America’s Road To Wealth

  Chapter 359 Sudden change and rushed to South Korea

  Drinking hot coffee, eating a delicious breakfast, reading the newspaper, and occasionally overlooking the street view of Manhattan outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

   Abel took a long time to eat this breakfast today.

  It was almost nine o'clock before he left the summit mansion and went directly to the office downstairs.

  The biggest advantage of living directly in the apartment on the top floor of the Smith Tower is—

  You can directly arrive at the work place without using transportation.

  The entrance to the former Woolworth Building is also the new starting point real estate company, after the third application to the New York authorities and the New York Cultural Relics Preservation Association for name change.

   At the end of last month, it was officially approved.

   Follow the relevant application documents.

  Starting next year, the Woolworth Building, which has a history of more than 70 years, will soon be renamed the Smith Building.

   This notice has been announced in major newspapers.

  After next year, changes in this regard must be made on the newly updated maps and publications about New York.

   And the traces left by Frank W. Woolworth, the founder of the "Fifty and Dime" small grocery store chain, will also be erased here.

   Who told him that his descendants are unworthy and incompetent, and he lost the ownership of the building decades ago.

  Abel has a direct elevator from the summit mansion to the office building below.

  This specially modified top executive elevator. It also allows Abel to reach any floor of the mansion from the pinnacle mansion.

  Standing in the elevator, the four bodyguards walked in with them, and it took about fifty seconds.

  The elevator comes to the first floor of Smith Tower.

   Get out of the elevator.

  Abel is at the gate of the building, sitting in the Cadillac monster in the middle of the motorcade.

  The convoy then started and headed for Upper Manhattan.

  He's going to talk to Robert Morgenthau about Hudson's Bay Yards.

  Manhattan District Attorney's Office Building, just in Upper Manhattan.

  Smith Tower in Lower Manhattan.

   It is about 7.4 kilometers away from Central Park and about 5.3 kilometers away from New York Times Square.

   It takes about ten kilometers to go to Upper Manhattan.

  With such a small distance, if there are no traffic lights and no traffic jams, if you can drive in a straight line, it will only take ten minutes at most.

  But now is the rush hour in Manhattan, and it has been almost three months since 9/11.

  The traffic in Manhattan gradually became blocked again.

  Abel's convoy took about half an hour.

   Only then can we reach Times Square, which is only 5.3 kilometers away.

   To go to Upper Manhattan, you have to drive at least five kilometers.

  Adjacent to the increasingly crowded Times Square section.

  The first thing that caught Abel’s eyes outside the car window was the large number of various advertising screens on the glass walls of the surrounding buildings.

   Bored in the traffic jam, Abel simply looked up at these advertisements.

  The location of the team at this time, so that Abel's car window happened to be the more famous Reuters billboard.

   Thomson Reuters advertising screen is the iconic electronic screen in Times Square.

  It is located at the intersection of No. 43 and Seventh Avenue, next to the Nasdaq advertising screen, and can reach the perspective of the entire Times Square.

  There are 11 advertising screens of different sizes in the entire Reuters building. Customers can design different advertising content for different advertising screen sizes and play them at the same time.

   It attracted Abel's attention at this time because the advertisement on it today is an advertisement for the NBA.

  Seeing this ad, Abe suddenly thought 'Oh, by the way, I also have a basketball team'!

  He remembered that at this time last year, he bought the Houston Rockets.

   Later, it was put on badly for more than half a year. On this year's draft night, I only went to a talent show.

  In the talent show, the Rockets selected Dayao, who is still relatively young, as the No. 1 pick according to their own requirements.

  He remembered that after that, he seemed to ask the Smith Brain Group to allocate 200 million U.S. dollars to it from his private account.

   I didn't care about it anymore.

   Scratching his head, Abel realized that he was not only interested in basketball, but also in football.

  For Manchester United, there are also several European football teams, which were also bought a few months ago.

   Let people do a good job in the management. After each team invests a sum of money, they don't care anymore.

  Even the F1 that he already got, Abel didn’t really care much about it.

   Now being reminded by the advertisements on this advertising screen, he only remembered them.

