America’s Road To Wealth

  Chapter 473 Free Masons Guild

  Affected by the North Atlantic warm current and the westerly wind, London has a temperate maritime climate.

  The characteristic is that the temperature difference between the four seasons is small, the summer is cool and the winter is warm, the air is humid, rainy and foggy.

  Like today, it was fine in the morning and at noon.

  At night, in London in late spring and early summer, it began to drizzle again.

  Barbecoa restaurant bright glass.

  It was also hit by raindrops, and was forced to hang a layer of frost-like raindrops.

   It makes it look like frosted glass, with a hazy feeling.

  In a warm dining room.

  Abel retracted the wine glass he handed out, and he looked at Howard Davis and William Boot.

  Howard Davis is the head of the FSA, the No. 1 figure in the British financial regulator, and the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

  William Bute is the first heir to the Marquess of Bute, and is also the current general manager of British Coal Company.

  Don’t think that the British Coal Company is a coal mining company, it also operates a large number of coal power plants.

   is an important part of the British power system.

  In the parallel time and space, there are threats from environmentalists, and there are very cheap Maoxiong gas and oil to buy.

  British Coal Company has gradually shut down a large number of coal-fired power plants and converted them to oil and gas power plants.

   Later Mao Xiong turned against Europe and the United States, and Europe could no longer buy cheap oil and gas.

  British Coal Company had to turn on the closed coal-fired power plants.

   Then something funny happens.

   That is, in the process of switching back to coal power generation, the British discovered that they did not have technical personnel related to coal power generation in their country...

  The decline of old Europe is overall, and it cannot be covered up by Germany's strong economic development.

   Among them, the old overlord Britain has fallen the fastest.

  This kind of thing happening in the UK will only increase in the future.

   In another 30 to 40 years at most, Europe will return to its global historical position in the Dark Middle Ages.

   Today's game was not initiated by Abel, and he did not invite these two people to participate.

   He was invited by William Boot.

   Wait until Abel arrives to find out that Howard Davis is also there.

   As for the reason why William Bute was able to invite Abel.

  Because the Bout family is now one of the largest clients of Smith Financial (UK).

  From last year to the present, the Bout family has managed 1.568 billion pounds of funds on the Smith Financial (UK) side.

   As a major client, one of the largest LPs in the UK.

  When Abel was free, there was no resistance to accepting his invitation.

   Anyway, he is also one of the most influential local snakes in London.

   Howard Davis would appear, which made Abel feel a little surprised.

  Because FSA just checked Smith Financial today.

  Although nothing was found.

  But at this time, the director of the FSA came to see me, no matter how you say it, it is not good.

   If this is exposed, Abel and Smith Finance will be fine, at worst, they will be quiet for a while.

  But Howard Davis is probably in trouble. It is not known whether the position of FSA can be secured.

  Politeness has already been polite, after three rounds of drinking.

  Abel wanted to see what the two of them wanted to say to him now.

  Thinking of this, he is no longer polite.

Abel got straight to the point: "The Bute family is the aristocratic family I admire the most in England. Because you are very much like businessmen, you are of the same kind as us...Mr. Bute, the steak tonight is very delicious and it suits my taste. Thank you very much You, but I still want to know, why are you looking for me?"

  William Bute and Howard Davis were taken aback. The two Britons didn't expect the Yankee to be so direct.

  Switch to their British Isle habit.

  Before talking about business, it is very rare not to be hypocritical for two or three hours.

   After drinking three glasses of wine like this, and chatting for a few words, there are not many cases where we directly start the topic.

   "Uh...it's like this." William Boot looked a little hesitant.

   The fat man looked at the head of the FSA.

  The latter nodded slightly to him.

  It seems to be the courage encouraged by Howard Davis.

  Under the warm lighting of the Barbecoa Restaurant, the first heir to the Marquess of Bout asked softly:

   "Mr. Smith, I have a question for you."

"Please say."

   "We want to know what you think of the royal family."

  Hearing the fat man's question, Abel couldn't help raising his eyebrows.

