America's Road to Wealth

Chapter 465 A fly in the ointment and the F1 desert
"...What a beautiful house."

Looking at the beautiful Gothic castle standing on the green grass in front of you.

Monica Cruz couldn't help but said with emotion.

Next to the Spanish model is her older sister, Penelope Cruz.

And Sophie Marceau from France.

It was already noon on the second day they rushed over from France.

They followed Abel and left No. [-] Garden Street, Kensington Palace, to Twickenham, Richmond upon Thames, London.

The exact address is 268 Waldgrave Road, Fourth Street, Twickenham, London.

This is the site of Strawberry Hill built by the British writer Horace Walpole more than 200 years ago, the son of the first prime minister in British history.

Looking at the beautiful castle that has been almost repaired, it is full of medieval classical temperament.

Forget about Monica Cruz.

Even Sophie Marceau's beautiful eyes were full of splendor.

At this time, the black female assistant who was not liked by Sophie suddenly said softly to the three of them:
"Ladies, the boss has said it. If you come to London in the future, you can live here."

"Is this true?" Penelope said with some surprise.

Such a big, beautiful house, and such an important location.

Being able to live here, even a successful female star would feel excited about it.

In Huaxia's case, she would be a second-tier actress who suddenly heard from her lover that she could live in a courtyard at the level of a well-known prince's mansion in the imperial capital.

Living in this kind of place is no longer a question of comfort.

But when ordinary people live in this kind of place, there will be a kind of psychological jump.

What's more, as long as you are willing to spend money, no matter where you live, there are people who can take care of you comfortably.

"Yes." The black female assistant said.

Seeing her confirmation, Penelope's happy eyes turned to Abel who was not far away.

The Spanish national treasure goddess thought to herself:

[It's not in vain that I persuaded my sister to accompany you... Hehe, Monica, I'm here to help you! 】

What did Penelope bring her sister Monica from France to England yesterday?
Of course I didn't bring my sister to travel.

In the eyes of Sophie Marceau, the very "American", very commercial, very Hollywood Spanish actress is very clear.

She knew what she was worth to Abel.

Israel serves people.

Since it is serving people with color, it is valuable at this stage.

To improve her "color" as much as possible and win Abel's heart, Penelope felt that this was what she should do most.

So she tried hard to convince her younger sister who was also beautiful.

The two sisters go up together, and the value enhances each other.

Thinking of last night, my younger sister tactfully Cheng Abohuan in front of me, and her happy look now.

Penelope felt that she had done nothing wrong.

What happened to two sisters with the same man?
As long as the man could support them, Penelope felt that was all right.

In the lion group on the African grasslands, the strongest male lion can occupy more than a dozen strong female lions and breed a large number of cubs.

It was the law of nature, and Penelope took it for granted.

Didn't you see that even the proud French Kiss next to him looks like he can't wait to move in right away?
Human women have a strong desire to pursue houses that can provide a sense of security and belonging, no matter which ethnic group they are in.

Just like birds, for many birds, the more beautiful the male bird can build a nest, the easier it is to be favored by the female bird.

Even Sophie Marceau is no exception.

It's just that her vision and requirements are relatively high, and modern mansions are unlikely to attract her.

Strawberry Hill is a castle estate with cultural characteristics and a long history. It was once a celebrity residence.

To hit her heart directly.

The more she thought about it, the more obsessed Penelope looked at Abel.

And at this time, Abel, who was looked at by Penelope with watery eyes.

He is speaking with Lawrence Eagleberg, director of New Beginnings (UK).

New Start Real Estate Company in the UK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Start Real Estate Company in the United States.

Like the head office in the United States, New Start Real Estate in the UK also takes the acquisition and purchase of high-end real estate as its main business.

In fact, it is not only the new starting point real estate in the UK.

In France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Asia, there are already subsidiaries of New Start Real Estate.

Even Huaxia, under the action of Smith Capital (Huaxia) last year, established a company dedicated to the acquisition of Imperial Courtyards...

It's just that Huaxia is more concerned about foreigners buying real estate, and there is no way to be too blatant.

Americans are right when they say that Abe Smith is the craziest luxury home buyer in the world.

Because the place where he bought the luxury house is not only in one place in the United States.

In the world's major well-known cities, or those emerging areas.

You can see New Start Real Estate, waving checks and contracts to buy houses everywhere.

The Strawberry Hill in front of me is a first-class historical building in the UK. It covers an area of ​​35.7 hectares in a typical rich area like Richmond, London.

Even in the UK, it is a very good mansion.

Strawberry Hill has 12 bedrooms, a lake, an orangery, a ballroom, cellars and a cricket pitch.

The history can be traced back to 1765. Except for the different styles, it is no worse than the castle mansion in the "Downton Abbey" film and television drama.

Such a key location is also a place where historical celebrities live.

It should have been very expensive.

But Abel did not spend too much money to win Strawberry Hill.

