Debuted right after graduating from high school

One side raises one person.

In China, there is no tradition of casually inviting strangers into one's home. In the United States, influenced by party culture, people don't care much about such things. Sometimes, they even feel that the more guests there are and the more lively the scene is, the more successful the party is considered to be.

When Fan Wumian arrived at Adriana Lima's home, the Victoria's Secret supermodel, who had worked with Michael Jackson, was exceptionally enthusiastic, shaking his hand with a smile and saying:

“Van, it’s such an honor. Ke’er told me that a friend was coming, and I was still guessing who it was. She didn’t tell me it was you.”

WM·Van is the English name Fan Wumian uses abroad.

As soon as these words came out.

Her colleague, Douchen Klose, immediately thought of many things.

For example, back in the UAE, the three of them were clearly having a great time together, but when Fan Wumian arrived in New York, he contacted Miranda Kerr first, which made Doutzen Kroes slightly unhappy.

Victoria's Secret models are constantly scheming and plotting against each other, forming countless small cliques.

Douchen Kroos wasn't quite sure of the specifics and began to suspect that Miranda Kerr was trying to get close to him, wanting more than she had. She had recently been showing off her relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio in public, gaining media attention and stealing the spotlight, but she was still thinking about Fan Wumian, who was better in every way.

Thinking about this made Duchen Klose even more annoyed.

After all, Fan Wumian's resources in the fashion industry and in Hollywood are incredibly tempting to Victoria's Secret supermodels who seem glamorous but actually have limited potential, not to mention that he is a super-rich man with a net worth of billions of dollars.

Fortunately, she's used to seeing fake friendships all the time. Tonight, she was there while Miranda Kerr went to Miami, which gave Doutzen Kroos a chance to turn the tables.

Then, belatedly, he realized that the timing was inconvenient; his "relatives" had just visited yesterday, which greatly annoyed Douchen Klose.

After listening to Adriana Lima finish speaking, Fan Wumian smiled and said:

"I just finished a long voyage, which took almost two months. I took a yacht from the port city to Rome and only arrived in New York this morning. I don't know many people here, and I don't want to talk to those businessmen about business matters, so I thought I'd find a place to have a few drinks. Sorry to bother you."

"It's okay at all. I'm so happy to see you. Look at my colleagues, they're all very excited too."

Adriana Lima had just finished speaking.

A woman with an excessively tanned complexion, whose skin even resembled that of a Latina, smiled, waved, and introduced herself:
"Hi~ I'm Stephanie Seymour. I watched your Dubai episode, it was really hilarious! Next time Britney Spears' show invites guests, you can call me on~"

Born in Brazil, Alessandra Ambrosio, whose English is only so-so, was also invited to participate in the recording of the Monster Lady account last time. She was probably aware of the shady dealings between Fan Wumian, Kerr, and Doutzen Kroos, and unexpectedly heard some noises from the bedroom door of the Boeing 747.

Pretending to be ignorant, knowing why the two of them had been invited to Valentino's event recently, Alessandra Ambrosio felt that Fan Wumian was no ordinary person. She smiled and said:
"I really enjoyed my last trip to Dubai. Thank you for the invitation. Am I in New York today for sightseeing?"

Fan Wumian shook his head and said:

"Let's talk about business. We recently acquired Marvel Entertainment and are currently planning some new superhero movies."

He was as fierce as a dragon crossing the river, and was very popular with the girls.

This greatly frustrated several NBA stars, including Corey Brewer and Ricky Davis. Like Adriana Lima's boyfriend Marko Jaric, they played for the Minnesota Timberwolves and weren't exactly global stars to begin with. They were instantly overshadowed by Fan Wumian.

Tonight's party was actually mainly because Marko Jaric, who had just won the heart of his sweetheart by chance, wanted to show off in front of his teammates, so he helped to play matchmaker and had his girlfriend invite a few of her Victoria's Secret colleagues.

Just because Adriana Lima was willing to marry down doesn't mean her colleagues would also be interested in NBA stars whose actual income isn't as high as theirs.

For example, Doutzen Kroos and Alessandra Ambrosio now earn three to four million dollars a year. They are beautiful, have great figures, and have the added boost of Victoria's Secret supermodel titles and fame. It wouldn't be difficult for them to find boyfriends with tens of millions of dollars in assets, and they also have a chance to marry into wealthy families.

The United States also places great emphasis on social status and family background when it comes to marriage, especially among the so-called "old money" types, who are all incredibly snobbish.

