While various Asian economies were facing turbulent times, the world still had no shortage of thriving developments. On the second day of the Korean public's protest against the IMF, October 19th, a Sunday, Daenerys Entertainment Group officially released its full-year financial report for the 1997 fiscal year.
For the four quarters ending September 30, 1997, Daenerys Entertainment Group's revenue reached a new milestone, hitting $41.9 billion, a 16.3% year-on-year increase. This made it the first and only company purely focused on media and entertainment to achieve a revenue scale of $40 billion, solidifying its position as a global industry giant.
However, it was undeniable that this was the first time since its founding that Daenerys Entertainment's annual revenue growth rate had fallen below 30%. Just last year, the revenue growth had been 31%. This slowdown, though, was expected by the industry.
After surpassing the $10 billion revenue mark and becoming a global leader, Daenerys Entertainment had continued to experience rapid growth in recent years, primarily due to the expansion potential within the film and television industry itself, as well as its acquisitions of companies like MCA.
As the core film and television business reached the industry's ceiling and the benefits of mergers and acquisitions were gradually absorbed, a slowdown in growth became inevitable.
Even so, Daenerys Entertainment's 16.3% growth for the 1997 fiscal year still exceeded the industry's expectations of around 15%. Moreover, it became the first industry giant to surpass $40 billion in revenue.
With this revenue breakthrough, even though the net profit margin slightly decreased from 14.6% in the previous fiscal year to 14.1%, Daenerys Entertainment's annual net profit still reached $5.73 billion.
This $5.73 billion net profit secured Daenerys Entertainment's position among the top 10 global companies, while its $41.9 billion revenue pushed it from the top 20 last year into the top 15.
On October 20th, as the new week began, Forbes joined the excitement by releasing its 1997 list of the 400 richest Americans in its latest issue.
Frankly, in recent years, whether in the U.S. or globally, the Forbes list had become somewhat predictable, as there was really only one focal point: Simon Westeros.
This time was no exception.
Forbes once again dedicated a special feature to Simon.
Compared to Simon's peak net worth of $2.3 trillion at the beginning of the year before the tech bubble burst, or the $1.5 trillion listed in the 1996 rankings, Simon's net worth for 1997, amidst the raging Asian financial crisis and the Nasdaq's six-month decline, was still assessed by Forbes at $1.3 trillion.
Even excluding the bubble peak of $2.3 trillion, and considering the tech stock crash, Simon's net worth had only shrunk by 14% compared to the previous year's official figure of $1.5 trillion.
The reason for this could be summed up in one phrase: "A starved camel is still bigger than a horse."
And Simon was far from starved.
Even though the tech bubble had been bursting for six months, the hardest hit were the small and medium-sized enterprises in their early stages, still burning cash without establishing a solid revenue model.
Take Igeret, for example.
Despite the Nasdaq crash causing widespread despair in the internet industry, anyone with a bit of composure could see that the arrival of the information age was inevitable. Igeret, which had nearly monopolized internet traffic, saw many competitors exit the market after the crash, further strengthening its monopoly and solidifying its position as an industry oligarch.
This was the potential.
In terms of actual revenue, even though the industry's temporary downturn led to a significant drop in Igeret's advertising revenue for 1997, the global expansion of the internet industry still allowed Igeret to maintain annual revenue above $30 billion. Based on the first three quarters' financial reports, it was expected that the full-year revenue would even see a slight increase compared to last year's $33.9 billion.
Both the industry and specific companies' solid fundamentals meant that even though Igeret's market value had fallen from its peak of $923.3 billion, it still remained above $400 billion.
Similarly, during this period, within the Westeros system, besides Igeret's market value exceeding $400 billion, Daenerys Entertainment, Cisco, and ThinkPad also had market values above $300 billion. Other companies like AOL, Nokia, Verizon, and even major holdings like Microsoft and Intel maintained market values in the hundreds of billions.
Adding in companies like Melisandre, Cersei Capital, Oracle, Instagram, and a series of other billion-dollar enterprises, Simon's net worth remained at a high of $1.3 trillion.
Moreover, those in the know understood that this figure was likely an underestimate.
Rumors suggested that the Westeros system alone had free cash reserves ranging from $50 to $100 billion, not to mention Simon's hidden global assets, whose value was incalculable. It wouldn't be surprising if a few more trillion-dollar giants under the Westeros system suddenly emerged.
Stimulated by the Forbes 400 list, Daenerys Entertainment's 1997 financial report, and even the ongoing success of Paranormal Activity, on October 20th, Westeros-related stocks surged across the U.S. market. This rally led to a rebound of over 5% in the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq indices after three consecutive days of decline the previous week.
