America's Road to Wealth

When we arrived on the first floor, facing the entire reception venue.

Abel's face once again put on his business-like smile.

His smile was called "the smile of Apollo walking on earth" by Ms. Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of the American version of "VOGUE", the world's number one fashion festival, and the famous devil in the fashion industry.

In many American fashion magazines and entertainment magazines, those photos taken by "VOGUE" with this kind of smile are very popular among American women and even many women around the world.

To a certain extent, he has become the perfect man and male god in the minds of many women.

At this moment, the owner of "the smile of Apollo walking in the world" in Anna Wintour's mouth was looking for little Laura in the crowd.

Abel soon discovered that she was at the core of a group of ladies. She happened to be smiling brightly at the moment and seemed to be very adaptable.

With Joanna, a senior housekeeper, beside him to help and support, Abel was still very relieved about little Laura.

Madam diplomacy and handkerchief diplomacy are also crucial parts of this cocktail party.

Being with herself, little Laura will have to adapt sooner or later.

And with her status, the energy and fame of her family and her father and brothers, women of any status will have some respect for her when they see her.

Combined with the identity of Abel's female companion.

All these combined are enough for little Laura to face any female guests with an equal, even a bit superior attitude.

This is why many big families in the world pursue the goal of being well-matched.

Not to mention being a good match, the most important factor is the strong alliance between the two sides.

Just in relatively simple social situations.

If the hostess's status is not high enough.

When hosting a cocktail party like this tonight, something embarrassing might happen.

For example, if now little Laura is replaced by Anne and Jessica.

These Hollywood girls may not even understand many of the hidden rules and etiquette rules of cocktail parties, and they will definitely make a joke.

There will definitely be discussion in the circle behind it.

Although it's harmless overall, the big family doesn't want this to happen.

Not to mention Annie and the others.

In a situation of this level, even Ikana's background is not enough.

Don't think Ted Lerner is a billionaire.

It’s amazing that Ikana is the daughter of a billionaire.

There is also a chain of hierarchy and contempt among billionaires.

For example, Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy, is the lower link in the contempt chain among the wealthy circles in the United States.

In the eyes of traditional American wealthy families, Hugh Hefner is just an old man selling pornographic magazines.

Ted Lerner, Ikana's father, is a little better than Hugh Hefner. He is a real estate businessman and a wealthy second generation.

But real estate developers are also relatively low-end in the American business food chain.

What's more, what Ted Lerner did made him very criticized in the circle.

Even his family has no presence in the circle.

Above the Ted Lerner family, there is a family like Hilton that has some inheritance but lacks wealth confidence.

The Hilton family has never been the top family in the United States. It is just a family with a legacy operating in the hotel service industry.

It's not even the most upscale hotel.

Last year's Forbes ranking ranked Barron Hilton at the bottom of the list of the 400 richest people in the United States, with assets of about US$3 billion.

Barron is just a little better than Ted Lerner, and Ikana's dad is not even on the 400 list.

Those wealthy families above the Hilton family are the real wealthy families.

For example, the Hearst family of two sisters, Amanda. This family holds a majority of the shares in the Hearst Group and is one of New York's oldest wealthy families.

According to Forbes, his wealth is about US$16.5 billion.

However, the shares within the family are relatively scattered. The Hearst family has many members and is not ranked high on the list of the 400 richest people in the United States.

The wealth of the entire Hearst family must be calculated to have a place.

If you look at the families above the Hearst family in the United States, they can probably be regarded as princes.

Take the Adelson family of Nevada, for example.

The family owns the world's largest gaming company, Las Vegas Sands.

This is a casino empire with annual revenue of $14 billion.

Adelson holds 52.3% of the company's shares, and Forbes calculates the family's wealth at $38.9 billion.

In addition, Adelson is an Oiler. He is also one of the big guys among the Oilers.

Above the Adelson family, the only ones are the Kochs and Cargills.

Above Koch and Cargill are the leading families of the top ten financial groups in the United States.

For example, Morgen and Rockefeller will turn into asterisks even when their names are typed.

They are the bosses of the Federal Reserve and the real family that controls this country.

In the contempt of this wealthy consortium.

Internet upstarts such as Bill Gates and ultra-powerful new rich people like Buffett are in another strange position.

And outside this food chain, there is another chain of family contempt.

That is the Bush, Kennedy, Adams and other families.