But many "new money" individuals, such as Wall Street investors, Silicon Valley elites, Hollywood stars, and high-paid athletes, often take pride in marrying a supermodel.

Fan Wumian vaguely sensed that something was off, but he had only come here to relax and unwind. The emotions he had suppressed during the voyage had already been released through Miss Zuo, and he had no interest in flirting.

Moreover, he's leaving for Los Angeles tomorrow, where the incredibly fit Daddario is waiting for him, and he expects several more days of fierce battles.

Although Adriana Lima's boyfriend, Marco Jaric, was uncomfortable and worried about upsetting several key players on the team, he was even more afraid of losing face for his girlfriend and causing a rift between them.

So after personally pouring Fan Wumian a glass of tequila, Marco Jaric specifically sought out a topic and asked:

"Mr. Van, do you like basketball?"

Fan Wumian took the glass. He wasn't interested in tequila, but he found the brewing process interesting, especially the process of using special tools to acquire tequila. Watching short videos of the production process was quite relaxing.

Hear the words.

He replied to Marco Jaric:
"I'm usually too busy. I only occasionally squeeze in a few games to watch. I haven't played basketball for many years."

The so-called "many years" refers to a previous life.

I used to play basketball a lot during high school and college, and I would watch games of teams that interested me. After graduating from college and starting work, I don't know when I suddenly gave it up completely. I would only watch some exciting replays while scrolling through short videos.

Now that he has the time, he has lost interest in exercising. Although he understands that growing up is a process of constantly losing oneself, Fan Wumian still feels a bit wistful and adds:

“My Chinese video website is in talks with your NBA league about a potential partnership to broadcast games online, but the price hasn’t been agreed on yet. The league’s asking price is too high, and I’ll definitely lose money after deducting costs.”

Upon hearing this, the Timberwolves players in front of them were quickly brought back to reality.

Blood rushed from his lower body back to his brain, and he suddenly realized that he was just a good employee and absolutely could not afford to offend Fan Wumian, who was qualified to do business with the alliance.

Black small forward Ricky Davis said gruffly, “You’re so rich, you’ve made a lot of money lately by managing the finances of the wealthy, why don’t you come to our league and just buy a team? It seems like the league is paying a lot of attention to the Asian market lately. I’ve played against Yao Ming on the court, he’s so tall, his low-post game, shooting touch, rim protection and rebounding are all very strong. Since he joined the Rockets, I’ve heard he’s made a lot of money for the Houston Rockets, and Chinese Americans like to go there to buy tickets to watch his games.”

Fan Wumian's first thought was that with the increase in the NBA's influence and revenue, the value of these teams would increase significantly, just like the Charlotte Bobcats, which were bought by Jordan and later renamed the Hornets. The purchase price of more than $20 million was turned into a profit of more than $2 billion.

In addition, I also thought that acquiring a basketball team would have a good publicity effect on my business, attracting the attention of two to three billion basketball fans worldwide, which would in turn benefit film and television companies, Feile, Tudou.com, and Land Rover.

Overall, it's a very good business, but the initial investment is too high, and he doesn't want to waste money on it anytime soon. He only asked one question out of interest:
Are any teams currently selling off their players? How much would they typically cost?

Ricky Davis continued:
"Last year, the Seattle SuperSonics were sold to a wealthy man in Oklahoma City for $3.5 million. Recently, the new owner asked Seattle officials to take charge of rebuilding the arena, but it seems that the two sides broke down in negotiations. A friend said that the team may relocate to Oklahoma City."

Marco Jaric also chimed in:
"It seems that no team is explicitly for sale, but as long as someone is willing to spend the money, there will always be an owner who will agree to the deal. Some team owners are not financially strong and have accumulated a lot of debt. The revenue from regional broadcasting rights, ticket sales, arena naming rights, jerseys and merchandise varies depending on the city where the team is located. Teams in big cities are more valuable, like the Lakers and Knicks, who can make money."

When this topic came up, the NBA players fell silent.

Because Minnesota, which is close to Canada, is a poor state, and the city of Minneapolis, where the Timberwolves are based, has a total population of 40, the team's income level is quite limited.

Even if no one wants to admit it, they can't really deceive themselves. They can only say that you get what you pay for. They also know that they are far behind the top stars in the league. They have missed the playoffs for three consecutive years and suffered a terrible record of 32 wins and 50 losses this year.

