America's Road to Wealth

Chapter 506 Great Painter Abel Smith
Eli Broad, many people know that this is a super rich man who was born in New York and grew up in Detroit. He is a famous collector in the United States and a frequent visitor to Art Basel. He can often be seen at Christie's and Sotheby's auctions his figure.

At the same time, many people know that this old man is a super real estate tycoon in the California area and was once an insurance tycoon.

However, in 1999, Eli Broad sold Sunshine Life Insurance, which he once controlled and held, to the giant AIG in exchange for $180 billion in cash and stock.

Today, Eli Broad no longer directly operates the insurance industry, but he is still one of California's real estate tycoons.

Now this well-known collector stands up and wants to spend [-] million US dollars to acquire this pair of "Manhattan Hanging Sun" painted by Abel.

This seems to have dropped a blockbuster in the collection and auction circles.

For a while, many well-known collectors and even auction houses stood up one after another, saying that they wanted to acquire the painting painted by Abel Smith.

Their offers were high, but none surpassed Avery Broad.They are all from several million to tens of millions of dollars, but not as much as $1 million.

Nonsense, $1 million for a painting by Abel.Now in 2002, even Van Gogh's paintings are not so expensive, who would really do this?

It’s fine if Abel doesn’t sell it at that time. If Abel is really willing to sell it, is it really necessary to take 1 million US dollars to buy one of Abel’s sketches?
If Abel could accept it, if he could hook up with Abel, then many people would be willing.

The question is what if the hookup is not successful?

$1 million is not a small number no matter how you look at it.Except for Ellie Broad, who is rich, is also a collector, and perhaps has ulterior motives, no one dares to mention this figure.

The next night.

New York, Upper East Side of Manhattan, 76 East 10th Street, in a townhouse that has been named "Laura's House" by little Laura.

Abel put his arms around little Laura, who was only wearing a suspender nightdress, opened his mouth to eat the watermelon handed to him by little Laura, and watched Ellie Broad, who was being interviewed by Oprah's talk show on TV.

The old man confirmed with certainty that he was really willing to use 1 million US dollars to buy Abel's "Manhattan Hanging Sun".

"Yes, no matter what angle you look at, as long as you start from the standpoint of art. I firmly believe that Mr. Smith's artistic talent can be said to be unparalleled."

"Manhattan Hanging Sun, he perfectly depicted the images of the two concepts of Manhattan and Hanging Sun through simple sketches."

"If this is not a perfect work, what is a perfect work?"

"So from the bottom of my heart, I want to collect this painting in my exhibition hall. If it can be done, it will be one of my most important collections."

"I'm serious, $1 million. If Mr. Smith is willing, I can even increase the price!!"

Ellie Broad was still showing off with Oprah, and little Laura couldn't help but turn her head, raised Abel's hands and looked again and again.

"Honey, I think you can become the richest man in the world by drawing. A sketch drawn in ten minutes can sell for 1 million dollars! My God, you are the contemporary Van Gogh!"

Abel took his hands out of her white and slender hands, put them into her nightgown, and placed them on her still flat belly.

"Van Gogh was not something to be admired. He lived a life of poverty and died without a few guilders in his pocket."

Abel smiled and said:
"Do you believe that if I donate all my property and only rely on painting for a living in the future, then my paintings will soon become undemanding for 50 cents."

"(*∩_∩*)——"

Little Laura was giggling, wriggling in his arms, allowing him to stroke her belly.

Of course she knew this, what she said just now was just a joke between husband and wife.

"It's hard to imagine that there is a baby living in such a beautiful belly."

She heard Abel again, touching his belly and smiling.

Little Laura pouted and rolled her eyes, "You said it as if you were having a baby for the first time. My dear, our child is your sixth, no, it seems to be your seventh or eighth child!! "

Abel was not at all embarrassed or embarrassed about the subject.

He continued to laugh, and said softly and gently, "but you and my child are the most important thing, my dear."

Little Laura felt very sweet at once.