  He looked at William Boot and wondered what the problem was.

  He is now in the UK, even if he doesn't think highly of the group of survivors, of course he won't belittle the old lady and her family in front of the British.

   Even in fact, except for the old lady.

  He really doesn't think much of other members of the Windsor family.

   Of course, this refers to personal ability.

  What he doesn't like is the personal ability of other members of the royal family except the old lady.

   "Does this need to be said? This is a respectable, honorable, and long-established royal family. I also have great respect for Queen Elizabeth, just like any British person."

  William Bute didn't look very satisfied with his clichéd answer.

   It's just that before the fat man opened his mouth, Howard Davis next to him interrupted first.

   "Mr. Smith, that's not what we want to hear. You're one of the smartest people in the world, and I know you know what we mean."

  Abel was silent.

  Of course he understands a little bit.

  Things are very simple, William Bout and Howard Davis, can be regarded as one of the big names in London.

   Two big men, it is impossible to have nothing to do when you invite someone like yourself, just to ask your opinion on the British royal family, right?

  There must be something wrong with them looking for themselves.

  And Abel also knows that the high probability is related to money.

   It's about money, and now I'm asking myself what I think of the British royal family.

  The answer is actually not difficult to guess.

   Seeing the silent Abel, Howard Davis smiled and motioned for William Boot to let him come.

   Then the director of the FSA continued to say softly:

"We have checked the genealogy of Mr. Smith. On September 16, 1620, your ancestor, Andrew Smith, took the Mayflower from Plymouth. After two months of ocean voyage, he arrived in what is now Massachusetts, USA Provincetown."

"At the beginning, Mr. Ander Smith was in the New World, continuing the work he was good at in England. He was one of the best blacksmiths in Provincetown at that time. The horseshoes he forged were very popular among the British immigrants at that time. Our welcome, which allowed him to save his first pot of gold."

   "In 1750, Johnson Smith, the grandson of Mr. Ander Smith, took his family south to the present Miami..."

   "Stop, Mr. Davis." Abel spoke, interrupting the long-winded Englishman.

   These self-proclaimed gentlemen like to talk too much.

   "As for the glory of my family's ancestors, there are also things recorded in the genealogy. I know better than you. You don't need to let me review it again here."

  Abel looked at Howard Davis, "Let's get to the point, sir."

  Howard scratched his head and looked at William Boot.

  The latter shrugged, and the fat man looked out the window.

  Outside the window in the misty drizzle, there are many rock security staff.

  The heir of the Marquis thought: This is indeed like the legendary insecure person. With so many bodyguards, he doesn’t know how much he will be paid every month.

   "Okay okay." Howard Davis said with a smile.

   "Then let me make a long story short. Let's talk about your ancestor, Mr. Ender Smith..."

   Seeing Abel's impatient eyes, Howard Davis sped up his speech.

   "Mr. Ender Smith, he is actually the illegitimate son of James Stuart and a blacksmith's daughter!"

   Seeing Abel frowned, Howard Davis added:

   "James Stuart is James I. The ninth king of Scotland and the first king of England and Ireland in the Stuart dynasty."

   Abel didn’t have any special feelings about the “shocking news” that Howard Davis broke out.

  As mentioned earlier, the wasp group in the United States, traced back in the genealogy, is basically related to the British royal family.

  The ancestor of the Smith family in the United States, Ander Smith was the illegitimate son of King James I, and Abel also knew.

   This is what the genealogy says.

  Abel is no stranger to the genealogy of the Smith family.

  As for the Smith family, whether it is really the illegitimate son of James I is actually not important.

  Like the genealogy of the bush family, it is recorded that the ancestor of the bush family is the son of Charles II, an illegitimate son of a king...

  Who can explain this kind of thing clearly?

   There is also the genealogy of Morgan, saying that they are descendants of Charles I.

  Rockefeller's genealogy shows that they are descendants of George III.

  That Smith is a descendant of James I, no big deal, right?

   Go back to the 20th century, and after the 20th century, every state in the United States that has made a fortune has more or less inherited WASP families.