  Abel thought about it, and he seemed to really ignore them.

   Thinking about it carefully, Abel thought of the reason why he was like this.

  The reason is actually very simple, because they are "worthless".

  Of course, this kind of worthlessness is for Abel's wealth and his ability to earn money.

  Acquire five football teams, plus a basketball team.

  Abel remembers spending just under $1.2 billion. Including the subsequent investment in their development funds, the total is about two billion US dollars.

  Two billion US dollars is already an astonishingly astronomical figure for most billionaires.

  But for Abel, the money can only buy the American Express Company, which is less than 5% of the shares.

  Abel calculated in his mind and found that it was at most about 4.2%.

  The money he spent on the 50.4% shares of American Express exceeded more than 20 billion U.S. dollars.

  With so much money, all the teams in the current NBA league can be packaged several times.

   This is like a senior white-collar worker with a monthly salary of more than 100,000 yuan. He bought some toys worth hundreds or thousands of dollars because of a whim or childhood feelings.

  After playing with these toys a few times, they threw them into the room.

  When he remembered, he would take them out and play with them, to pass the time and remember his feelings.

  It’s also like a top white-collar worker with a monthly income of more than 100,000 yuan. Every time a new game is released on Steam, he must buy it. He bought dozens or hundreds of games in a year or two.

  He really knows how to play, and the ones who really play often may actually be only one or two of them.

   All the rest are eating ashes.

  This kind of truth is put on Abel.

   It means that after he bought these things, he tossed about when he remembered them, and later he forgot because of business or work, so he really forgot.

   Even F1, which is worth nearly two billion dollars, is the same for him.

   Fortunately, even if he doesn't care about it, Abel knows that the Smith Intelligence Group is the "attendant's room" and "military aircraft department", and he will keep an eye on them for himself.

  Thinking of this, Abel called David who was in the front passenger seat.

   "David. Looking at the billboards, it looks like my basketball team is coming to New York tonight?"

  At the moment, the convoy that is stuck in traffic can't move.

  Abel pointed out the car window and asked the billboard above the Thomson Reuters Building.

  David Jones also glanced out the window, then he smiled and said:

   "Yes. Tonight at seven o'clock, the Houston Rockets will play against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden."

   It is not necessary for David to say anything about this, Abel knows it all.

The billboard next to    is not only an advertisement for the NBA, but also for the basketball game tonight.

   "Oh, tell me about the Houston Rockets."

   Abel didn't care about the Tao.

  He also saw the billboard, and then he remembered that he had brought Dayao over in advance and thrown him into the Rockets.

   It has been more than half a year now, and I don't know if there is any chemical effect.

  Abel only remembers that he wrote a check for $200 million to the general manager of the Rockets, George Postolos.

   Ask him to build a powerful Houston Rockets around Dayao.

  Since then, he hasn't cared much.

  Plus Abe never cared about entertainment, not even Hollywood.

  So the newspapers prepared for him by the maids rarely have news about commercial sports.

  If he hadn't seen the billboard just now, he would have forgotten this subconsciously.

  David is indeed Abel’s best panacea, he responded with a smile:

"George Postolos is doing pretty well. Now the Rockets are in the Midwest Division of the West and are currently ranked first. I don't know the specific win or loss. Do I need to call George Postolos?" ?”

  Abel didn’t pay enough attention to the big toys he bought, which was reflected in David, even he only knew a rough idea.

  Abel shook his head, "Forget it. I'll go and see the game tonight. You can inform David Stern and ask him to keep a ticket for me."

  David nodded yes, and after getting Abel's permission, he called NBA Commissioner David Stern directly in front of his boss.

  The traffic jam was severe, and Abel felt bored, so he simply listened to the conversation between David in front of him and David in the NBA.

   "Mr. Stern?"

   "Oh, it's Mr. Jones! Hello, it's me, I'm Stern."

  The two have the same name, and Stern obviously wouldn't call David by his name directly, just like David wouldn't call him by his name directly.

  Because it's like they're calling themselves.