In fact, the price of buying a castle estate in the UK is not expensive.

The point is that not everyone can afford them after they are bought.

The British Historical and Cultural Heritage Association, which is in charge of, manages, and monitors these castle estates, has strict restrictions on the renovation and addition of these castle estates.

After buying it, according to the requirements, the owner of the castle needs to conduct a comprehensive structural and maintenance inspection of the house every year.

If you fail to do so, you will be warned by British Historical and Cultural Studies.

If there are too many warnings, the owner has not responded yet.

It can be mentioned above the British government, and then taken back by the country.

In terms of the maintenance of these castle estates, some are in disrepair, even if all the rooms are painted, it may cost 10,000+ pounds.

Those manor castles in remote locations cover an area of ​​tens of hectares, and the asking price is only one or two million pounds.

Converted into RMB, they are not even as expensive as a 3-bedroom, 1-living room in the center of any first-tier city in China ten years later.

However, such castles and manors are almost difficult to sell, and there are many listings on the market.

Even foreigners can easily buy it as long as they are willing to spend money on it.

The reason for this is that even though these castle manors have changed several owners, almost none of them have been completely repaired.

It is very likely that a castle manor with a price of 200 million pounds will simply undergo a comprehensive renovation after it is bought.

This expenditure will require millions of pounds, or even millions of pounds.

That's all, not counting the cost of maintaining the castle estate in the future.

Like Abel's Strawberry Villa, it is full of various attributes.

It can be regarded as the top-grade batch of such castle estates in the UK.

But to win it, Abel actually only spent 1500 million pounds.

Then from last year to now, the money spent on maintaining and repairing it has almost exceeded 1500 million pounds.

In addition to these, even if Abel does not live in it.

The weekly consumption of this mansion will still be as high as about 5000 pounds, which does not include labor costs.

If Abel wants to move in, including labor costs, it will be a minimum of [-] pounds per week.

In the UK, there are very few nobles who can afford a manor without working.

Many British aristocrats whose ancestors were once brilliant but are now desperate have been forced to hand over their ancestral homes and lands to the National Trust.

It is because the sky-high consumption of these castle manors is really beyond the reach of ordinary people.

If you want to use the castle to generate income, such as collecting tickets or something.

The procedures will be very busy, and you need to report to the British government for approval, and then you have to pay taxes on the ticket revenue.

Maybe you didn't make much money after working so hard, and you have to pay more maintenance costs and labor costs.

What's more, there are too many castles in the UK.So if the castle has no story, doing this kind of fancy work is basically a money-losing business.

The inheritance tax in the UK is still very terrible, and nobles with better economic conditions have to sell their family collections to raise taxes when they inherit property.

And those declining aristocratic families would rather hand over these castle estates to the National Trust than choose to inherit them.

Because for them, these castle estates that can only spend money and cannot make money are simply negative assets, which will definitely drag them down.

Over time, this kind of castle estate, which used to symbolize wealth and status, naturally became less and less valuable.

Even Britain's National Trust, and the Society for Historical and Cultural Studies, are more than happy to ditch them.

Because even minimal repairs and maintenance are expensive.

Last year, at the beginning, I saw how beautiful Strawberry Villa was after being renovated, and how cheap this kind of old castle manor was.

At the beginning, Abel had the mentality of farming.

Later, he discovered that these things were useless, and they had no possibility of appreciation.

In the end, I gave up and only bought a Strawberry Villa, planning to live in it occasionally after repairs.

"...Continue with the acquisition. Later, I will ask David to re-transfer a sum of money into the account of New Start Real Estate."

After listening to Lawrence Eagleberg's "grievances", Abel smiled and said softly.

Yes, Lawrence Eagleberg is here to complain.

To be precise, they came to ask for money.

Because the British new starting point real estate company has been established for almost a year.

So far, it has successively acquired a large number of high-end properties and real estate.

Any one of these acquisitions is worth millions or even tens of millions of pounds.

After more than a year, the cost of the acquisition, as well as property taxes and other expenses, add up to an astronomical sum.

At the beginning of the company's establishment, the 10 billion pounds allocated by Abel had almost been spent.

Although some houses and properties have been rented out, a monthly rent can be charged.

But these rents are only enough to maintain the operation of the company and pay property taxes.

If you want to continue to acquire properties, you will be powerless.

Abel's answer was simple: funding.

It is still 2002, and the global economy will go up for many years.

Even the horrific 2008 crisis will be eased and postponed.

Before 2016, buying houses in major hotspots around the world, even with inflation and real estate taxes added, would still be a stable business with an annualized rate of return of at least 10%.

In addition, Abel likes to be charming in a golden house, and he likes to buy a house wherever he goes...

It can be lived and has investment value, and it can also be used to attract girls. Of course, it is to continue to invest money in.

What's more, this time the neon people and the international bulls gave him so much money.

It is really appropriate to spend billions of pounds or dollars to buy some houses.

Finish with Lawrence Eagleberg.

