Mr. Counselor has been promoted and is very busy now, but when he heard that Ronald was looking for a bridge partner, he had just the right one.
Domestic bridge competitions are similar to other sports. The level of women is higher than that of men. This time, in order to prepare for the World Cup, the women's national bridge team was invited by the American Chinese bridge player Yang Xiaoyan to come here to participate in the North American Bridge Competition.
Contest.
Coincidentally, this North American Bridge Competition also happened to be the selection competition for the American national team, so all the female bridge players from this country also attended to compete for the three pairs of places. Therefore, the quality of the competition was very high.
Chinese people have a championship complex for all competitions, and it is the same this time. Several poker players on the women's team also trained very hard after coming. But after all, training and competition are two different things, and the intensity of training cannot be
Compared to the competition.
Mr. Counselor knew that Ronald had provided logistical help to the Olympic champion women's volleyball girls ten years ago, and this time he also happened to find a sponsor for the girls of the bridge team.
Bridge competitions are played in partnership, so many wealthy enthusiasts often find a professional player to partner with them, which is traditionally allowed. This relationship is also called a "sponsorship" or "client-professional player" relationship.
.
The expenses for professional players to participate in the competition are borne by the "clients", and there are often some additional "gifts". The clients can also be led by professional players to experience the high-level competition atmosphere.
Ronald thought it was very good when he heard it. He followed his usual practice and found a time-honored restaurant in Chinatown to provide the members and team leader of the women's team with good Chinese food and a Toyota van for them to use when going out.
It was a rare opportunity to participate in the competition. Xu Zhenghong, the coach and leader of the women's team, is a gentleman. He works as a driver to transport the team members to training and participate in some invitational competitions every day. He also goes to the supermarket every day to purchase ingredients and cooks for them on the induction cooker.
.
Now that there are professional personnel in charge of logistics, Xu Zhenghong is extremely grateful to Ronald. He finally has time to train. In order to thank Ronald, he said that he can choose his partner from among the women's team members.
As soon as Ronald saw the team introductions they made for the competition, he wanted to find Sun Ming, the opponent's top player, as a partner. This player's playing style is very aggressive, and most professional players with clients usually have this style of playing.
Sometimes customers only need to randomly bid a high contract, and these offensive players can often play very well. Either they can make a subscription that seems impossible, or they can steal the other party's good contract and score points themselves.
However, Ronald was a little embarrassed when he saw the look in Coach Xu Zhenghong's eyes, and he also knew that selecting their number one player might have an impact on their results. So he asked him to select one that suited him.
…
"Sister Wang, there are many famous people participating in this competition, but they actually abide by etiquette on the field. Just treat them as rookies and don't show mercy."
Coach Xu recommended Wang Hongli. She has a steady playing style, but she is very young, so accompanying Ronald to participate in the competition will not particularly affect the really important competition results. Seeing that she was a little nervous, Ronald also comforted her.
Now, I came to America to compete at a young age, and I haven’t met many people. There is a bit of a language barrier, but after all, I am a professional player, so just participate in the competition.
"Brother Luo, I understand. You don't have to worry. I just need to be more stable when partnering with them. In fact, I know these styles of play." Wang Hongli has a gentler personality and is good at thinking for his partners. Everyone calls her sister, so
Just like brother and sister Ronald.
When they arrived at the arena, Gates and Buffy also found professional players to lead them. When they saw that Ronald's partner was a little girl, they all smiled and wished them good luck. In fact, they were a little disapproving. As the top players on the wealth list,
People, their partners are all top ten in the world competition.
Who would have thought that after one round of competition, Ronald and Wang Hongli's scores were ranked in the top three, Buffy's scores were generally in the middle, and Gates was ranked very low because of bad luck.
Location.
"Hahaha, my luck is indeed good."
At lunch, everyone gathered together, and Gates and Buffy didn't look very good. They could only say a few perfunctory words as they watched Ronald being in the limelight.
In fact, Ronald's choice hits the mark. The world champion's card game is not something ordinary people can understand. Gates and Buffy see that their partners have a halo, and sometimes they think too much about bidding and defense, always feeling that the opponent is
What's the meaning?
But in fact, most of the cards in this kind of amateur bridge competition are not that tricky. On the contrary, Ronald was in a relaxed mood and played quite well. In addition, Wang Hongli's calculations were definitely far better than those of amateurs, and he actually cooperated tacitly for a while.
very.
