned his gaze back to the window.

That feeling of looking down on everyone from a high place...

very nice.

"Then let's do it."

After thinking for a moment, Weinberg made a decision, "What we need now is to be safe, because Robert Baldwin will definitely get involved after seeing the news."

Robert Baldwin is the CEO of Morgan Stanley. When he took over the company in 1973, the first thing he did was to show his fangs to the world.

He helped many companies launch hostile takeovers and earned a lot of profits for Morgan Stanley by absorbing, divesting and reselling. His wolf-like style also made industrial companies that wanted to maintain their independent management rights tremble in fear and seek shelter in the financial market. As a result, Goldman Sachs, which received help, created the "White Knight" team in 1974 to specifically fight against Morgan Stanley.

Since his predecessor had left a friendly image of Goldman Sachs to the outside world, Weinberg did not want to show his bloodthirsty character shortly after taking over the company.

more importantly……

In the capital market, a friendly image can gain more trust from the public, right?

While Goldman Sachs co-chairman Weinberg and his comrade Whitehead were discussing wealth in their office, Morgan Stanley CEO Robert Baldwin was holding a high-level meeting.

"Can anyone tell me what Lawrence means by this?"

Baldwin, who is in his fifties and has a neat short haircut, glanced sharply at his subordinates at the round table, and kept tapping the magazine in front of him with his index finger. "Is Lawrence telling us that the computer industry in America is now controlled by the Rockefellers?"

Morgan Stanley's thinking was similar to Goldman Sachs's. They didn't pay much attention to the fact that video games and personal computers were the future hot spots. The key point they grasped was why Lawrence Rockefeller wanted to make the news of his investment known to everyone.

If this is like dividing up territory and asserting sovereignty like animals, then they will accept it. After all, the current Rockefeller family is more terrifying than the previous oil empire. When Chase and Manhattan are firmly controlled by them, even the consortium will not be stupid enough to confront Rockefeller.

But if that's not what Lawrence Rockefeller meant, then...

“I think we’re still profitable.”

After Baldwin asked the question, a white old man with gray hair took over the conversation and said, "If Lawrence wants to dominate the computer industry, then the most normal operation is to control Apple to defeat all other competitors, including but not limited to directly purchasing and holding other companies, and then letting those equipment manufacturers merge with Apple, but this is not realistic."

"After the computer industry exploded, we have already analyzed that the computer industry cannot be monopolized because the technology they use is no longer protected by patents. When a single computer manufacturer cannot prevent other players from entering the industry by controlling patents, the industry will definitely be an open and competitive industry."

"If you want to gain enough market share in this industry, the best way is to defeat other competitors with excellent products, use a supply chain similar to Coca-Cola to lower your own production costs, and make other competitors as unprofitable as possible."

"So I personally think that Lawrence released the news at this time because he wanted to accelerate market competition. He wanted to attract those players who wanted to make money and then defeat them when the public didn't know much about the computer industry. When countless failure cases appeared, the world would be full of awe for this industry, and Apple could take advantage of this free time to smoothly devour the entire computer market and achieve the peak of monopoly that could only exist for a short time."

"So what you mean is..." Morgan Stanley CEO Baldwin turned his gaze to the board member who was speaking, "We Morgans are going to get out now? Enter the computer industry?"

"We are going to exit, but not in the computer industry." The old director nodded and denied, "We are going to exit because now is the best opportunity. The potential of the computer industry is very large. If we enter now, we can make huge profits."

"We didn't enter the computer industry because we didn't need to compete with Rockefeller. When Lawrence wanted to harvest other competitors, those small companies would only have one end, which was death."

"But even without entering the computer industry, there are many ways for us to make huge profits now, such as helping some companies to force acquisitions in the market, as before."

"Isn't there a computer company called Commodore International that wants to acquire MOS to get a better supply of 6502? We can help them. Also, isn't Rockwell trying to acquire MOS's parent company, Allen Bradley? We can help them, too."