Not long after, a new subordinate came to Strawberry Villa to report to Abel.

Unlike Lawrence Eagleberg.

The latter subordinate, he is one of the famous big men in Britain and Europe.

"Wow, that's Bernie Eccles, right?"

Not far away, under the leadership of the housekeeper.

Monica Cruz, who was studying and watching Strawberry Hill, couldn't help whispering.

She saw the president of F1, Bernie Ecclestone, who is very famous in the UK and Europe, standing beside Abel with a submissive look.

Don't look at Bernie Ecclestone, Abel has taken control and ownership of F1.

But because he is still in the position, and this incident has not been reported much.

Especially good at marketing, Bernie Ecclestone, who is often on the news and on TV in Europe.

At this moment, it seems that he is still the glamorous super rich, the head of F1.

Seeing her younger sister like this, Penelope, who knew something about F1, started teaching her younger sister again.

"Monica, let me tell you! F1 traffic jams are actually our men's industry now! Bernie Ecclestone, he's working for our men now!"

"Wow!" Monica Cruz was surprised.

Sophie Marceau looked at Penelope who tried her best to bring her sister into the water, somewhat contemptuous.

But there was a feeling of envy in her heart.

Sophie doesn't have a beautiful sister like Monica.

"I appreciate your ambition, but you know it's not that easy to get Americans to like F1."

"It takes years of marketing, advertising, and some opportunities to make more Americans pay attention to F1 racing."

A corner of the lawn.

Abel to Bernie Ecclestone, the once-aggressive, current-timer.

Bernie Eccles passed over here.

The main reason is to discuss with Abel, or hope that Abel can help F1 cars open the market in the United States.

Yes, that's right, the United States has the most developed car culture and is known as the "country on wheels".

It is this country on wheels, but it is also the grave of F1.

In other parts of the world, as soon as F1 racers appear, they are absolutely star-studded.But in the United States, maybe even Schumacher is walking on the street, and no one knows him.

As the most traditional and prestigious motorsport in the world, F1 has never been able to open the market in the United States.

A few years ago, the F1 racing in the United States even stopped for almost 10 years.

Since its re-host in Indianapolis, the reach and earnings have also been poor.

Only half of the fans who go to the Polis Circuit to watch the F1 race are Americans...the other half are the real F1 fans from all over the world.

What's even more ridiculous is that American automakers hardly participate in F1, except that Ford once had a little relationship with F1.

GM, Cadillac, Chevrolet, etc., these car brands that are well-known in the United States and once ranked among the top in the world in sales, none of them have taken F1 seriously.

It's not that Americans don't like racing cars, but that Americans like racing cars, which are different from other countries.

The brutal, rough, and exciting performances are what Americans like best.Such as NASCAR, such as monster trucks.

"But I will support you, who told me to be the boss of F1 now."

Abel smiled and said: "Go and contact Michael Levin of Smith Media. Smith Media will help the F1 field and expand its influence in the United States as much as possible."

"In addition, you can also try to contact GM and Ford, give them some convenience, and see if they can join in. I will give you the contact information of the CEOs of these companies."

"Well... I'm their director."

Hearing what Abel said, Bernie Ecclestone was a little overjoyed.

Huaxia has a "fly in the ointment" stalk.

It means that the United States and China, the two absolute powers, have a mess of football strength and football industry.

These two largest individual markets in the world, but FIFA can't enjoy the benefits...

Fortunately, the United States has developed more or less later. The World Cup has been watched by 2000 million people, and it has always been a safe place for international football.

Because in fact, the United States is the nursing home with the "longest history" in international football. Superstars such as Pele and Cruyff have played their residual heat in the United States.

In the parallel time and space, future superstars Beckham, Henry, and Kaka also went to the United States to retire.

In contrast, Huaxia's football... Later, it even forced FIFA to find ways to modify the rules, and wanted Huaxia to enter the World Cup.

FIFA is trying to influence and call on Chinese people through the World Cup, to enhance Chinese people's love for football, and to make it easier for FIFA to earn money from Chinese people, which can be described as sinister.

Fortunately, China has the protection of the national (sea) foot (ginseng).

They have gained insight into FIFA's sinister intentions. If they don't fall for it, they will perform badly. If they don't score goals, they won't be able to go to the World Cup...

In fact, the same is true for F1 racing. It now attaches great importance to the United States, just like FIFA will attach importance to China in the future.

Now there is finally hope that with the help of Abel, we can really try to develop the American market.

Bernie Ecclestone was very excited.

Now the old man is even a little thankful that Abel has become the real boss of the F1 car.

"Oh ~ BOSS." This proud little old man was convinced for the first time, "I believe that with your support, we will be able to succeed. Let the roar of the F1 racing engine resound over the tracks in North America."

After dealing with the overly enthusiastic Bernie Ecclestone, Abel had time to pay attention to Sophie Marceau and the others.

And by this time, it was already afternoon.

(End of this chapter)