Chapter 164 164. Nothing Left
On July 15, Eric came to New York again.
This time I came here mainly for three things.
The first thing was that Michael told Eric about his current debt, a whopping $188 million.
You have to know that this is not the debt of a company or an organization, but purely his personal debt.
It is only 2003 now, and this amount of debt is terrifying even from the perspective of a big star. Many stars cannot earn so much money in their entire lives.
After looking at the composition of his debt, Eric was left with only emotion and helplessness.
The money must have been borrowed from the bank. Given his credit and reputation, the bank was willing to give him as much money as he wanted.
The largest proportion of this is the follow-up investment with Sony Music, which is the money spent on expanding and buying other companies and labels.
The second largest number is the charitable organizations he supports. You wouldn’t know until you check, and you’ll be shocked to find that there are 39 of them. It’s a long list and it takes several minutes to read it all.
Such as the American Cancer Society, Children's International Academy, Black Legislative Council, Marriage Happiness Organization, Motown Museum, UNESCO, 28th Street YMCA, Brothers' Crusade Association, etc.
There are so many different kinds of organizations, and many of them don't seem to be charitable just by looking at their names, such as the Brotherhood of the Crusaders.
Eric seriously suspected that Michael would provide funding to any so-called charitable organization that came to him for help, and that these organizations took tens of millions of dollars out of his pocket every year.
The third largest share is his living expenses. The management fee of Dream Manor is at least two to three million US dollars a year, and there are also various collectibles and artworks.
Add to that the support for family members, and the annual expenditure is tens of millions of dollars.
Fortunately, he can earn tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars from Sony Music every year thanks to music copyrights, otherwise he would have collapsed long ago.
Currently, the copyrights of many of Maikou’s songs have been mortgaged in banks, so he said that once the relationship is torn apart and both sides are destroyed, he will not have a good life and will inevitably go bankrupt.
There is still half a month left before the trial, and this battle must be won. MGM still has more than 200 million in liquid funds in its account.
But the company also has investments, so Eric had to go to New York to find Elena again and get some more money.
The second thing was to make an appointment with John Defarge Adams, the colonel whom he met when filming "Transformers" at the Nevada military base.
However, with the help of his strong family connections, he has been promoted to brigadier general after not seeing him for a few months and is resting in New York these days.
The two maintained a good relationship during the filming. Eric gave him a lot of money, and this time he came to ask for help.
The third thing is Zhou Wenqiong's Hudson Theater. After they parted in Los Angeles last time, this woman called him every now and then and invited him to come for inspection.
Eric didn't take it seriously. He just went there this time. If he had time, he would go and take a look. If he didn't have time, forget it.
This little guy is ignoring her and dares to play tricks on her. This kind of person will naturally come to her door and beg for help because he can't wait any longer.
As usual, Elena came to pick him up at the airport. The slutty woman wore sunglasses and drove a red Porsche.
"Changed your car? No longer driving a Panamera?"
Eric asked as he got in the passenger seat.
"I just bought it not long ago, and I want to change the car to change my mood. If there is no one, I can only play with the car."
Elena took off her sunglasses and glanced at him intentionally or unintentionally.
Eric laughed and said, "You have something to say. I go to New York at least once a month. You can't blame me for this."
"I hope you can stay in New York. It's no worse than Los Angeles. Universal and Paramount's headquarters are in New York."
"Is this the same thing? Setting up a branch is fine, but moving the headquarters is not something that can be done casually."
"Also, haven't you heard that distance creates beauty? If we are too close, seeing each other every day will make us bored. Now is good. A short absence is better than a new love. Let us always keep the freshness and desire for each other."
Hearing Eric's twisted logic, Elena couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"If you don't like it, just say so. We are still acting so formally between us. Would you say that to those little lovers?"
"Of course I will. I treat you all equally. You are all my little lovers."
"Haha. Eric Cooper, you are really shameless!"
"But you like it. Women don't love bad men. This is an irrefutable truth."
Elena snorted coldly: "Let's talk business. If you want a loan, it's very simple. I can help you get it within 200 million without any collateral."
"Why? The bank has started doing charity?" Eric looked at the other party in confusion.
"Stupid, have you forgotten that last time you shorted Hasbro's stock, you took out an unsecured loan of 16% of the stock?"
“You loaned $480 million at the time, which is lower than the value of the shares, so I can lend you up to $200 million.”
"Or if you want, you can use other collateral. You are now a major shareholder of Double Star Entertainment, and it has been doing well recently, so it could be worth more."
Eric thought about what he was going to do recently, which was Lionheart.com and YouTube, which were about to be launched.
In addition, we plan to make initial contact with Marvel. Time waits for no one, so it’s time to take action.
"Well, let me think about it carefully. I'll be in New York for two days anyway. I'll decide on the loan size tomorrow."
"It's up to you. It's your business anyway. If you put more, I'll get more commission. If you put less, I'll make up for it from you."
"Just three minutes of being serious, and you're already getting horny again."
Elena glared at him: “Stop talking nonsense and put your hands on your legs.”
"ah?"
"Let me go if I tell you to!"
Eric did as he was told and placed his hand on Elena's thigh.
"What are you standing there for? Touch it!"
When I put my fingers on it, I immediately felt it was clean and warm. "Hehe! Don't you feel anything special?"
Elena hummed: "How does it feel?"
"It's very good, just like kneading a peeled egg, smooth and tender."
"Hehe! I've been taking care of myself all the time, so I'm not any worse than Ashley and Mary."
"There's nothing to compare."
Eric looked at this slutty woman speechlessly. He found that ever since he slept with these three aunts and nieces, Elena had been particularly keen on listening to him talk about his scandalous affairs with the Olsen sisters.
