America's Road to Wealth

Abel meeting Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Same day, Manhattan, New York.

In the Manhattan District Attorney's Office Building, in Prosecutor Robert's office on the third floor.

Robert watched his granddaughter walk in.

In the old days, Robert liked to see his granddaughter come in here.

But recently, when he was in this office, he vaguely didn't want to see his granddaughter come in.

It wasn't that he started to hate Peggy or his granddaughter.

But there is another reason.

This reason is because in recent times.

Most Manhattan District Attorney's Offices, attorney notification letters and court notification letters for indictments.

They were all sent in by Peggy!

Others dare not touch his bad luck, otherwise they will be scolded by Robert.

In the office, I saw Paige pushing the door open and coming in.

Basically this means that there is a new prosecution that makes Robert feel annoyed.

"Is there a new one?" Robert Morgenthau looked at the apple of his eye expressionlessly.

She felt very distressed when she saw Peggy, whose grandfather had become much more haggard recently.

While hating someone so much, she nodded and said:

"Yes, this time it's a woman named Maria."

"What's the case this time?" Robert asked.

There are too many people named Mary in the United States, probably more than there are people named David and John combined.

The cases that Robert handled every year in Manhattan, or the cases that had his name on them.

There are also a lot of them, and it is not uncommon for more than a dozen or twenty Marias to appear inside.

"It's not a case this time." Paige said helplessly: "Maria is the cleaner you fired last year."

"Oh?" Robert was in a daze for a while, and Peggy's reminder reminded him of it.

A few years ago, the cleaner in charge of my office seemed to be named Maria.

She is a white woman in her fifties, with a bloated figure.

"What's the matter with her?" Robert asked in confusion.

Peggy actually didn't want to tell her grandfather about Maria.

It’s just that what happened to Maria this time may be a change in the news.

She thought it was a bit disgusting, although it probably made her grandfather angry.

But it was still necessary to let my grandfather know in advance what changes would follow.

It can also allow the grandfather to be mentally prepared and take defensive measures in advance.

Therefore, Paige felt something was wrong, but she still whispered:

"Grandpa, this janitor you're talking about. She recently "recruited" a lawyer."

"Haha~"

Robert Morgenthau sneered.

A janitor who earns about two thousand to three thousand dollars a month hires a lawyer to sue the Manhattan District Attorney?

Are you kidding me? ! !

Robert naturally knew that Maria was just a cover, just a pawn on the surface.

The real troublemaker was not Maria herself.

"What is she suing me for?" Robert has been used to being sued recently, and Robert has become a little numb.

He felt that no matter how outrageous the prosecution name was, he would not feel anything special.

However, what his granddaughter said next immediately left him stunned.

Because Peggy said:

"This Maria, she is suing you through her lawyer. She said that you tried to assault her several times in the office in March, April, and June last year."

Robert first thought he heard it wrong, but after confirming that he heard it right.

He felt that his heart was cramping.

"I SHITfxkk this fxxk!"

Covering his heart, Robert pointed up and down with one finger, his face turned livid.

Paige knew her grandfather's reaction would be huge, but she didn't know it would be this big.

Fortunately, she was prepared and immediately took out the medicine she had prepared in advance.

And with quick movements, he drank some water for grandpa and fed him some water.

Robert Morgenthau felt much better now.

Although his face was still a little pale, at least he wasn't as angry as he was just now, as if he was about to faint.

"FXXKYOU!!"

Robert Morgenthau, who was feeling more comfortable, finally cursed angrily.

This is also the first time since Peggy was a child that she has seen such angry and foul language from her gentle and elegant grandfather.

Paige regretted it.

If I had known about this earlier, I shouldn't have let grandpa know.

"Huh~~"

Robert Morgenthau took a deep breath, feeling anxious and angry.

But just as Peggy thought, Robert Morgenthau came from a wealthy East Coast political family.

He keenly felt that Maria's matter might not be that simple.

Robert Morgenthau thought quickly.

After a minute or so, he suddenly asked Peggy softly:

"Dear, tell me. Which lawyer is representing Maria this time?"

Peggy was stunned for a moment, and she still hadn't realized why her grandfather would ask this in the first place.

She thought for a moment and said, "It's John Sam's law firm."

John Sam Law Firm is a well-known law firm in New York.

It is different from the big law firms that rank very high.

This law firm has only been around for a few years, and its reputation depends entirely on its boss, John Sam.

To put it simply, there is only one barrister in this law firm, and the others are assistants and auxiliary lawyers.

This is different from those big law firms that have a lot of people and a lot of lawyers.

"Sam John." A thoughtful expression appeared on Robert Morgenthau's livid face.

"You did a good job this time, my dear." After a while, Robert Morgenthau said suddenly.

Peggy looked at him: "Grandpa?"

"It wasn't Abel Smith." Robert Morgenthau said, "I mean, Abel Smith didn't lead this Maria thing."

"what do you mean?"