   "Hello, Mr. Stern. I called you because my boss wants to go to Madison Square Garden to watch the game tonight. I wonder if there is any room?"

  David Stern seemed to be silent for a while.

  Then the president of the league asked David Jones in an uncertain voice.

   "Mr. Jones, you mean Mr. Smith, coming to the ball game tonight?"

   "Yes. Is there still room? If not, I will notify my boss."

   "Yes! Of course, Mr. Jones! Of course there is a place! The owner of the NBA basketball team wants to come to watch his team's game, how can there be no place!"

  David Stern's voice was a little excited.

   Just kidding, the president and management of the NBA league. After the record-breaking draft, Abe Smith has been expected to appear in the NBA audience.

   Better be him, bring his super boss friends along!

   That would get the NBA's most wanted and most spending middle class in the country, primarily the wealthier white folks.

   It will make these people's attention, and some will be allocated to the NBA.

  They will be curious, why these top tycoons also go to watch the football that black people like to play.

  The whites, blacks and blacks at the bottom will also be happy for the world's richest man to watch the NBA.

  They like their favorite shows, games, or sports, and being liked by the richest man in the world will also feel a sense of honor to these low-level people.

   Taking a step back, as the first-generation super traffic king, he rarely appears on live TV screens.

  Just the appearance of Abel himself can attract a lot of viewers in front of the TV, and use the remote control to switch the TV program to the NBA.

   But the president and executives of the NBA league want to see this scene the most. After draft night, it never happened.

  Bought the Rockets, an unprecedented selection of a Chinese basketball No. 1 pick, and at the same time super heroic, with a wave of his hand, he gave 200 million US dollars to Abel of the Rockets.

   After that night, he never appeared in the NBA audience again.

  David Stern only knew that when the big shots left Madison Square Garden, a little accident happened.

  They don't know what happened. The NBA league can only hope that this little accident will make the richest man in the world not like to come to the NBA again.

   Not that he's tired of the NBA.

  For the former, there is still some hope of remedy.

  If it is the latter, the possible loss will be relatively large.

   Now, after waiting for more than half a year, David Stern finally heard about Abel Smith and wanted to watch the game live.

  At this moment, Mr. President of the alliance almost burst into tears.

   Compared with the excited David Stern, David on Abel's side didn't feel anything special.

  He said softly: "Then it's settled. Please leave enough space. Mr. Smith will appear later."

   "Understood." David Stern suppressed his excitement and made his tone seem normal: "I promise, Mr. Smith will have the best viewing experience when the time comes!"

   "Thank you in advance, then. Put it this way, Mr. Stern. I'll see you tonight."

   "Okay, okay. I'll see you tonight." David Stern responded happily.

  Watching David hang up the phone, Abel in the back of the car asked casually, "Is anyone in New York now?"

  Abel’s endless questioning, if it were someone else, they might not know what he was asking.

  Even Edward may be taken aback for a while, and he may not be able to answer later.

   Fortunately, David Jones is sitting in the passenger cab.

  The family butler who is best at observing Abel said with a smile:

   "Miss Lavigne is at the top. Miss Bunchen was injured and returned to New York to recuperate. It has been a week. She is at 1 Emperor Point Thirteenth Road. Miss Spears is opposite in New Jersey."

  David replied that he had a relationship with Abel and was now in New York or the women near New York.

  Abel is also asking this.

   "Then tell them, I will invite them to watch the football game at night." Abel said with a smile.

  David smiled and nodded.

  Abel thought about it again, and he was getting engaged at the end of the month.

   It doesn't seem to be a big deal to be so unscrupulous.

  Even if you can suppress those media not to report indiscriminately, you still have to cover up to some extent.

  He asked David another question, "How many stars are there in Smith Media, now in New York? I mean the bigger ones."

  Abel's idea was to take the three of them there at night.

  At the same time, bring two or three big-name stars who have cooperation with their own media company.

   At that time, a large group of big stars will accompany the richest man in the world to watch the football together.

  Even if it is reported by the media, it will not look so obtrusive.

   There are also plenty of excuses to cover up.

  David couldn’t answer this question right away.