In the afternoon game, they had a calm mind and high concentration. They became more confident after winning more. Ronald kept up his efforts and completed a difficult double press in the key round, defeating the high-profile pre-game
The most popular contestant ended up being the champion.
After the game was over, of course there was no need for an ordinary meal. Ronald took Gates and Buffy to a Japanese restaurant that had booked all the venues in advance. The ingredients and chefs were all ready to show off their skills.
Everyone chatted about the game for a while, and they all praised Wang Hongli very much, and they all said that Ronald actually relied on her to win the championship.
After some laughter, Gates first sat next to Ronald and started a private chat.
"Your last reminder was very timely. Our new Microsoft browser will be in beta testing soon. Do you want to give it a try when the official version comes out?"
"Of course..." Ronald put down his chopsticks. Netscape has been making more and more moves recently. In addition to Andreessen being on the cover of financial magazines, the call for IPO is getting louder and louder, which makes Ronald unable to invest.
The resentment also became stronger.
Now that Microsoft's new browser is out, will it hit Netscape hard and cause their IPO valuation to drop a lot?
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Honestly, what do you think of the current World Wide Web?" Gates' words were a bit worried, and he was actually furious in his internal speech. The Beta version of the browser is really
It's too bad, and many people within Microsoft don't seem to realize the impact of this war. Many people still think that they are lazily doing it because it is Gates's own opinion. In fact, Gates already regards the browser as a matter of life and death.
something.
But the development direction of the Internet is still not very clear. Now that Ronald has reminded himself of the existence of the browser, I wonder if there will be any new ideas to inspire him?
"This is a very different thing. How should I put it? My former secretary spent a lot of effort to build a Hollywood movie database and some actors' resume database, but it is very troublesome to collect it. With an agent
Despite the help, there are still many things that I haven't thought of, or I can't find the information.
But after the advent of the Internet, a movie fan built a website for Hollywood movies. Now with the help of the World Wide Web protocol and browsers, the speed of information collection is very fast, because every fan who browses the website can submit the information he knows.
This kind of interoperability and completeness have surpassed the database that I invested money in maintaining, and that website is completely free."
Ronald told Gates about the recent progress of IMDb. The Internet has the ability to bring together the wisdom of everyone. No matter how omniscient and omnipotent a person is, he cannot know all the movies and actors in Hollywood, but tens of millions of movie fans can interact with each other.
It can be done by checking for leaks and filling them.
However, this method also contains mixed information, which requires a team to identify and check.
"It's really interesting. Do you think that in the future, the Internet will be more convenient than encyclopedias to search for information?" Gates thought of the CD commercial that Ronald helped him shoot. He didn't expect that a few years later, there would be another one.
A more convenient medium than CD?
"Well, this is still a bit difficult," Ronald thought for a while, "Even on this website, it's not particularly convenient to find information. I have to search slowly based on the first letter, because there is so much movie information.
The film list included is already several times that of the database we maintain ourselves.”
The Internet has this difficulty. Although the information is very complete, if you want to find what you want, you have to spend several times more time than going to the library to search.
Gates was very happy. He felt that communicating with Ronald did bring some new inspirations. The two of them were in different industries, but it was rare that they could talk about each other. He would always gain something from communicating with Ronald. It is very likely that he will be included in this year's list of the richest people.
He is about to reach the top. As a rich man, there are only a few people like Buffy and Ronald who can still communicate with each other on an equal footing. This is a good supplement for him.
"Bill, does Microsoft have any new products this year? I am a loyal user of your software. Every time there is a new product, I buy it immediately. Of course, apart from Word, I am still used to WordStar when writing scripts..."
Now that he has said this, Ronald also wants to inquire about Microsoft's business. The browser they develop seems to be a defense against the aggressive Netscape, but their revenue still depends on their main products. If new products are released,
, if you can use it yourself, it might be a good opportunity to add stocks.
"Yes, our operating system has a landmark update this year. I asked them to get a beta version for you to try. With that new operating system, you don't need to type win in DOS to start the window system. You can boot directly
Entering the graphical interface, even a child can use it..."