  You will find that the ancestors of these American WASP giants are either kings or queens, and almost all of them are princes and princes.

   No one is an ordinary person.

   Howard Davis made this point, and Abel really felt a bit long-winded.

"I know all of this. It's in my genealogy. Mr. Davis, what I want to say now is—if you're a genealogy enthusiast, I can send you a copy when I get back to America. But now , I don’t have time to discuss my family tree with you here.”

  Most of the genealogies of wealthy families in the United States are semi-public.

   It is difficult for ordinary people to search, but it is easy for people with connections.

  Whether this kind of thing is true or not, the rich and powerful are not afraid of outsiders knowing.

  They want to know as many people as possible, because even if it is false, it will gradually become true.

  In Western society where the theory of blood is deeply rooted, who doesn’t want their ancestors to be glorious figures, masters of others?

  The king's son is the king, and the king's grandson is the prime minister or the chief.

  The king's descendants become capitalists, and continue to rule ordinary people in another image.

   This is a very common perception in Western society.

  Europeans, even Neon and Han Chinese.

  In these places, they really believe in and subconsciously maintain the fact that "dragons give birth to dragons and phoenixes, and sons born to mice can make holes".

  Seeing that Abel is really not interested in this topic.

   Howard thought to himself that Americans are just boring.

   "Okay. The last thing I want to say to you, Mr. Smith, is that as a descendant of the former British royal family, what do you think of the current royal family?"

"Haha..." Abel chuckled lightly and made a joke, "Mr. Davis and Mr. Bute, don't tell me what kind of restorers of the Stuart dynasty you are. Then you want me, James The descendants of the first generation will overthrow the Windsor Dynasty and restore the Stuart Dynasty?"

   "Eh..." Howard Davis broke out in a cold sweat, "That's not what it means..."

  The Stuart Dynasty has been destroyed for so many years, followed by the Hanover Dynasty, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Dynasty, and finally the Windsor Dynasty.

  If there are any **** restorers, then the first two must be restored first.

   "Mr. Davis." William Boot, who said a few words in front of him, remained silent and had been quietly observing Abel and the bodyguards, "Say it straight, I believe Mr. Smith will understand."

  Abel looked at the fat man, then at the director of the FSA, and nodded slightly.

   "Hey—Okay."

  Howard Davis sighed, and once again felt that chatting with Americans was really boring.

   "Mr. Smith, I have several new funds under my name, and I want to hand them over to Smith Financial Management."

   Abel stared intently at Howard Davis, but he didn't speak.

  This old guy, like the Bout family, has had money on Smith Financial (UK) since last year.

  This time Abel asked Jess to use the money to go long on British ITV stocks.

  A large part of it is the money of the Howard and Bout families.

   Only those scattered, hard-to-monitor holster companies are Smith's own.

  So this time, half of Smith Financial's gains in British ITV stocks will make them a lot of money.

  Now the old guy said that he still has money that he wants to entrust to himself.

   I said a lot of long-winded things about the British royal family earlier.

   Knowing the identity behind this person, Abel has already vaguely guessed who the funds Howard Davis said belonged to.

  What is the identity behind Howard Davis?

  In addition to being the director of the FSA, he is also the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland!

  The ingredients of the Royal Bank of Scotland, from the word royal in its name, we know that it is related to the Windsor family.

  At the same time, the Royal Bank of Scotland was originally just a regional bank headquartered in Edinburgh, England.

   In the past, many Britons regarded it as the Bank of Scotland.

   But two years ago, in 2000, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the National Bank of Westminster merged to form the current Royal Bank of Scotland.

   Let me talk about the history of Westminster Bank, which can be traced back to the seventeenth century. On March 18, 1968, it was formed by the merger of three well-known British banks, and it officially opened on January 1, 1970.

  It used to be one of the world's largest banking groups with the best capital quality.

  As for the three banks that merged to form it that year, two of them bear the title "Royal".

   is obvious enough.

  As the largest commercial bank in the UK, the Royal Bank of Scotland actually has a close relationship with Windsor.

