New York 2006

Chapter 272 Ika
Luxurious seaside villas, people coming and going at parties, champagne and wine, handsome men and beautiful women gather together in twos and threes, either chatting about business matters, interesting things in life, or hooking up with each other to get ready for a while.

In short, each has its own purpose.The focus of this party is undoubtedly the host of today’s party, Logic.

Wherever he goes, he is the center of attention.

However, the higher Luo Ji's status was, the more he discovered that arrogance and unkindness were sometimes a good disguise, which could help him block a lot of unnecessary social interactions and save a lot of time.

Luo Ji excused himself as having something to do and walked away from a few strangers who came up to chat. Then he found Perlmutter, who was hiding in a corner drinking alone.

"Mr. Perlmutter!" Luo Ji walked forward and hugged him enthusiastically.

"Hello, Logic." Perlmutter also had a smile on his face.

"Is this your wife?" Luo Ji looked at the woman next to him. She looked a bit like a man, but she was well maintained.

"Yes."

Luo Ji passionately kissed her face to face, and then complimented her: "Madam, you are so beautiful. Can I dance with you later?"

"Hahaha." His wife smiled: "Of course!"

It seems that his ability to please older women has not deteriorated yet.Perlmutter's wife had a big smile on her face.Luo Ji quickly became familiar with her.

His wife said, "Logic, we plan to buy a house nearby. Do you have any recommendations?"

"I really don't understand this." Luo Ji said, "I came to see it once and was sure of it, but I can introduce my real estate agent to you."

"it is good."

After chatting with her for a few words, Luo Ji looked at Perlmutter.This 60-year-old white man, the former Marvel Emperor, was really difficult to deal with before.

Luo Ji not only came with force, but also planned to "outwit the board of directors" to remove him, threatening to suppress Marvel's stock price if his negotiations failed.

He came softly and promised him many benefits.Including permanently retaining his title of Honorary Chairman of Marvel and receiving a certain annual salary every year until his death.In future Marvel movies, the actors he introduces must also be considered.Marvel will send him invitations and so on for movie premieres in the future.

Of course, the most important thing is that he was given five places in private equity funds.

Since the news of Marvel's acquisition broke out, many media have analyzed Luo Ji's wealth growth, and his investment company is naturally among them, and it has played a big role.

His private equity fund was already very popular, but now it is even more popular, and countless people are flocking to it.

However, even if Luo Ji promised so many benefits to Perlmutter.In the end, he still put forward a high offer of 38 billion US dollars.Luo Ji felt that if he didn't agree to the stubborn old man's offer, the negotiations might continue to be deadlocked.

Now, it's all settled.

Although he was a little resentful towards the old man, he could still understand him. If someone wanted to acquire his music company, his reaction would definitely be the same.

Therefore, Luo Ji still respected Perlmutter very much, and he also planned to faithfully fulfill his promise to him.

Luo Ji looked at Perlmutter and asked, "Sir, my second phase of private equity fund will be officially launched today. I wonder how much capital you plan to invest?"

"Twenty million dollars." Perlmutter said calmly, and then continued: "The four people I recommended here can probably raise two hundred million dollars."

"OK." Luo Ji nodded calmly, and then said confidently, "I promise I won't let you down."

…………

Not far away, Bill Lee, Sarah Gore, Jho Low, and Ika came together to chat.

Bill Lee was a little surprised when he saw Ika: "Ika, how did you and Jho Low meet?"

Ika hugged him and said, "Liu was my classmate at Wharton Business School."

"Okay." Bill Lee said with a smile: "How is your father Turner? I haven't seen him since Sarah and I's wedding."

"Everything is fine." Ika said with a smile: "Didn't you watch "The Apprentice" when it aired earlier this month? I even left the country."

Bill Lee was a little embarrassed. The reality show "The Apprentice" is generally watched by people at the bottom. It is indeed interesting to use reality shows to obtain high-paying positions, but which business elite would pay attention to this.