Why is she willing to endure everything that a woman can't bear?
Is it for love?
Maybe a little bit.

But in the end, the most important thing is not just because of his words.

"Well, I love you, my dear..." Little Laura offered to offer her a mouthful.

After the two kissed for a while, little Laura pushed him away.

"The doctor said, I'm still in a stable period now. I can't be emotional or physically agitated. I can't do that kind of thing, you know? My dear!"

Of course Abe knew this kind of thing, he was almost a father to the children of a football team.

"Tell me about Ellie Broad. Later, I'll have your angels over with you, and Jessica!"

Little Laura changed the subject, she still wanted to stay so intimate with her fiancé for a while longer.

Abel withdrew his hand with a smile, and gently hugged little Laura, who went to Langone Hospital for an examination yesterday and was confirmed to be pregnant.

"Obviously, it's not my painting that Eli Broad is looking at. The old man has other purposes behind it."

"What purpose? He's in California, and he's mainly engaged in real estate. Does he want to cooperate with our new starting point real estate company?"

"That's not clear. But I can call and ask."

"Um……"

Little Laura watched Abel start making calls, and she didn't know who Abel was going to call.

She guessed it might be for the Californian sao fox, or maybe other Californians.

When she heard it later, she found that it was indeed a woman, but it wasn't the voice of the sao fox in California.

It was the voice of a middle-aged woman. She guessed that it might be Abel's subordinate in California.

Abe finished the phone chat quickly, and then said to little Laura: "Honey, you guessed it. There is indeed someone behind Eli Broad, named Donald Bren."

"Donald Bren? That name sounds familiar," said little Laura.

"A real estate businessman in California, one of the benefactors behind the old California politician Jerry Brown, or one of the white gloves."

After hearing Abel's reminder, Little Laura immediately remembered and said, "Oh, I remembered this man. My father and I mentioned him, Donald Bren!"

Abel nodded with a chuckle.

Little Laura's father, one of his own father-in-law.After Neil Shrub heard his flicker, he was very ambitious to go to California to open up a new situation for the Shrub family and himself.

So the shrub family, especially little Laura's family, is very familiar with the situation in California and it is only natural.

"Avery Broad and Donald Bren have been partners for many years. The old man was entrusted by Bren and wants to contact me."

Little Laura looked at her fiance quietly, she knew there was more to come.

"As for the reason why Donald Bren wants to contact me through Ellie Broad, it has to do with the woman I called just now."

"The person I was on the phone with was Joan Irvine Smith."

"Smith?" Little Laura couldn't help interjecting, "Is it related to our family?"

She hasn't married yet, but she has already talked about our family to the Smith family.

Abel knew that this was actually a manifestation of her cleverness and high EQ.

But people, especially him who is very possessive, like her like this.

He smiled and shook his head: "This Smith has nothing to do with our Smith. There are millions of Smiths in the United States. Joan Irvine Smith, the key is in the word Irvine."

"Irvine, seems to be a small city in California? It's very rich, and the security is very good."

"Yes."

Abel briefly explained the mess with the Irvine family and Donald Bren.

Little Laura suddenly realized.

"I get it, both sides are still fighting for control of the Irvine Development Corporation. Donald Bren has the upper hand with Jerry Brown behind him. Joan Irvine Smith sees you getting stronger in California , so I want to use your power to take back Irvine, no matter how bad it is, I want to take revenge?"

Abel smiled and patted her head, "It's so smart."

Little Laura enjoyed Abel's closeness, even if it made her look like a child.

"Should we help Joan Irvine Smith, or Donald Brun?" she asked again.

Abe didn't respond right away. He looked at the TV screen, and Eli Broad was still saying that he would even pay $1.5 million for "Suspenders in Manhattan."

After a few seconds, Abel smiled and said, "We will help whoever gives us more. I think my painting is definitely more than 1.5 million dollars."

Following his line of sight, little Laura also looked at the TV screen and began to think.