Igeret's stock saw an intraday peak increase of 11%, briefly pushing its market value back above $500 billion. Although it later retreated, its closing market value rose from $451.5 billion at the opening to $477.3 billion, a single-day increase of 5.7%.
Daenerys Entertainment, whose market value had fallen from $500 billion at the beginning of the year to the $300 billion range, also saw a 6.2% increase in its stock price, with its market value jumping from $321.4 billion at the opening to $341.3 billion.
With such high market values, both companies remained at the top of their respective sectors.
*Washington, D.C.*
Amid the bustling capital markets, Simon was in the federal capital.
Having arrived the previous afternoon, Simon spent the entire day shuttling between various federal departments, attending meetings on topics ranging from strategies to address the Asian economic situation, the ITER tokamak device's site selection, to discussions with NASA about restarting the development of a new generation of space shuttles.
The core theme was simple: spending money.
While a small portion of the spending was for the Westeros system's next phase of expansion, Simon's primary focus was on three goals: advancing human civilization to the next stage, breaking through the limits of life, time, and energy.
In previous years, these ideas were present but couldn't be pursued on a large scale due to financial constraints.
Now, with the Westeros system's foundation more secure and many of its companies expected to generate substantial profits, Simon needed to find a way to allocate the growing cash reserves. Otherwise, accumulating too much would become a problem.
How should the money be spent?
Charity, of course, was an option.
Simon had been doing that.
However, after years of reflection, Simon realized that charity couldn't solve any fundamental problems related to humanity's future. In fact, the Western charity system had largely become a means for the wealthy to pass on their wealth.
Given that, it was better to focus on more meaningful endeavors.
Moreover, considering that in the coming years, the Westeros system's core companies alone could contribute hundreds of billions in annual net profits to the Westeros family, these projects needed to be substantial enough to absorb such funds. This was especially true given the need to actively spend the money.
Take the space shuttle, for example. According to NASA, each shuttle cost $3 billion, a figure many considered exorbitant. But for Simon, even a tenfold increase in price was acceptable, given that future annual profits of $100 billion could easily cover the cost of three shuttles. During today's meeting, Simon expressed his hope that the next-generation space shuttle could take off directly from land and head straight to Mars.
This might remain a vision for a long time, but progress is made step by step.
Of course, Simon's willingness to spend didn't mean the Westeros family's funds were easy to access. Moving forward, the family would impose stricter oversight and auditing to ensure the money was used appropriately and not siphoned off by individuals.
In the evening, Simon and Janet, who had traveled together, left NASA headquarters and headed to the White House.
The evening featured a small reception hosted by the Clintons specifically for Simon and Janet, with Vice President Gore and many other Washington power players in attendance.
The Clintons had clearly prepared in advance, as the reception's theme was the next stage of human civilization.
"Simon, don't you think that if humanity truly enters the next stage of civilization, there will be serious ethical issues?" asked Patty Gore, the Vice President's wife, during the gathering in the White House's banquet hall.
Simon, with his arm around Janet, smiled and replied, "I understand your concern, Patty. In the future, some people might live to 1,000 years, while others might not even reach 100. And after long periods of hibernation during interstellar travel, travelers might wake up still young, only to find that their descendants on Earth have aged several generations. These seem like significant issues. But if we look back a thousand years, people then would find it equally unbelievable that heads of state today can only serve a maximum of eight years, that slavery no longer exists, and that everyone has the right to vote, wouldn't they?"
Patty Gore didn't immediately grasp the point, but the others quickly laughed.
Al Gore, after laughing, explained to his wife, "Simon's point is that human ethics and social systems are constantly evolving. Dear, we should leave future problems to future generations. Our responsibility is to handle the present."
After a few more light-hearted exchanges, Simon and Janet moved on to mingle with other guests. As the reception neared its end, a White House staffer quietly approached Simon and led him to a small meeting room inside the White House.
Clinton was already waiting.
"Simon, what's happening in South Korea—that's your doing, right?"
Simon didn't deny it. Sitting down on the couch with Clinton, he nodded and said, "I told you I'd make the Koreans regret their decision."
"But the problem is..." Clinton looked troubled. "I spoke with Kim Young-sam again today. The Blue House is in a very awkward position. Having publicly promised the people, Kim Young-sam can't easily change his stance now without losing credibility. You know, this is an election year in South Korea. If he breaks his promise, the consequences could be severe."
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