Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 185 - 183: Invitation

Never underestimate Wall Street’s capacity for gathering information, particularly when those bloodthirsty monsters catch sight of potential profit.

Soon, detailed information about Twitter lay spread out on the desks of these financial institutions.

"Bestselling author Wang Jian, South African Elon Musk?" A Morgan Stanley vice president held the documents, comparing them with those of PayPal.

With his professional insight, he thought that PayPal, as a payment tool in the rapidly advancing tech tide, definitely had immense potential.

In contrast, the profitability of Twitter combined with wangwen.com wasn’t even on the same level.

"But this is the media industry!" The vice president massaged his temples and sighed softly.

After experiencing a string of failures with investments in film companies and TV stations, Wall Street had realized that this industry was different from the rest.

The media titans on the West Coast were the ones who set the rules of the game.

In the transfer of ownership of Columbia Media Group, they preferred investment from Sony over accepting bids from domestic financial institutions.

For Wall Street, the media industry might as well be considered their Achilles’ heel.

If this were any other industry, Morgan Stanley wouldn’t mind joining hands with other investment banks to emulate and replicate.

Just as when Sears Department Store rejected investment from Wall Street, they simply propped up a Wal-Mart instead.

"But to emulate Twitter?" The Morgan Stanley vice president sipped his coffee and fell into silent contemplation.

If it succeeded, that would naturally be best.

But if it failed, wouldn’t that also completely extinguish Twitter’s positive development momentum?

"This is an opportunity to truly get involved in the media industry without adhering to the old rules."

"This opportunity cannot be measured in terms of money."

He set aside the PayPal information and began to focus on studying Twitter’s data.

Meanwhile, in the Goldman Sachs office.

CEO Henry Paulson stared at Lehman emotionlessly and said calmly, "You’ve made a foolish mistake, do you understand that?"

"But the profitability of PayPal far exceeds that of Twitter!" Lehman argued.

"Goldman Sachs holds nearly ten percent of the shares in the Federal Reserve," Paulson tapped the desk with his fingers, "Can PayPal’s profits compare to harvesting the whole world with US dollars?"

"What we need is influence, the media!"

"If we could control the three major networks, then with the aid of money," Paulson gestured towards Washington.

"Who exactly should take the helm there would be thoroughly up to us to decide."

"Then..." Lehman pondered for a while, "Based on the unspoken rule that media must be in the hands of ’our own people,’ can we not force Wang Jian to hand over Twitter using the issue of race?"

Paulson threw a document at Lehman, "This outlines Twitter’s growth process; how can you be sure that it will continue to grow and expand after replacing that Asian author?"

"Moreover," he mused, his gaze seemingly piercing through Lehman to some distant place.

"This represents a new way to get involved in the media industry, do you want Goldman Sachs to be the enemy of all of Wall Street?"

"Alright, go contact that Asian author."

"We at Goldman Sachs are willing to safeguard the interests of our partners," Paulson’s gaze returned to Lehman, "In critical situations, we would rather sacrifice a portion of our own benefits."

On this very street stood the towering offices of world-famous financial conglomerates like Citibank, Lehman Brothers, and Bertelsmann.

At this moment, the most luxurious offices in each building were abuzz with discussions about Twitter.

And at the eye of the storm, Wang Jian was completely unaware that he and Twitter, because of the emerging model of information dissemination, had been turned into Wall Street’s fulcrum for leveraging the media industry with capital.

Wang Jian was aware that the financial titans were very interested in the media, but he hadn’t really considered their deeper reasons.

"Wang, which financial institution are you planning to choose as Twitter’s underwriter?" Tom asked.

"Aside from Goldman Sachs, whichever offers the highest valuation and best guaranteed sale conditions, that’s the one we will pick," Wang Jian casually replied while looking at the website’s backend.

"However, we also need to mend our relationship with Goldman Sachs."

"After all, according to what Larry Page mentioned, wangwen.com is widely thought to be part of the Goldman Sachs sphere in Silicon Valley."

"Mr. Wang, there’s someone who wants to see you," the receptionist walked into the office and said hastily, "The person claims to be your friend."

Mr.? A friend?

He... doesn’t really have male friends.

Wang Jian responded with slight confusion, "Please show them in."

Before long, a typical young German man entered the office.

"Wang, long time no see," the man greeted enthusiastically.

Wang Jian searched his memory for a few seconds, "Mr. Jeff Bush?"

Yet, his heart grew more puzzled.

Why would this top-level official’s son appear in his small company?

Jeff Bush smiled at Wang Jian and handed over an exquisite card.

"New York City Mayor Giuliani is hosting a charity dinner," he winked at Wang Jian, "He’s expressed concern over the plight of literature enthusiasts as well."

Literature enthusiasts, concern?

Does that mean he helped out when the website set up its charity fund?

At the very least, he didn’t put up any obstacles?

But charity dinner... what was that about?

"By the way, my older brother will also be attending," Jeff Bush added with a smile, "After all, the upcoming New York City mayor’s election is just an appetizer for this year’s main elections!"

The damn charity dinner was clearly a fundraising event!

Wang Jian took the invitation with a smile, but he understood clearly: this was a call for a return favor.

"Alright, Wang," Jeff Bush waved a few more invitations, "I still need to personally deliver these to some key figures."

"At the dinner, I’ll introduce you to George."

As Jeff Bush’s figure retreated, Wang Jian muttered under his breath, "Vampire!"

"Tom, find out how much is usually expected for a donation, given our situation."

Tom nodded and quickly left the room.

Wang Jian settled back into his office chair and closely examined the invitation in his hands.

"Fortunately, it does not specify the need to bring a female companion."

"Otherwise, it would be yet another headache."

A moment later, Tom returned to the office.

"Wang, according to Matthew’s law firm, if we don’t have any requests for Giuliani during his upcoming term,"

"Then fifty thousand dollars would be an appropriate amount."

Fifty thousand dollars?

It’s quite reasonable.

Wang Jian pulled out his checkbook and began writing with his fountain pen.

"Just fifty thousand dollars, Jeff Bush, this top-level official progeny, doesn’t seem to be worth much, does he?"

"Or perhaps, he really considers himself a good friend?"

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