She felt that whether it was Joan Irvine Smith or Donald Bren, there was a high probability that he would bleed heavily this time.

Then, sure enough, on July 7th.

For a simple sketch of "Manhattan Hanging Sun", someone is willing to pay a higher price than Eli Broad to buy it.

The man who made the latest quote in the media, was Robert Hatfield Ellsworth.

This person's reputation in the collection industry is even greater than that of Eli Broad.

He is a well-known antique dealer and collector in New York, the former chief representative of Sotheby's Institute of Education in China, and a senior art market consultant.

He is recognized as one of the most discerning and tasteful antique dealers and collectors in the United States and the entire Western art world, and is known as the "Godfather of Chinese Antiques".

The old man even has a Chinese named An Siyuan. When he was interviewed by a reporter from the "Wall Street Journal", he claimed that a client commissioned Sotheby's auction house to buy Abel's "Manhattan Hanging Sun" for US$2 million.

Answell also highly appreciated the artistic value of Abel's painting, as well as Abel's artistic talent.

An Siyuan publicly shouted to Abel in the media, wanting to buy Abel's painting.

This is the second blockbuster hit in the global collection circle after Eli Broad.

And it was heavier than the previous one that Avery Broad dropped.

At this moment, many people in the collecting world are confused.

They wondered, is the value of this simple sketch drawn by Abel Smith really so high?

2 million US dollars, you can buy a skyscraper in a relatively remote location in Manhattan!
At this time, Ikana's father, in her bedroom at her house, found a sketch that she treasured and signed by Abel.

The content of the painting is a full-body landscape portrait of Ikana's dear father's eldest daughter, that is, herself.

It is said that at that time, my dear Mr. Dong held this painting as if it were a treasure, and he kept saying——

"$2 million...$2 million...$2 million...$2 million..."

For a while, the global media frantically reported on Abel Smith, a new art master after Darwin and Van Gogh.

It's a bit like when "Gong Shou Dao" was released, some media reported that Lao Ma's skills were comparable to professional animation actors.

At that time, Abel was already at Kennedy International Airport, boarding the plane back to Texas.

He was going back to Texas to attend the NRA's annual gala that was held in Texas specially for him.

Little Laura did not go back with him.

She was originally going to go back with Abel, but isn't she just less than a month pregnant now?
Although you have your own private jet, you don't need to go through security checks when you get on the plane, and you don't have to worry about radiation.

However, the feeling of weightlessness when the plane takes off and lands may affect the secretion of physiological hormones.

Under normal circumstances, of course not afraid, but during the stable period of pregnancy, changes in hormone secretion, there is a very small possibility of causing fetal miscarriage.

This pressure difference during takeoff and landing is basically impossible to eliminate.

Just in case, little Laura decided to raise the fetus in New York until it was fully formed and there was no medical risk before returning to Texas.

She couldn't go back to Texas with Abel this time.

7 month 20 day.

The Smith arrives at Houston's Harpy International Airport.

As the fourth largest city in the United States, it is naturally impossible for Houston to have only one airport.

Harpy International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, as well as several other civilian airports, are airports near Houston.

Just like New York has more than one JFK.

In the afterglow of the orange-yellow sunset, the private jet landed at the airport and landed slowly.

Wait until it comes to a complete stop and the sound of the engine goes out.

Abel, wearing sunglasses, walked down the hanging ladder and saw that there was already a long queue waiting for him on the emptied airport runway.

Abel, who has become the biggest local snake in Texas, of course enjoys more privileges in Texas than in New York.

It is really a normal operation to drive the convoy directly to the airport runway.

The wind at the airport has always been so strong that it made Abel's clothes rattle.

Looking at the Boeing 747 taxiing on the runway, Abel also turned and walked towards the convoy, got into the car, and drove away from the airport quickly to the center of Houston.

Unfortunately, this time his grandparents went to live in Wellington.

Having said that, Alex and his wife are actually living the most chic.

During the year, the two traveled around in major cities in Texas.Every time I live in one place for two or three months, if I get bored or miss old friends, or miss my son or my hometown, I continue to move.