"Just like you thought. Just like the reason why you told me this disgusting thing." Robert Morgenthau was furious and extremely angry just now.

At this moment, his tone was calm and he regained his original gentleness.

"There is a high probability that some people are starting to take advantage of Abel Smith's madness to test me."

Robert Morgenthau said.

Peggy immediately understood what grandpa meant, and this was exactly what she was worried about.

This was also the reason why she chose to tell him this disgusting thing at the risk of his grandfather being angry.

The trend in New York's judicial circles may have changed.

"Then who do you think it will be?" Peggy said softly.

Robert Morgenthau shook his head and said:

"It doesn't matter who it is anymore. What's important is that we have to stop Abe Smith as soon as possible."

Paige nodded.

Although Abel Smith's actions kept the Manhattan District Attorney's Office extremely busy.

It also made Robert a little angry and sick.

But it’s actually still within an acceptable level for Robert Morgenthau.

First of all, it was Abel who did this, and it was within the rules and following the rules.

Secondly, what Abel did would not cause any actual harm to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and Robert Morgenthau.

So many prosecutions just mean that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is wasting some of its staff capacity to respond to the lawsuits.

Increase Robert Morgenthau's funding by an additional $100,000 per month.

The biggest damage was to the reputation of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

But now, Robert Morgenthau is keenly aware of the change in the situation.

Most of the prosecutions conducted by the law firms hired by Abel were very formal.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office used some previous cases that may have been unjust cases to counterclaim and prosecute.

At best, this can only be said to be Robert Morgenthau's careless handling of the case.

This kind of thing is not a big deal in the American prosecutorial community.

But this time, the name of prosecuting Robert Morgenthau was such a groundless thing.

Robert Morgenthau felt that someone was taking advantage of this opportunity.

Taking advantage of the storm of lawsuits launched by Abel against him, and using Abel's cover, he wanted to do other things to himself.

for example

To discredit Robert Morgenthau.

This will indirectly affect the upcoming election of Manhattan District Attorney!

Yes, just like any other position.

District attorneys are also elected.

Robert Morgenthau was a sure thing in Manhattan, but he had to be re-elected every few years.

Every year someone rises up to challenge him, although they all fail.

This year it's time for him to accept the challenge of others, and it will only be half a month later.

That's when election season begins for district attorneys.

There is a proverb in China, "A drunkard's heart is not in wine."

Robert Morgenthau now feels that some people are beginning to have such intentions.

Maybe even Abel Smith was one of the drunkards in doing this!

Robert is not afraid of the storm of litigation, but he does not want it to continue.

eventually affecting his throne.

After thinking for a long time, Robert Morgenthau suddenly said directly to his granddaughter:

"Peggy, I want you to put down all the cases and things you are doing first."

"Okay. Grandpa." Peggy, who had been waiting quietly for Robert to finish thinking, answered without hesitation.

"You go to California right away." Robert said again.

Paige asked this time: "What is the purpose of letting me go to California?"

"Abe Smith is in California right now." Robert Morgenthau said:

"I want you to go find him and reconcile with him."

Paige was stunned, but she immediately said, "No problem, I'll go right away."

Robert Morgenthau nodded and continued to ponder.

At this time, what he was thinking about had turned to who was behind the scenes.

Who could really threaten themselves in this election?

Peggy stopped disturbing her grandfather and quietly left the office to prepare for her trip to California.

As Paige boards the plane to California.

U.S. West Coast,

San Francisco, Santa Clara Valley, California.

Santa Clara Valley is also known as Silicon Valley.

The name comes from the fact that this is where silicon-based semiconductor chips were first researched and produced.

Silicon Valley is the kingdom of the electronics and computer industries. At the same time, the region's venture capital accounts for one-third of the total venture capital investment in the United States.

I met with Sergey Brin and Larry Page at noon, and later raised the price again.

In the evening, Palo Alto is located in Silicon Valley.

When Abel met with the three co-founders of a company called IDEO.

He received a text message.

This text message made him laugh in front of the three co-founders of IDEO.

Opposite him, sitting were the three founders of IDEO.

They are David Kelly, dean and founder of the Stanford University School of Design.

There are two other co-founders, Mike Nutto and Bill Morgridge.

This time Abel came to IDEO to discuss a business deal with IDEO.

Secondly, he simply and directly wanted to invest in IDEO, a company that already had some reputation.

Just now Abel received a good news text message from David Jones.

Abel and the other party are discussing the valuation of IDEO.

Before the Internet bubble burst, IDEO was headed by David Kelly.

The valuation once exceeded a billion dollars.

At that time, Silicon Valley startup valuations were generally on the high side.

Install a few computers in the garage, hire a few college students, and come up with some ID ideas, and the cost is less than $200,000.

When angel investors come to the door, they dare to quote a valuation of 10 to 20 million US dollars.

This kind of leather bag company dares to do this.

Not to mention unicorn companies like IDEO.

Just not anymore.