When Steve Ross, chairman of Warner Communications, was able to collect this industry intelligence, Morgan Stanley actually saw more complete information. Or, in other words, they, who had always acted as the Black Knights, had actually received inquiries from those companies a long time ago, but because Fred Terman was there, Morgan Stanley was reluctant to take action and did not want to provoke that group of scientists with very bad tempers who liked to stick together.

But now...

When Lawrence Rockefeller had struck...

They won't hesitate anymore!
What they want to do most is to share the huge profits like jackals!
When the smell of money has long been flowing in their blood, pursuing profit becomes their instinct!

"Is it risky? I mean, have you assessed whether this will make Fred furious? His health has always been poor, and we Morgans can't let him get mad to death." Baldwin said, "Also, will this affect Apple? If I remember correctly, they used 6502? If our split causes Rockefeller's interests to suffer, then we will be facing Lawrence. This kind of battle...is unnecessary."

"No." The white director shook his head and said, "If Fred had been furious, we would have received a call from him before the meeting. He didn't call, which proves that he agreed with us. As for Lawrence, we don't have to worry about him. Intel is in the hands of the Rockefellers. If we help him take down MOS, he may become more closely tied to Apple."

"after all……"

"Isn't there news now that Lawrence wanted 20% of Apple's shares at first, but was finally rejected by Ethan Jones and others?"

"If there is a problem with the chip, I think Lawrence will definitely ask for more shares."

"Also, Ethan Jones's Game of Fate also uses 6502."

"If there is a problem with the chip, Lawrence will definitely think of exchanging Intel's long-term supply chain for shares in Destiny Game. At that time... Rockefeller will only thank us."

Such words made Morgan Stanley CEO Baldwin's eyes sparkle.

After looking at the white director for a moment, he nodded slightly and said, "Let's vote."

"Raise your hands if you agree to participate in the acquisition."

Before he finished speaking, a forest suddenly appeared in the bright and spacious conference room.

This result made Morgan Stanley's CEO Baldwin take a deep breath and said, "Okay, contact Commodore International and Rockwell, and we will... take action!"

At the same time that Baldwin made the final decision, at Philips' North American headquarters in New York, their CEO was staring at a piece of card with only a single line of handwritten text on it.

'Destiny is working on optical storage - Steve Ross'

"Is this news true?" He looked up at the subordinate who was reporting.

"Really." The white middle-aged man nodded carefully, "It is said that the first phase of funding is one million."

"MFxxk!" Philips' CEO cursed loudly, then pressed the internal communication bell and called his secretary, "Help me connect to Mr. Rodenburg, the CEO of the headquarters!"

"Don't worry about the time difference! Just call!"

"Our strategic planning is under threat!"

The roar that occurred at Philips was not heard by outsiders. At the same time, Steve Ross, chairman of Warner Communications, also left the Rockefeller Center in New York.

When he got into his own car, he waved to the driver to get out and wait, then called his secretary and asked, "Have you contacted Philips?"

"I have contacted him." The male secretary nodded, "I delivered the message myself."

"What's Philip's reaction?" Steve Ross asked with burning eyes.

"They said they need to report to headquarters," the male secretary replied.

This result made Steve Ross smile, and after a moment, the excited smile spread across his entire face. He nodded his head slightly, looked at his secretary, raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder.

"good, very good, excellent……"

After mumbling a few words, he added: "Philips will do it."

"They will not tolerate Ethan Jones touching their future strategy."

"Now...it's our turn..."

"Their film project is in collaboration with Columbia Pictures, right?"

"Then let's get the dirt on Columbia CEO David Beigelman out there!"

"Hand it over to the FBI!"

"He, Ethan Jones—"

“Don’t even think about making this into a movie!”

The male secretary nodded repeatedly after hearing the bloodthirsty words.

After looking at each other, he also got out of the car at the boss's signal.

As the door closed, Steve Ross also lit a cigarette.

Soon, the curling green smoke filled the car, making his facial features look solemn.

After a while, he signaled the driver to get back in the car and said, "Go to the airport, back to California."

When Steve Ross took off from New York on his private plane and headed for warm Los Angeles, in the dead of night in Kyoto, Yamauchi Hiroshi was wearing a suit jacket, leaning against the cold wall, listening to the transatlantic call from Vancouver.