   Windsor is very rich, not to mention the money on the surface, this part is as high as tens of billions of pounds.

   Mainly real estate, various palaces, jewelry, etc.

   And the various private trusts in private are actually the bulk of Windsor's wealth.

On the bright side, the long coastline, the British luxury street that foreigners must visit, and the profits of the manor, etc., are visible on the bright side. Every year, the income flows to the private account of the royal family. .

   After so many years, not many people know how much the money is, and what industry and direction it will be invested in.

  The Duke of Westminster is the richest man in Britain in name.

  Who is the real richest person in Britain? In fact, you know everything you should know.

  It's just that people know how to depreciate themselves, and they know what it means when the water is full.

   Otherwise, do you really think that just the little credit Elizabeth made during World War II gave her such a huge influence?

  In the end, what really makes the old lady influential is her wealth.

  Howard Davis has already said this.

  Abel took a light breath and looked directly at him, "How much is the total amount of funds?"

   "£5 billion. Can Mr Smith take it?"

  Abel shrugged and replied with a smile: "The more the better."

  Howard Davis didn't ink, and said with a smile: "Can I sign the contract tomorrow?"

"no problem."

   Seeing Abel being so straightforward, Howard Davis laughed.

  This very long-winded British old man also rarely became cheerful.

   "She wants to see you very much, would love to see you. When do you have time, Mr. Smith?"

   "Anytime."

   "Oh, that would be great." Howard Davis laughed very heartily.

  The old guy changed his previous babble, the chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland directly picked up the wine glass on the table, and drank the remaining wine in one gulp.

   "I'm leaving. Go and report this to her, Mr. Smith. Goodbye. But I'm sure we'll see each other soon."

"goodbye."

   Howard Davis seemed to have become a lot more decisive and left directly.

  William Bute also quickly stood up, smiled at Abel ingratiatingly, and then followed the pace of Howard Davis.

   The drizzle was hazy, and the figures of the two quickly disappeared outside the Barbecoa restaurant.

  Abel sat where he was, didn't leave immediately, and didn't make any unnecessary movements.

   More than ten minutes later.

  Edward walked in and nodded to Abel.

   After confirming that it was safe, Abel got up and walked outside the Barbecoa restaurant.

  Crossing the gate of the restaurant, Lincoln and Johnson took out two big umbrellas to cover Abel in front of the Cadillac monster car.

   Sitting in the car, Abel snapped his fingers.

"Snapped-"

   Without him talking, Edward in the passenger seat immediately handed over a satellite phone.

  Abel took it and dialed a number without hesitation.

  The phone was not connected immediately, obviously not in the owner's hands.

  It will automatically hang up after ringing for a few minutes.

  Abel held the satellite phone and waited quietly.

   After 10 minutes, it sure enough rang.

  Abel connected directly, and the gentle voice of little Laura's grandfather came from inside.

   "Good afternoon...oh no, you're in London. It's evening in London. Good evening, dear Abel."

   "Good afternoon, Herbert."

  Abel knew there, it was still day and afternoon.

  Because of the time difference, London is 5 hours faster than Texas.

  It's 8pm in London, and it's around 3pm in Texas.

   "There is something I want to ask you."

"What's up?"

   "You told me before that the right-hand lord of the British free stonemason has been the British woman for nearly ten years, right?"

   There was a pause, and then Herbert's voice continued.

   "To be precise, she has been the president of the British Freemason since she took office. How do you ask this?"

   "Hey, she's going to put some money in my hands. Wants to see me."

   "Tsk tsk..." Herbert laughed: "Congratulations, my dear. Now you enjoy the same treatment as Morgan, Rockefeller, and Rothschild."

   "Do you think I should see her?"

   "Why not? It's 2002, not 1902. Now she, besides being extremely rich, is not as powerless as her predecessors."

   "Okay. Thank you, Herbert. I see."

   "Happy to answer your questions, my child."

   466 has been released, if you haven’t seen it, you can go and see it

  (end of this chapter)