"Oh..." Ronald listened as Gates introduced the features of the new operating system. It fully supports sound and video playback, as well as the so-called start menu... But what attracts Ronald the most is probably the so-called plug-in
It's ready to use. It turns out that some professional equipment needs to be installed on the computer, and maintenance engineers have to be found to install drivers and handle conflicts. It's very frustrating if something goes wrong accidentally and cannot be used.
Ronald and Gates chatted for a long time. Buffy cast her gaze over, and Ronald responded with a smile.
After another round of food, Ronald took the initiative and sat next to Buffy.
"I'm curious, Ronald, how different are the live-action movies you made from Disney's cartoons?"
"That's a huge difference. It takes Disney three years to make an animated feature film. The longest it takes for us to make a live-action film is half a year. Normally, including editing and post-production, it takes a whole year. If it's some commercial
The work can actually be done very quickly.”
"No wonder, when I looked at Disney's financial statements, the labor costs were not as low as expected. Don't they say that stars' salaries are high? It seems that the costs of animators are relatively high..."
Buffy nodded. Recently, someone approached the ABC TV station, which he holds shares, about acquiring it. He specifically asked Ronald, an insider, to talk to him.
Ronald asked for a cup of cherry-flavored Coca-Cola and handed it to him. These investors have some moral principles. For example, if they buy stocks, they must be loyal to the brand. If they invest in Coca-Cola, they usually drink their drinks.
Ronald ordered a glass of ice-cold Calpis for himself. This drink suited his appetite. He didn't have such a quirk. He advertised for Pepsi-Cola, so why didn't he still buy Coca-Cola stocks?
"So it is said that the copyright of cartoons belongs to the company, but the copyright of live-action movies belongs to the stars? Is this statement true?"
Buffy took a sip of cherry-flavored Coke and asked again. Chatting with these top smart people is a very good window to gain knowledge. Investors are always in contact with their peers, and sometimes they have blind spots in their vision.
"This is true in theory, but in reality there are actually many details that are not conducive to cartoons. Otherwise, Disney has been established for so many years, why didn't I unify all the studios?"
This chapter is not over, please click the next page to continue reading! Ronald smiled, this statement is only one side of the truth. Although the copyright of cartoons belongs to the company, the production cycle and cost are very high. Not everyone
Animation companies, like Disney, can make a return on every project.
At that time, Warner Bros. and Paramount both had their own animation studios, but they all encountered a situation where a certain high-investment work suffered from box office disadvantages, and in the end they had to close their doors.
Nowadays, animated works require top singers like Elton John to write lyrics, music, and singing. It is not something that can be fooled by just finding a band to perform in the past.
Everyone has seen that Disney is very happy with its income through peripheral products and amusement parks. However, with such a large investment and a long-term business, if one movie turns into Waterloo, the entire investment will be in vain, and the losses will be higher than ordinary ones.
Movies come big.
Moreover, the entire animation market has its upper limit. After Disney is established, there is not much room for the remaining companies. Unless you innovate and create a new type of animation to challenge.
Computer-generated three-dimensional animations such as Pixar's "Toy Story" that have just emerged recently are like this. But their lives may not be as easy as Disney's.
The cost would be even higher. Ronald calculated it for them privately. This kind of animation studio is in the business of walking a tightrope. If a movie fails, or the development cycle is extended too long, it will be disadvantageous for distribution and remittance. Waiting
All companies end up going bankrupt.
"It seems that since I bought Disney last time, this industry has not changed significantly. It is still so unpredictable."
Ronald said oh, he didn't know that Buffy had actually bought Disney stocks before. That was in 1966, Disney's founder Walt personally promoted it, and Buffy bought 5% of Disney's stocks for US$4 million, but
A year later he sold it for 10 million.
The main concern is that Disney's revenue is greatly affected by a single movie, and he may have to passively become a shareholder of Disney this time... However, the fundamentals of the company and the industry have not changed, and are even worse than before.
.
"I still like simple businesses, such as Coca-Cola. It is very simple and people still like to drink Coke. It is a good business. For example, Gillette razors, as long as we men still need to shave..."
…
"Buy Microsoft and Coca-Cola for me. By the way, buy some of Gillette too. Well, buy some of Berkshire too. Buffy can't tell me so many good stocks, so I'll just buy some of his company."
Ronald came back and quickly made arrangements to buy. He also obtained a lot of money-making information through this meeting. These were the second and third richest people on the Forbes list last year...