   No matter how powerful the family butler is, he is not a super intelligent AI.

  He can only pick some important things to remember.

  The question behind Abel is obviously not very important.

   "I can call Mr. Levine." David responded to the boss with a smile: "I think he will arrange it very well."

  Abel nodded in satisfaction.

  So.

  December 2.

  West Coast, Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles.

  Dreamworks Music star Michael Jackson, who was shooting the MV for his new album, was on the beach. During the filming, he answered a phone call.

   After answering the call, MJ left the filming team without hesitation and rushed to Los Angeles International Airport.

   Same time.

  Different locations.

  South Los Angeles, West Adams District.

  The filming location of the classic Hollywood movie "Forrest Gump", in the University of Southern California.

   Tom Hanks, who is filming Spielberg's new film "Cat and Mouse Game" here, also answered a phone call.

   After answering the phone, he ran to the big director to ask for leave under the curious eyes of the rival actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

   "You want to ask for leave? Why?" Spielberg looked at Tom Hanks dissatisfied.

   As one of the two most famous Toms in Hollywood.

  Tom Hanks smiled gently, not afraid of Spielberg's somewhat dissatisfied face.

  He said softly:

   "Steven, Mr. Levine from Smith Media. He invited me to watch a basketball game in the NBA. I'm only going for one night, and I promise to be back tomorrow afternoon. Steven, please."

   Hearing that it was an invitation from Michael Levin, one of the presidents of Smith Media, Spielberg was finally not so angry.

   Otherwise, what this great director hates the most is that someone interferes with his shooting cycle.

   "Then go. But remember what you said, you have to come back tomorrow afternoon."

   Spielberg said.

   "Of course. Thank you! Steven!" Tom Hanks said happily.

  Spielberg called out to Leonardo DiCaprio, who is now moving to the front line, but has not yet become the first line.

  The big director thought about Tom Hanks asking for leave.

   Then shoot some Leonardo DiCaprio scenes first, anyway, the crew can’t be idle.

  But before Tom left, Spielberg asked curiously:

   "Tom, I remember that you and Mr. Levine don't seem to like basketball, right? Why do you suddenly want to watch the NBA?"

   At this time, Leonardo DiCaprio also came to the director, wanting to see what the director asked him to do.

  Spielberg was talking to Tom Hanks at this time, and he was also watching the conversation between the big names and super directors.

   Hearing Spielberg's question, Tom Hanks smiled.

  The big star didn't want to tell the truth. But he thought that Spielberg and that big shot seemed to have a good relationship, and they were talkative people in Smith Media.

  After thinking about it, Tom Hanks still whispered:

   "It's true that I'm not interested in basketball. Mr. Levine doesn't watch the game either. But this time is an exception."

   "Why?" Spielberg became more curious.

   Even the well-behaved little Li beside him looked at Tom Hanks curiously.

Tom Hanks shrugged, "Because Mr. Levin told me that Mr. Smith wanted to find some Hollywood actors to accompany him to watch the basketball game in New York tonight. He found me, and I'm going to the airport now. That's it. Steven, see you tomorrow. Oh, and Leonardo, you too."

  Spielberg and Xiao Li waved goodbye to Tom Hanks.

   After Tom walked away, Leonardo DiCaprio finally couldn't help whispering:

   "Mr. Spielberg, the Mr. Smith that Hanks mentioned, could it be Abel Smith?"

  Spielberg didn't want to answer this kind of question.

  But the first male lead is gone, and then he wants to lead the filming of the second male lead. After thinking about it, he said:

   "It should be. There are too many Smiths in the Federation. But there is only one Mr. Smith."

  After getting an affirmative answer, Leonardo immediately became envious of the departed Tom Hanks.

  Be able to show your face in front of the richest man in the world and a super media tycoon.

  This is a very attractive thing for Tom Hanks.

   It even allowed him to leave his work immediately and ask for leave.

   What's more, Xiao Lizi, who is not yet full in the first line, is at the peak of the second line.

  In the envy of Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't help whispering:

   "That Mr. Smith, why would you invite Tom to watch a basketball game with him? In the newspapers, I haven't read any news about how good Tom and him are."