"That's how it is. I don't know the public opinion feedback yet, but..."

“The atmosphere in the circle seems to be very tense.”

"According to my classmates, people on Wall Street talk about Ethan Jones with envy on their faces, and then... they want to share him with them."

The son-in-law's words made Yamauchi Hiroshi laugh, "This is normal, isn't it?"

"Everyone wants a business that can earn 100 million cash a year."

"Although we all know that this data may be a bit exaggerated."

"But it doesn't matter, right?"

The father-in-law's question made Arakawa Minoru on the other end of the phone ponder for a moment, and then he said, "Should we do something now? For example, delay the time on the dividend issue? Drag Ethan Jones into a cash flow crisis? Or, in other words, some other means?"

"No need." Yamauchi Hiroshi said, "Arakawa, you have to know one thing. Although the ideal result of a business struggle is to defeat all competitors, no company will withdraw directly after a failure. When Ethan Jones was weak, Atari and Milova did not strangle him to death. So now, even if Warner, Philips, and Wall Street manipulate the company or personally take action, he will not be defeated directly like a flood."

"The last time was actually our best chance. He was still immature at the time and lost to Warner and Philips in business planning. But now the situation is different. When he dominated the entire North American game circle, his market position was reversed compared to Warner and Philips."

“He became the front-runner and the others were the chasers.”

"Since we have missed the best chance to cut it, we have to start all over again, squatting in the dense forest like an old hunter, watching other hunters put shackles and chains on him."

"Because when a beast is attacked for the first time, its resistance is the most intense. We, Nintendo, don't need to go up and attract firepower. We can wait for others to cut off its claws and pull out its teeth. We can then give it a fatal blow when it is at its weakest."

"Although this behavior cannot maximize our interests, but..."

"We have gained enough benefits now, haven't we?"

"We have the production drawings of 6502, the production equipment, and the production technology. We also have the codes for his games."

"When we at Nintendo have already received a generous return, the rest..."

"That means just waiting quietly for the game to begin..."

As he spoke, Yamauchi Hiroshi also raised his head.

The position next to the window allowed the bright moonlight to shine in front of him. The starry sky was like eyes in the dark jungle, and his heartbeat could be heard in his ears.

Such a scene made Yamauchi Hiroshi chuckle. A few breaths later, when the breeze blew through the leaves, making a rustling sound, he hung up the phone, closed his eyes, raised his arms, and felt the cool breeze coming towards him.

Not long after, the sun of the book rose high.

A peaceful day, everything returns to silence.

Another reincarnation, the second day arrived.

When the time quietly came to February 26, 1978, a piece of news was brought by Arakawa Masahiro's urgent transatlantic phone call, "They took action!"

"The Los Angeles Times released the latest news today. The head of Columbia Pictures was arrested by Foberle and the Los Angeles police for suspected tax evasion, embezzlement and check forgery. From now on, all projects of Columbia Pictures must be compiled into a book and handed over to the police for inspection..."

This news made Yamauchi Hiroshi smile.

He walked to the office window with his hands in his pockets.

Gazing at the chip factory in the distance, he murmured: "Hunting..."

"here we go!"

[Correction]: The data of the Fortune 1978 in the previous chapter was cited incorrectly. The company I cited, Foxboro, was the last one in the 1977 Fortune 1978 released in mid-1977. At the time point of 1976 in the article, the data that can be seen should be the 2.97 Fortune released in , so it should be Ecolab, whose revenue is million. It does not affect the plot and is not a big problem.

Notes: ① Excellent companies are all independent. Goldman Sachs did not go public until the late 1990s, and their management has always been their own people. ② Morgan Stanley was a famous black knight in the 1970s. They helped buyers launch hostile takeovers of targets in various fields, including energy, public utilities, metals, and consumer goods. ③ The Rockefeller family has always been a player on Wall Street. They have a bank. Chase Manhattan is the bank controlled by their family. In the era mentioned in the article, David Rockefeller, the younger brother of Nelson and Lawrence, was the chairman of Chase Manhattan, and the previous chairman Winthrop Aldrich was their uncle.

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(End of this chapter)