Many things require talent, and you really can't make up for the gap by hard work alone. Players like Kobe, James, and Shaq became famous and sought-after stars in the league because they were good enough.

On the other hand, the Timberwolves players can only earn a little money. Compared to ordinary workers, their income is already quite high, but they can't get advertising endorsements, jerseys, or shoes. Crossing over into other industries is simply a pipe dream.

Thinking that Fan Wumian was particularly skilled, the black small forward Ricky Davis pressed further:

"Why don't you buy our Timberwolves team? Everyone would be very happy if you became our owner."

"."

Fan Wumian dared not utter a sound, took a sip of tequila to calm his nerves, and replied:

"I've never been to Minnesota, and I don't think the locals would welcome me. I'd probably prefer teams in New York or California."

Several star players expressed their understanding, saying that if they had a choice, they would also prefer to go to a big city to enjoy themselves rather than fly all the way to New York for leisure.

Adriana Lima chimed in with a laugh:
"James Dolan, the owner of the New York Knicks, I've seen him at parties many times because the team has performed poorly under him and has often been criticized and questioned by the media. He has a somewhat eccentric personality."

Doutzen Kroos and Alessandra Ambrosio deliberately presented their most beautiful side to Fan Wumian, showing no interest in basketball and quickly steer the conversation towards Hollywood.

Well known.

If you use too much bait when fishing, it will attract other fish to disturb the bait, making it difficult to catch them.

Several Victoria's Secret supermodels vied for him, none of them willing to give in, and in the end, none of them had a chance to make a move on him.

Tequila has a high alcohol content, and after staying at the party until after 9 p.m., Fan Wumian's head was already starting to feel dizzy.

When Douchen Klose suggested going to another bar, he politely declined, making excuses that he needed to adjust to the time difference and was tired. He went back to his hotel alone and fell asleep immediately.

the next morning.

After finishing breakfast and having nothing to do, Fan Wumian made a phone call to Guo Biting and Ying Tian, ​​and then checked the latest valuations of NBA teams.

According to Forbes' ranking of NBA team wealth, the most valuable team is the New York Knicks, with a total value of $6.08 million, because it owns its own arena – Madison Square Garden.

Although the Los Angeles Lakers do not own shares in the stadium, they have a deep partnership with the owner of Staples Center and, thanks to the large population of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, generate substantial ticket revenue, with an estimated value of $5.6 million.

Secondly, there's the Chicago Bulls, where Jordan played, valued at $5 million.

As far as I can remember, the value of NBA teams skyrocketed after 2010. Fan Wumian is in no hurry to sell, and he will wait until the financial crisis next year before the asset prices return to a reasonable level.

After spending some time checking his email, he was surprised to find that the Hong Kong government not only planned to invest an additional HK$80 billion in his fund company, but also hoped to hire him as an advisor.

Fan Wumian wasn't quite clear about the scope of work for such an official advisor, so he made a phone call to inquire before he learned that it involved offering suggestions for the development of Hong Kong. Many of Hong Kong's famous tycoons held this position.

Thinking that it would bring him a lot of trouble and fearing that he would get caught up in countless meaningless wrangling, he was somewhat tempted, but still chose to politely decline, using "young and inexperienced" as an excuse to temporarily turn down this informal official position.

Continuing on to Wall Street, I met with the founder of Paulson & Co. to discuss future investment directions and plans, but the process was not very pleasant.

They talked for only a few minutes.

John Paulson made an excuse to meet a client, passing Fan Wumian to someone else and asking the Chief Operating Officer to handle the reception.

John Paulson, who has recently become a bit arrogant, clearly has his own ideas about the company's development plans. Rather than being exceptionally capable, he seems to have simply stumbled upon a windfall of wealth. He is stubborn and arrogant, and not easy to get along with.

This meeting served as a wake-up call for Fan Wumian.

Finally, he began to consider selling his 25% stake in Paulson's hedge fund at a high price when the time was right, cashing out a large sum of money in one go, and then focusing on developing WM-Rogers hedge fund.

He had no decision-making power at Paulson's Hedge Fund, but Fan Wumian firmly held absolute control over WM-Rogers Hedge Fund; Zovin Rogers was merely the nominal CEO.

Offering advice to John Paulson might not be worthwhile, and most of the profits would end up going to him. When the tide goes out, you might find yourself stranded. It's better to cash out and leave now.

In comparison, WM-Rogers hedge fund is the real "golden child" project, with the potential to continue giving him an advantage in future business competition. (End of Chapter)