There is no doubt that the Bush family is at the top of these chains of contempt.

The previous Smith family did not belong to a wealthy consortium. Because of their influence and connections, they belonged to a wealthy and powerful family in a small place.

It can be regarded as being in the chain of Zhengzhi Gate Valve.

In this chain, from a national perspective, the former Smith family's ecological niche in this chain of contempt is similar to that of Ikana's family.

It's just that the Smith family has an Abel.

Abel attracted the Shrub family, and the two parties combined their wealth and power.

The status of the Smith family was greatly elevated.

It's a bit like the Buffett family, and there is a Warren Buffett.

There were even scenes like this tonight of British diplomats and diplomatic envoys from various countries.

With the current connections and aura of Ikana and her family, there is a high probability that she will not be able to hold on.

Her father came here at this time, and his position was always on the lower side.

Her family's status is extraordinary, unless her father, as you know, is considered one of the truly wealthy families at that time.

Nowadays, if a wealthy consortium lady were to come to such a scene, she would have to be someone like Cargill or Koch to be able to handle it with ease.

Shrub's status in the contempt chain of the political elite is slightly higher than that of Koch and Cargill in the contempt chain of the wealthy conglomerates, but they are still on the same level and in different chains.

Looking at little Laura who was so at ease, Abel had to admit it in his heart.

In the European and American world, especially in the United States.

If you really want to develop into a wealthy family, you need a suitable hostess and a mistress of your own family.

Both identity and ability are indispensable.

The most typical example is the shrub family.

This family was able to make a fortune because they produced two generations of good matrons in a row.

Little Laura's great-grandmother, Dorothy, brought help from the Walker family to the Bush family.

At that time, the Walker family had great influence on Wall Street and was one of the financial giants.

Little Laura's grandmother, Barbara, was born Barbara Pierce.

The Pierce family is a colonist family from New England.

Barbara is related by blood to Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States.

From the perspective of the time, the two sides formed a strong alliance, and the Bush family became stronger.

After the marriage of these two generations, the Shrub family took off completely and became a wealthy family.

The Smith family only relies on one financial tycoon, who can at best develop into an enhanced version of Buffett.

If things go well, within a few generations, we might be able to become a new family like Morgen.

If it doesn't go well, it will probably be just the second Vanderbilt family.

Abel knew this, and so did Alexander and Alex.

Alexander and Alex, father and son, were so eager for the marriage between Abel and Shrub.

Because in this country, wealth coupled with power is the foundation that will last forever.

Abel understood this, and later on, little Laura's character allowed him to accept it.

Only then did he agree to this alliance.

Thinking of this, Abel couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

At the beginning, he was a reborn time traveler.

But he is ambitious and wants to break this order and build his own order.

It's a pity that the talent is not strong and is only useful in finance.

In other respects, he found himself just like any other person.

At most, if your physical fitness is better, you may live longer than others.

It is impossible to break reality by relying solely on finance.

This is true even if the power of finance is strong in the United States.

Because those with vested interests can, if necessary, not abide by financial rules and not fight him on the financial battlefield.

But in the real battlefield, Abel knew that he couldn't fight these old gangsters.

It's just unplugging the network cable, it's not like they can't do it.

The network cable is unplugged, or the finance is gone.

This ruined most of Abel's talent.

In the end, Abel, who originally wanted to break this order and create his own order, chose to integrate himself into this order.

He wants to climb up in this order and eventually become the being at the top of the pyramid of order.

If you can't defeat it, then join it, or even become its brain.

This was Abel's choice.

After all, we are complicit.

Abel smiled bitterly, but looked at the scene of burning oil and flowers.

Abel felt that there were benefits to being complicit in the same trend.

For example, in this order, he is already in a high enough position that he can often do whatever he wants.

For example, now, another thoughtful person came to him after he appeared at the reception.

are two lawyers from Clifford Chance.

Barrister Timmy Owen, and trainee solicitor Amo Alamuddin.

Timmy Owen is still the kind of person who is extremely polite, and his whole body, whether it is his appearance or his clothes, exemplifies the appearance of a "gentle scum".

As for Amo Alamuddin, Abel almost thought he was wearing a hat.

Because tonight’s Aimmo Alamuddin looks so much like Abel’s Anne.

Especially with that kind of temperament, when Annie, the not-silly eldest sister, smiles, she is almost carved out of the same mold as the Aimo Alamuddin in front of her.