Sarah Gore quickly came to her husband's rescue: "He has been busy with work recently and has no time to watch TV."

"Work is important." Ika said naturally.

Bill Lee looked at Jho Low, his partner in the acquisition of Marvel.He thought to himself, wondering if he knew that today's party was very high-end, and the attendees were basically celebrities from New York.

So instead of bringing his unattractive girlfriend Lindsay Lohan, he brought his former college classmate, New York socialite Ika.This one is indeed more on the stage than his girlfriend.

But he wasn't stupid enough to ask, so they gathered together and chatted for a few minutes.

Low Taek Jho took a sip from a glass of the latest Romanee-Conti red wine and said to several people mysteriously: "Do you know Temasek Holdings?"

Neither of the two white women knew very well, but Bill Lee, a Chinese, knew something about it: "Is it Singapore's sovereign wealth fund?"

"Yes. They control more than 1000 billion US dollars of capital." Jho Low said with a smile: "They saw that the Malaysian sovereign fund led by me invested in Logic before, just like a follower, and they also said a few days ago I contacted Logic and wanted to invest in him.”

"Hahahaha." Several people laughed.

Low then said mysteriously: "Do you know who contacted Logic at that time? Let me give you a hint. In 2007, she was ranked third among the [-] most powerful women in the world by Forbes."

"Who is she, a woman?" Ika asked curiously.

Jho Low said lightly: "Ho Ching, the wife of the Prime Minister of Singapore and the CEO of Temasek Holdings."

Everyone was a little surprised, and then returned to normal.The people they usually interact with are all big people, so it's not surprising.

Bill Lee was a little curious and asked tentatively: "Logic just acquired Marvel. There is nothing that needs money."

"Of course she wants to invest in Logic's private equity fund!" Jho Low continued: "Don't think that sovereign funds are very powerful. During the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007 and the financial crisis in 2008, I don't know how many sovereign funds there were. It lost money. And Logic Investment Company’s performance in the past two years has been horrific. Countless people want to follow in his footsteps, and these sovereign funds are no exception.”

Ika hurriedly asked: "Has Logic agreed? I heard that his private equity fund does not accept company funds, only private funds."

"That's true, but Marvel needs money at this time."

Jho Low whispered: "Logic proposed that Temasek Fund provide low-interest financing far below the market price for Marvel's next film projects, about 1% to 2%. After they agreed, Logic accepted them funds.”

Ika did a little mental calculation and said in surprise: "Marvel's average production cost exceeds [-] million dollars, and they provide low-interest loans to Marvel. In other words, they use losses of more than several million dollars every year to achieve this goal. In exchange for a spot in a private equity fund.”

Low said calmly: "About that. If you think about Logic Private Equity's terrifying rate of return, you will know that this deal was a good deal."

Bill Lee looked at Jho Low with some surprise, and asked with a surprised look on his face: "Do you want to tell you about confidential things like Logic?"

"Of course, I have a very good relationship with him," Low said.However, Low Taek Jho did not mention the prerequisites for low-interest loans, including the Malaysian sovereign fund.

"Hahaha, it seems like Logic likes you very much!" Sarah Gore complimented with a smile.

In fact, this news was deliberately released by Luo Ji in order to provide a measure of the popularity of private equity fund quotas.

Look, you have to lose at least several million meters of profit in exchange for a quota, so those who can enter this fund are a symbol of status!It is impossible for ordinary people to come in.

Even rich companies can’t do it. When Logic is not short of money, it won’t accept company funds.Rich people, I'm sorry, Logic has nothing to do with you and does not accept your funds.

This will invisibly increase Luo Ji's status in the hearts of American elites.

Low, Sarah Gore and Bill Lee then discussed the brilliant achievements of Luo Ji Investment Company in recent years.

Bill Lee and Sarah Gore were honored because they were investors in the first private equity fund.Jho Low was also accepted by Luo Ji because of Marvel's high-priced investment.