Anyway, even before Abel had risen, the Smith family had already bought certain properties in major cities in Texas.

Not to mention that now, the two elderly people can be said to be "walking sideways" in Texas.

The reason why Abel came to Houston was not to go to Austin, or not to go back to his hometown in Tarrant County.

It's because the NRA's state headquarters in Texas is right here in Houston.

This year's NRA election conference was also revised to be held here.

By the time his convoy arrived at the classical manor mansion at 324 Buckingham Road in the Dr. area of ​​Houston, it was already completely dark.

Abel, who lived in the manor, immediately got people online to conduct video conferences.

At this time, in London, England, Abel's "landing in Britain plan" was in full swing.

Sterling was sniped and fell by about 8%.

Affected by this, the stock prices of most local companies listed in the UK have been affected.

Smith Capital finally dispatched and began to harvest the chips that Abel wanted on the London stock market.

And those giants in the UK are certainly not Muggles.

They had discovered Abel's infidelity a long time ago and started to defend themselves very early.

This is the time when the two sides are attacking and defending, and the confrontation is the strongest.

In this case, Abel, who was not at the scene, actually had nothing to do.

If he wasn't on the scene, he couldn't use his financial talent to direct the offensive and defensive battles of his subordinates at any time.

And the reason why he didn't go to the scene was because he knew that this offensive and defensive battle would definitely gain a lot.

So much preparation was done in the early stage, and Soros and a group of international hot money were assisting behind, and Morgan's "teammates" were attacking together.

Funding is also nearly unlimited.

With so much pre-preparation, if it still fails without him.

Jess and David don't have to hang out on Wall Street anymore, they might as well go back to their hometown as postmen for nothing.

But after all, it is related to his British cause, and it is fine now, so it is necessary to pay attention.

This attention lasts for several hours.

When he finished the video conference, even he felt a little mental exhaustion.

"hiss--"

Letting out a breath, Abel picked up the coffee, drank it, and looked at the time. No wonder he felt tired, it was almost 12 o'clock.

In other words, his video conference was held intermittently for almost 5 hours.

"call--"

Raising his arms high and stretching his waist, Abel stood up from the boss chair, opened the door of the study, turned off the light, went downstairs, and saw the maid who was still dozing off in the living room faintly. Said, "Go to sleep."

"Master, do you need some supper?"

Hearing Abel's voice, the beautiful maid hurriedly woke up with a jolt, and asked softly.

These are the ones who have received Joanna's training, have excellent professional skills, and are not bad in appearance.

She is also Abel's personal maid, one of the people who mainly take care of his life.

However, they will rotate internally, changing a batch from time to time, and bringing in new ones every time.

This is what Abel requested for his safety.

Abel shook his head, walked into the dining room, took out a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator, unscrewed it, drank it and said, "Go and rest."

"Okay, master, I wish you a sweet dream."

Abel, who returned to the bedroom, looked at the empty Simmons, and touched his revived waist after two days of rest.

This time, Little Laura's 10 wheel battles every day made him really a little scared.

No matter how good the body capital is, Superman can't bear it if it is squeezed like this crazily.

He decided to start paying attention to health preservation in the future.

Don't do so many at once, just three or four at a time.

Well, such a happy decision.

The next morning, after a good night's sleep, Abel, who was completely exhausted, was eating breakfast while reading the newspaper on the dining table.

Many of them are related to his "Suspended Sun in Manhattan", and the direction of the reports is getting more and more crooked, and they all look like gossip.

The problem is that Americans obviously like to watch news like this.

So much so that even the "Wall Street Journal" and "Washington Post" stopped, reporting from the perspective of collection and finance.

Abel flipped through the pages, shook his head, and dropped today's newspaper.

After breakfast, he sat in the Cadillac monster in the courtyard.

The convoy drove out of the manor house and headed for the Texas headquarters of the "fourth pole of power".

(End of this chapter)