When people who don't know the truth see the two of them, they will definitely think that they are related by blood, that they are sisters, or even twins.

This Aymo Alamuddin is wearing a Burberry backless white evening dress tonight.

This beautiful dress helped outline the perfect curves of her back.

A thin golden ribbon went around her neck, blocking the heart-shaped buckle of the crescent chain. Wearing a Swarovski crystal bracelet on her wrist. There was light makeup on her face, and a unique crescent chain hung diagonally around her neck.

This dress also looked like Anne, which made Abel couldn't help but take a few more glances.

After looking at it carefully, Abel felt that Anne was more refined.

In comparison, Aymo Alamuddin has a more exotic feel from the desert area and is a little slimmer.

The two of them are more alike in their temperament when they are neither talking nor laughing.

"Good evening, Mr. Smith." Timmy Owen saw Abel staring at the trainee lawyer.

The barrister was very happy.

He felt that the rumors were true and the honey trap really worked for this super rich man.

Young people, no matter how rich they are, they will be more powerful.

As expected, there is no resistance to beauty.

Timmy Owen, who also came from a young age, thought so in his heart.

"Good evening." Abel and Timmy Owen smiled and shook hands.

Clifford Chance is very good in London, no worse than Ms. Caroline in New York.

Several of Abel's companies here have signed strategic cooperation agreements with Clifford Chance Law Firm.

This law firm is very sincere and offers very high prices and benefits.

Abel was very satisfied with this, so he naturally maintained a certain amount of respect for the senior management of the law firm, such as Timmy Owen in front of him.

It’s Amo Alamuddin tonight, whose temperament and appearance look so much like Anne’s.

Abel couldn't help but shake hands with her, "Hello, madam, you look so much like a friend of mine."

Amo Alamuddin smiled lightly.

Abel felt that she even looked like her when she smiled.

When Annie is not giggling or laughing, she also looks like this when she smiles reservedly.

They have similar looks and temperament, which can be said to be natural.

They all dress similarly, which can be said to be a coincidence.

But the similar smiles were all the same, and Abel already understood something in his heart.

Timmy Irving probably had an ulterior motive in bringing this high imitation version of Annie here.

But what if there is an ulterior motive?

Abel is no longer afraid of such beautiful girls.

Many people know about his hobby.

Too many people wanted to do this to him.

He continued to chat with Timmy Owen, "Mr. Owen. Clifford Chance, as far as I know, is the best law firm in the UK and even in Europe, which specializes in mergers and acquisitions and bond law. So Mr. Owen believes that if we let him Rolls-Royce sues BMW, what are the chances of winning?"

When Timmy Owen heard Abel's request, the barrister was startled.

Amo Alamuddin heard it from the side and was even more confused.

All right, how can Rolls-Royce sue BMW?

These two are both luxury brand car companies. Are there any conflicts between them?

Amo Alamuddin doesn’t know.

But Timmy Owen is worthy of being a professional barrister and one of the leading figures in the London legal community.

Timmy Owen reacted quickly, and the barrister asked softly:

"Mr. Smith, do you mean to ask Rolls-Royce to sue the acquisition case two years ago?"

Abel smiled and nodded, expressing satisfaction with the professional capabilities of the senior partner of Clifford Chance Law Firm.

"That's right." Abel said leisurely to Timmy Owen: "Ai Tiwen and I are friends. I think Ai Tiwen you should know each other, right?"

Timmy Irvine, the current chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, nodded.

Tonight, Timmy Owen had just met this gentleman at the reception.

As for the claim that Ai Tiwen was Abel's good friend, the barrister didn't quite believe it.

A young rich man in the United States was good friends with a high-end British wage earner.

There is still such a big age difference between the two of them, it is impossible to say it.

But on the surface, Timmy Owen continued to smile and listen.

"Ai Tiwen believes that the two German automobile groups used some disgraceful means to deceive Rolls-Royce in the acquisition case two years ago."

Abel said: "Ai Tiwen thinks this is suspected of violating relevant British laws. But he is not a lawyer. So Mr. Owen, I just want to consult you."

After listening to what Abel said, Timmy Owen thought carefully.

Having said that, Timmy Owen was able to know what Abel was talking about so quickly.

That's because more than two or even three years ago, BMW and Volkswagen competed to acquire Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Clifford Chance LLP was involved and provided part of the legal services.