However, Ika felt a little uneasy when she listened to the conversation of several people. She looked at her old classmate: "Do you think Logic will accept my funds?"

Low patted her shoulder to comfort her: "I will help you put in a good word in front of him. As for the result..."

…………

Fiona, Xu Youyu and Luo Ji sat together and watched Low and Ika leaving.

Luo Ji took a quick look and came to his senses. He had a good temperament, good looks, and good upper body curves, but his buttocks were too flat.The whole thing is aesthetic.However, Luo Ji had met several second-generation people in New York on various occasions before and had some unpleasant encounters with them, so he generally kept a distance from this group.

They did not learn the drive of the previous generation, but instead paid attention to style and so on, which was a bit hypocritical. Luo Ji had been despised by them because of his clothes before.

Besides, they are only the second generation now and do not have control over family resources.People of Luo Ji's generation usually dealt with the bosses who controlled resources, and they had nothing in common with this second generation.

Fiona stared at Luo Ji and said, "Did you accept her funds because she is Ika, or because of Jho Low's recommendation?"

"Of course it's because of Jho Low." Luo Ji replied without any guilt.
"Are you too kind to Jho Low? Just accept the people he recommends." Fiona said.

"I like Low Taek Jho very much." Luo Ji said with a smile: "He is very smart. During the Marvel acquisition, he joined at a premium. When he heard about Marvel's lack of cash flow, he took the initiative to offer low-interest loans. There are also other things like Is this a better investor?”

Fiona continued: "Mainly because he is your fan, right?"

"There is this reason." Luo Ji continued: "However, it is mainly because of his restraint. He did not ask to join the Marvel board of directors, nor did he ask for more places in private equity funds. This time, Ika was only recommended, and there was no mandatory requirement. So. , of course I will give him this face."

Xu Youyu, who was watching, frowned: "Logic, I always feel that he is weird. Which investor is not always willing to spend money, so why is he so generous?"

Luo Ji looked proud and said, "Maybe he is my true fan!"

Xu Youyu rolled his eyes and then said seriously: "Don't you have any doubts about his funds in the Marvel acquisition? He said that his funds came from Malaysian sovereign funds, but of the 7000 million US dollars of investment, only 2 million came from there. , 3000 million from his private company, and [-] million from a Malaysian named Rosmah Mansor. Do you have no doubts?"

Luo Ji asked in confusion, "What do you want to say?"

Xu Youyu whispered: "Is there any problem with the money?"

Luo Ji immediately waved his hand, looked at him and said, "You are overthinking this. Have you never been to Malaysia?"

"Uh-huh."

Luo Ji said: "I went there when the concert was held, and was received by many local wealthy Chinese businessmen. Even though they don't appear in the international news, there are actually many wealthy Chinese in Southeast Asia, who control Funding is beyond your imagination.”

"is it?"

"Of course, don't underestimate the ability of Chinese Americans to create wealth. We must know that we are the race with the highest average IQ on the planet."

Xu Youyu continued: "But he is too flamboyant and spends money like water."

"How can the second generation of rich people be unassuming?" Luo Ji suddenly remembered an interesting thing: "Let's talk about Turner's daughter Ika just now. She said in the media before that the bravest thing she did when she was a child was Take the economy class on public flights, hahahaha.”

Fiona next to her also laughed, and Xu Youyu, an old man who was usually very serious, couldn't help laughing.

After the joke was over, Luo Ji got down to business and asked, "By the way, when do you expect the preparations for the second phase of the fund to be completed?"

"It's the middle of next month."

Luo Ji warned: "The lists I gave you should be included first."

"Okay." Xu Youyu asked next.

Luo Ji felt that everything was fine and he was done with what he wanted to do, so he said, "You guys have fun, I'm going to see the kids."

…………

Luo Ji came to the door of the innermost room on the second floor of the villa. A female bodyguard was standing outside diligently. She was wearing a black coat, and she could vaguely see a pistol underneath her clothes.