After the bubble burst, IDEO, like other Silicon Valley companies, experienced a crazy roller coaster decline in valuation.

On the market, IDEO’s latest valuation is less than US$150 million.

However, the three co-founders of IDEO are still stubbornly determined.

Even though this is a bubble period, IDEO is in a difficult situation.

But the market value of IDEO should be at least over 200 million US dollars.

Abel seemed unwilling to back down. The three people at IDEO watched the company with a market value of one billion fall like this.

They are also unwilling to back down.

When there was a stalemate, Abel saw the new text message and his mood suddenly improved a lot.

This change in him was also noticed by the three of them.

They were not familiar with Abel, and it would have been impossible for them to ask such an abrupt and straightforward question if Abel had not told him.

Fortunately, Abel immediately laughed and said:

"Ha~ good news. Let me tell you, the person sitting in front of you now is the largest individual shareholder of Google."

"Just now. Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and several other independent shareholders sold me $610 million worth of shares."

"The share of these stocks currently accounts for about 20% of Google's total share capital~"

When this news was announced, the three co-founders of IDEO were obviously a little surprised.

Although IDEO is also one of the famous unicorn companies in Silicon Valley in recent years.

But there is no doubt that it has no way to compare with Google, the king of unicorns in Silicon Valley.

20% of Google's shares were sold for only $610 million.

IDEO's market value and size are not even one-sixth of Google's. It is obviously unrealistic to sell it for more money.

When David Kelly and the other three looked at each other's eyes.

They saw Abel stand up, and then he smiled and said to them:

"With a valuation of 180 million, I want 20% of IDEO's shares. And I will have priority investment rights later."

"At the same time, after meeting this investment requirement, I will give IDEO an order of at least US$10 million."

"These are my terms. Consider it, I will leave San Francisco tomorrow."

"I hope I can get a clear answer from you before then."

David Kelly, the leader, wanted to say something to save Abel.

But Abel had already stood up and left, so they had no choice but to stand up and send him out of the IDEO door.

When the three of them turned around and returned to the company.

Bill Morgridge, one of the co-founders, couldn’t help but said:

"I think it's OK. The market is in a cold winter, and the first thing we have to do is to keep IDEO alive."

"The valuation of 180 million, at 20%, is only US$36 million. Isn't this a bit small?" Another founder, Mike Nutto, was a little unwilling.

You must know that half a year ago, I wanted to acquire so many shares of IDEO.

At least US$200 million is enough.

Just half a year later, the value of the same shares was only $36 million.

I hate the dot-com bubble!

Mike Nutto thought to himself.

At this time, the leader of the three, the real head of IDEO, Professor David Kelly of Stanford University, spoke.

He said: "I agree with Bill. Survival is more important than anything else. Not many people are willing to invest money in Silicon Valley now."

Mike Nutto actually knew this, he was just unwilling to do so.

"Okay. I agree with that," said Mike Nutto.

36 million, just 36 million, is better than nothing.

IDEO is not completely exhausted, but it is really running out of money.

On the other hand, Abel did not lie.

After leaving Palo Alto, he really went directly to Los Angeles and no longer stayed near San Francisco.

The main reason is that more than half of his purpose of coming to Silicon Valley this time has been completed.

That is to get shares of Google, which has not yet been listed.

For IDEO, he initially wanted to negotiate a business deal with it.

Looking back later, IDEO's current valuation is sluggish, which is the stage with the most investment value.

If you want to hunt rabbits, you can buy shares if you can.

The business he originally wanted to discuss with IDEO turned into a request to lure IDEO to accept his shareholding.

Although at this time in Silicon Valley, in addition to Google, there are many extremely valuable companies that are worthy of him buying their shares.

But Abel knows that there will be another big wave next year.

These high-tech companies, or Internet companies.

It will really hit the bottom next year.

It's the most cost-effective time to take action at that time.

Google is a special case.

Because of the psychological damage and impact caused by the bursting of the bubble this year

This year, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the two founders who hold the largest shares of Google, have strong intentions to sell their shares.

Next year, after Schmidt becomes the chief CEO of Google.

The two founders will no longer be willing to sell their shares in large quantities.

At that time, it will become much more difficult to obtain a large number of shares in Google.

This empty period of this year is the best time.

Under the current market conditions, US$610 million and 20% of Google shares are indeed a bit expensive.

But Abel doesn’t have any favors or contacts with Silicon Valley, yet he wants it so much.

It is impossible to get so many shares in such a short time without spending more money.

Fortunately, I finally got the shares, and if I left them alone, they could appreciate dozens of times in value.

If the ratio can be maintained unchanged, it can become exaggerated into hundreds of billions of dollars.

One of his main purposes for coming to Silicon Valley has finally been accomplished.

The next step will only be next year.

Across Silicon Valley,

When everyone is in mourning again, just harvest them again.

After leaving San Francisco, his next destination was the most dazzling pearl on the West Coast.

The City of Angels, Los Angeles blown by the sea breeze.