She also likes to compare herself with her nieces, always asking Eric questions like "Am I better or are they better?" and "Who makes you happier?"
Although the stimulation of blood relationship is very exciting, it is just talk without practice. Eric is itching to do it, but he can't do it.
Elena would definitely have no problem with it. She's looking forward to a foursome, and even better a fivesome when Alyssa grows up.
But Eric was not brave enough to make such a request to the Olsen sisters.
In short, it still needs to be developed and adjusted, and there is a long way to go.
I accompanied Elena shopping, had dinner, and then we booked a hotel room and fought like crazy.
Eric once again successfully reduced the resentment of the slutty women.
The next morning, Eric visited John Adams at his home.
The maid served the tea and left.
"Eric, I didn't expect you to like tea. Few young people have your hobby. Coffee is their first choice."
Eric took a sip and said, "Coffee is refreshing and tea is nourishing. If you like, I can ask someone to get some fine products from China."
"Do you know Da Hong Pao? It is said that there are only a few native plants in the whole of China, and the annual tea production is only a few kilograms. You can't buy it even if you have money."
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
John Adams grinned and said, "I don't know much about tea. This is for guests. I still prefer wine, but I'm not used to drinking Chinese liquor. Whiskey is more to my taste."
Okay, it's like playing the lute to a cow.
Eric shrugged. This fierce general in the army did not seem like the kind of person who liked to drink tea.
"By the way, your Transformers movie is going to be released soon, right? I watched the trailer a few days ago, and the weapons display was pretty good."
"It will be released on November 16th. The content has been approved by the Ministry of National Defense. When we shoot the second part next year, we may need your help."
"If you want to come to the Nevada base to shoot again, I'll give you the green light."
"Didn't you get a promotion? Are you still staying at the Nevada military base?"
"What else? Should I go to the Ministry of Defense? At the Nevada base, everyone has to obey my orders. If I go to the Ministry of Defense, with my military rank, I will have to obey others' orders."
"I understand the difference between provincial governors and central government officials."
"Almost. After a few more days of vacation, I will return to the base."
After chatting for a while, Eric began to explain his purpose: "John, I came here this time because I want to ask you a favor."
"Come on, it's alright, our jobs won't overlap, so why do you need equipment again?"
"It's not equipment, it's the Internet. I'm developing a website. You can think of it as a website for watching TV series and movies online."
"This kind of website requires very high internet speed, and the civilian equipment currently on the market cannot meet my requirements."
“So I want to know whether the network within the military can be used commercially?”
Hearing this, John Adams fell into deep thought. After a while, he shook his head slightly and said, "You dare to think and do the commercial use of the military network."
"But I can't answer this question. Let me just say one thing: Can you guarantee whether it will involve the leakage of military secrets?"
"Once critical data is leaked, not only will you be taken to court, I will also be prosecuted by the military. The risk is too great."
"No precedent?" Eric asked.
"At least I haven't heard of it, but you don't have to lose confidence immediately. After all, I'm not a professional technician. I'll ask an expert and give you an answer."
"Well, money is not a problem anyway. Even if there is a slight possibility, don't forget to tell me."
John Adams looked at Eric with amusement: "What are you doing with a video website? Are you trying to compete with TV stations?"
They were both smart people, and Eric had no intention of hiding anything from the other party.
"There is indeed this idea. It is definitely impossible for MGM to enter the television field to get a share of the pie. The only thing left is to build its own platform."
"The future will be the era of the Internet. I think online viewing will gradually replace television, especially as modern people are increasingly fond of surfing the Internet."
"Just think about it, the TV is fixed there and cannot be moved. The audience cannot decide what program they want to watch, but must follow the TV station's wishes."
"On the Internet, you can watch whatever drama you want on demand, from any minute you want."
"All you need is a notebook or even a mobile phone, which is easy to carry and you can see it wherever you go."
"This is an opportunity. Whoever fills the gap in the market first will have the upper hand in the future."
John Adams listened to Eric's analysis very carefully and said, "Again, I don't know much about technology, but your idea sounds very interesting."
"At least one thing I agree with is that the future must be the Internet era. This view has been confirmed in the military."
"Information warfare has been incorporated into our training curriculum, and the military will also train full-time personnel in this area."
"Then why don't you work with me? If you can help me solve this problem, I can give you a certain percentage of the company's shares for free." Eric said.
"Well, I'll try."
After lunch, Eric left John Adams's house. Nothing was going on and Eric was not in the mood to go to Broadway.
His offer to give the other party Lionheart Network shares for free was not a joke. He could not imagine how powerful the Adams family was in this country.
However, it definitely involves the military, politics, business, and academia, and John Adams became a brigadier general when he was less than 40 years old, so his future prospects are definitely limitless.
The fact that he can obtain such good resources also shows that his status in the Adams Family must be quite high.
Eric has no intention of using the resources of such people to build good relationships with them, but his main purpose is to get help at some critical moments.
And he doesn't plan to give too much. 5% is the upper limit, and it will definitely be diluted after the listing in the future.
In the afternoon, Elena handled the loan procedures for Eric. After consideration, she still decided to use 16% of Hasbro shares as an unsecured loan.
The loan amount will be increased to the maximum, and $200 million will be received soon.
Then MGM has more than 400 million in liquid funds in its account, which is more than sufficient as a reserve fund.
After finishing their business, the slutty woman Elena drove him to the airport, and then, unable to bear the urge, she dragged him into the men's restroom.
Eric had no energy to fight anymore as he hadn't rested at noon nor drank any medicinal wine.
He dealt with this slut hastily, and then boarded the plane and left while she looked unsatisfied.
(End of this chapter)