That's why Timmy Owen knew about it.

In October 1997, Vickers Group, the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, announced that it would sell Rolls-Royce.

Germany's BMW and Volkswagen competed to bid for it, but Rolls-Royce ultimately chose BMW.

At that time, Volkswagen was still a company selling cheap cars in the eyes of the public.

Rolls-Royce doesn't like it.

However, Rolls-Royce looks down on the public, but the public has a soft spot for Rolls-Royce.

On April 20, 1998, Volkswagen, which had a soft spot for Rolls-Royce, announced that it would continue to compete with BMW for the right to acquire Rolls-Royce after being rejected by Rolls-Royce.

It's like licking a dog.

As a result, the final outcome will be decided by the Vickers Group's shareholder meeting at the end of April 1998.

In response, Volkswagen said it would offer a higher offer and revise its business development plan to protect Rolls-Royce's famous brand products.

Sure enough, two of the larger shareholders in the Vickers Group expressed dissatisfaction with the sale of Rolls-Royce to BMW.

Therefore, Vickers Group hoped that BMW would increase its offer, but was rejected, saying that Mark 1 billion was the highest offer.

On July 3 of the same year, Vickers Group decided to sell Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen for 1.44 billion marks.

On July 28, less than a month after spending a huge amount of money to buy Rolls-Royce, Volkswagen announced that it would give it to BMW.

BMW reversed its recently announced decision to stop providing engines and other accessories to Rolls-Royce and agreed to allow Volkswagen to produce Rolls-Royce until December 31, 2002.

Timmy Owen went through this acquisition in his mind from beginning to end.

From the perspective of ordinary people, this acquisition case is not a big problem.

Isn't it just that A and B go to buy C together?

C wanted to sell himself to A, but B offered more money and finally sold himself to B.

A was unhappy and said he would never play with C again.

Then B and A didn't know how to negotiate. B bought C, then turned around and sold C to B.

The process was full of twists and turns, but in the end it didn't appear to be illegal.

This is from a normal person's perspective.

But in the eyes of Timmy Owen, an experienced litigator who has been immersed in British law for many years.

If you really want to find fault, there are simply too many places to pick.

For example, whether the resale of C between B and A is legal and meets the needs of C's internal employees.

Another example is between C and A. Is it possible to trick B into buying C at a high price?

If you had to choose, a lawyer like Timmy Owen could pick at least a dozen places to target in litigation.

After figuring this out, Timmy Owen looked at Abel, "I personally think this acquisition is illegal in many aspects."

"At least now, I can think of at least 11 places that are not so compliant," said the old complainer.

Seeing Timmy Owen say this, Abel smiled.

Abel looked at Timmy Owen and said softly:

"In this case, can I hand over the need to represent Rolls-Royce in suing BMW and Volkswagen to Clifford Chance?"

"Ah~ I really don't want to admit it."

Timmy Owen gracefully tipped off his hat to Abel, looking extremely elegant.

"But I have to admit that the law firm in the UK that can satisfy employers the most in this case must be Clifford Chance!"

"Mr. Smith, if you leave this matter to us, Clifford Chance Law Firm will definitely give you a result that satisfies you!"

Therefore, Abel sometimes likes to cooperate with these guys who play law in Europe and the United States.

These lawyers in Europe and the United States often tell lies for their employers.

Even laws without loopholes can find ways to create loopholes for you.

They are extremely considerate and their service attitude is better than the last.

Just like last year.

Even hardliners like Robert Morgenthau, a traditional political powerhouse on the East Coast, had to show weakness to Abel under the crazy siege of this group of old accusers.

As long as there is money to hire this group of people, as long as the number of these people is large enough.

That happens in many cases, especially when personal life and huge interests are not involved.

Most interest groups are afraid of these guys.

The premise is that you must be able to pay their legal fees and you must be rich.

Then these European and American lawyers will let you enjoy what is called "the customer is God".

As for the law

For these people, it is just a tool for them to make money and a means for them to make a living.

Abel stretched out his hand toward Timmy Owen, and the barrister quickly shook hands with Abel.

Abel said: "Then I will wait and see. Soon Rolls-Royce Motor Company and Vickers Group will approach Clifford Chance Law Firm, hoping that your law firm will help them seek justice."

"Justice!" Timmy Owen smiled as gracefully as ever.

“This is the mission of all our lawyers!”