   "I don't know about that." Spielberg shook his head, "But Leonardo, now please let us film together, Okay?"

   "Okayokay." Young Leonardo DiCaprio responded quickly.

  At this time, if someone has the perspective of God.

  It can be found that from California, on the same day, many Hollywood superstars who have a good relationship with Smith Media rushed to New York.

  Among them are MJ, the emperor of pop music, Tom Hanks, "Forrest Gump", and Madonna, the queen of music who has a good relationship with CAA.

   There are men and women, and men account for the majority, with a total of five or six.

  When these people either took their own private jets or took an airline flight, they rushed to New York.

  In New York, it was already past five o'clock in the evening and almost six o'clock in the evening.

   Fortunately, the game at Madison Square Garden will not officially start until seven o'clock.

  When these people are thankful that there is still time.

  A piece of news came that stunned them.

   That is the gentleman who invited them to come here to watch the game together tonight.

   Just now, he had left New York.

   boarded his Boeing 747 and flew away.

"what's the situation?"

  Just from JFK International Airport, Michael Jackson ran all the way to Manhattan.

   Feeling dissatisfied and afraid to vent, he looked at his assistant.

  The assistant was sweating profusely to contact CAA CEO Delevingne.

   This Michael Jackson's original agent has now been promoted to a higher position.

   After getting in touch, the assistant quickly handed over the phone to Michael.

   "Delevingne." Michael said softly: "I heard that Mr. Smith left New York? What happened? Are you still watching the game?"

"Well, I'm sorry, Michael. I just called Mr. Levin. Mr. Levin told me that Mr. Smith is in a hurry. He is going to Hanguo in Asia. The matter is urgent. Tonight's game cannot be watched Mr. Smith said, I will invite you next time to watch a basketball game together."

  I heard Delevingne's voice on the phone.

  Michael Jackson's little psychological upset disappeared.

   Not to mention the awe of Abel, it's just that Abel helped him get rid of Sony's entanglement.

  MJ has always been grateful to him, not to mention that Abel has a special relationship with his good friend Ted Lerner.

   Besides, as Abel, let them dove.

  Michael knew that he had nothing to do, at best, he was incompetent and furious.

   Is there any way to get revenge and go back?

  The ants also want to shake the giant elephant?

   "Okay." Michael Jackson replied: "That's a pity. Mr. Smith is in a hurry? Do you need my help?"

  Delevingne thought to himself, what can you do for Mr. Smith's urgent matter?

  I can't even help.

   Those who can help are probably only Buffett.

   "That's not clear."

   Delevingne replied.

   "Oh, that."

   After chatting for a few more words, MJ took the initiative to hang up the phone.

  The assistant next to him asked in a low voice, "Then MJ, shall we still go to Madison Square Garden?"

  Michael hesitated.

   "Go, why not. Let's go."

   Even if I was released as a pigeon, I was a little uncomfortable.

  Michael also knows that tonight's game is Abel's Houston Rockets against the New York Knicks.

  Although Abel was not there, Michael thought to himself, since he rushed over here.

  Then just help Abel by the way and cheer for the Rockets.

  Maybe after Abel finds out, because of this kind of thing, he can deepen his impression and affection for himself?

   "Go buy Rockets jerseys right now! Let's wear Rockets jerseys outside, wear Rockets jerseys!"

  There should be reporters filming the scene, MJ wanted to make a good impression, so he just acted the whole set!

  Temporary cameo Houston Rockets fans!

  With this in mind, Michael Jackson went to Madison Square Garden after all.

   Wait until the NBA league and the arena, and after the specially reserved auditorium.

  MJ discovered that there seemed to be many people who had the same idea as him.

  Tom Hanks, Madonna, Britney Spears, Gisele Bundchen and several other Hollywood and Grammy superstars.

   Except for Britney and other three young women.

  Other Hollywood or Grammy people, all came in Rockets uniforms.

  MJ thought to himself, this is really a coincidence of Faxet!

   It's a bit of a carver to be honest.

  (end of this chapter)