This female bodyguard was hired by Robin and he had no influence on her.Fortunately, the two nannies are still my own.

Luo Ji nodded to her, then opened the door and walked in.The imagined scene of a nanny taking care of the children did not appear. What came into view was ex-wife Robin holding a child with both hands to help them learn to walk.

During his return to New York, Luo Ji and his two children became familiar with each other again.

After the two little guys saw him, they were stunned for a moment to recognize him, then smiled on their faces and stretched out their hands to come over: "Dad, dad..."

Luo Ji immediately stepped forward, took the children from Robin's hands, and asked them to hold his hand and learn to walk.The child will be one year old next month, and now he can consciously recognize his parents and some people around him, and he can also walk with assistance.

While interacting with the two children, Luo Ji looked at his ex-wife: "I saw you drinking and chatting with Lily, Matthew, and Tracy outside before. Why are you back now?"

"I came here when I wanted to have children." The ex-wife looked at the two children with gentle eyes.

"What do you think of this villa on the beach?"

The ex-wife nodded: "It's good. I have to say, the money is well spent."

Luo Ji then said, "Do you want to live here? I can buy you a place nearby."

The ex-wife immediately refused: "I don't want to be too far away from my friends. I don't know anyone here."

"Queenie, Sammy, and Chucky will always live here."

"Better not." Robin waved his hand.

Luo Ji didn't press any further: "Okay, if you change your mind at any time, you can always tell me."

"Yes." The ex-wife asked casually, "Are you going to live here permanently from now on?"

"No, I only come back occasionally on weekends. I still live on Broadway, which is close to the company," Luo Ji said.

"Okay." An undetectable smile appeared on the corner of the ex-wife's mouth.

During this time, the relationship between Luo Ji and his ex-wife also improved a lot.At least it's not like we just quarreled when we met before, we have become friends who can talk and laugh.

Luo Ji suddenly said, "Have you ever thought about making a movie?"

"I had such an idea when I was a child, but I never thought about it again when I grew up." Robin looked at her ex-husband doubtfully: "Why did you suddenly ask me this question."

"Didn't I acquire Marvel? My film company also has a lot of projects every year. Just ask." Luo Ji replied.

However, this is obviously not the real reason.The real reason is that in Luo Ji Tianqi's Avengers movie, his ex-wife actually appeared. She played a small supporting role as a SHIELD agent named Hill.

She looked heroic inside, but she was older and thinner than she is now.Luo Ji still felt that she looked more beautiful now when she was slightly fatter.

Maybe in the original time and space, Robin didn't meet him, and the reporter didn't do his job well, so he went to be an actor.

Acting may be what she really wants to do.

The ex-wife thought for a while and felt a little moved. She had not had a formal job for almost two years and was a little worried: "Can I do it?"

Luo Ji said with a domineering look, "As long as you want, that's fine!"

"Then let me try?"

Luo Ji encouraged: "No need to try, you can definitely do it!"

A smile appeared on Robin's face: "Then I will listen to you this time."

Luo Ji made plans for her: "When you first enter the film and television industry, you should start with supporting roles. Then I will ask Braun to help you screen in Hollywood and select a few suitable projects for you. As long as you want to play, I can definitely help you get it."

"Are you so confident?"

"Humph, who am I?" Luo Ji said with a proud look on his face: "I am a big shot in Hollywood. I own Marvel and Logic Pictures. Everyone has to give me some face."

Robin said with a look of disdain: "You just acquired Marvel and you are so arrogant."

The two children saw that their father was constantly interacting with their mother and was not paying attention to them, so they pulled Luo Ji's trouser legs and babbling in protest.

Luo Ji leaned down and picked them up, and then said to them: "You know? From now on, these companies will belong to you, so grow up quickly. I am very tired from working every day."

When Robin heard this, he couldn't help but look at her ex-husband with tender eyes.An idea gradually came to her mind. In fact, it would be good for the two of them to continue like this.

(End of this chapter)