Chasing Stars in Hollywood

In the 1992 Forbes North America's 400 Richest People list, after Simon's $65 billion and Gates's $7.5 billion, veteran media tycoon John Kluge ranked third with a personal wealth of $5.5 billion.

Compared to the top two, John Kluge's personal wealth had not changed much in recent years.

Following him, Sam Walton's wife and four children, who inherited his wealth after his death in April, each held $5.1 billion, occupying the fourth to eighth spots. This has been a significant highlight on the Forbes list in recent years.

Next, Warren Buffett ranked ninth with a personal wealth of $4.4 billion.

The Newhouse brothers each held $3.5 billion, tying for the tenth spot.

Even adding the assets of the two tied for tenth, the total wealth of all other billionaires in the top ten besides Simon only reached $49.9 billion, still $15.1 billion less than Simon's $65 billion.

When the list was published, it naturally sparked widespread attention and discussion.

Last year, Simon's personal wealth was $35 billion, which was already astounding. This year's $65 billion surpassed most people's imagination.

Many media outlets began analyzing what $65 billion really meant.

A New York Times article provided a concept easy for the average person to understand: based on the recent average annual income of $25,000 for Americans, a person would need to work for 2.6 million years to earn $65 billion.

Simon Westeros accumulated his wealth in just six years.

There was also debate about whether Simon's wealth was truly that high.

However, simply considering publicly listed companies within the Westeros system like Cisco, AOL, Microsoft, and Intel was overwhelming enough.

With Daenerys Entertainment continually setting box office records, completing the merger with MCA, and establishing the DC Movie Universe, it was a behemoth. Unlike Cisco and other listed companies, the vast Daenerys Entertainment was still wholly owned by Simon Westeros.

Moreover, Verizon Communications, Cersei Capital, Melisandre Company, and Ygritte Corporation all exhibited substantial strength.

Such a massive business empire that permeated American life, its founder possessing $65 billion in wealth, while seeming an incredible increase of $30 billion in one year, wasn't entirely unbelievable when carefully analyzed.

With media reports and public discussion, the technology and entertainment sectors of the American Story also surged again following the new annual Rich List.

Hollywood had too much uncertainty and high barriers, so the booming tech industry once again attracted increasing attention.

As September began, the 1992 U.S. presidential election entered its final stretch.

Both parties had selected their candidates. Incumbent President George H.W. Bush easily secured the Republican nomination. Bill Clinton, after defeating a series of competitors, became Bush's challenger.

With the release of this year's Forbes list, both presidential candidates were frequently asked about their views on Simon Westeros's wealth.

This put George H.W. Bush in an awkward position.

Considering recent years of the American economy, journalists often questioned Bush on how he planned to address the growing wealth disparity among America's richest and the record poverty and high unemployment rates.

It was well known that the President's primary focus remained on foreign issues, particularly oil.

The Bush family was deeply tied to the American oil industry, an undisputed fact.

Interest in the American economy wasn't high on the President's agenda.

Although this was true, it couldn't be openly admitted, so he had to dodge the questions.

Bill Clinton, however, handled the topic with ease.

Clinton's campaign slogan centered on the economy. When asked about such issues, he frequently shifted the conversation to the rapidly emerging tech sector. He would then link it to his running mate Al Gore's "Information Superhighway" plan, continually painting a picture of the transformative economic changes his administration would bring, highlighting the opportunities, wealth, and jobs this tech revolution would create.

In fact, much of the data Clinton cited came quietly from the Westeros system.

With stakes in Cisco, AOL, and Ygritte, the three giants of the internet, and Simon's foresight, no one understood the tech industry's potential in the coming years better than the Westeros system.

These insights were not available to George H.W. Bush's team.

Moreover, Hollywood and Silicon Valley largely sided with Clinton, a fact that was becoming increasingly apparent.

For Bush, these two forces—controlling significant wealth and media influence—had to be appeased as much as possible.

For Simon, dealing with the public outcry following the release of the Rich List, the Westeros system wasn't going to remain silent.

The resentment toward wealth was an inevitable social sentiment, so the PR team worked hard to portray Simon as a special case, a miracle, rather than just another super-rich individual.

People were more accepting of miracles.

Simon's unprecedented personal wealth certainly warranted the label of a miracle.

There were discussions, amazement, and envy, as well as criticism and doubt.

Apart from the presidential election, this year also saw elections for the U.S. Congress. While the presidential candidates might avoid targeting Simon too directly, some congressional candidates seeking support wouldn't hesitate.

A Republican Senate candidate from California quickly accused the Westeros system's dominance in the emerging internet sector of stifling competition following the Forbes list's release.

This candidate was cautious, avoiding the word "monopoly."

The internet industry was still in its infancy, and Ygritte was still investing heavily and losing money.

Accusations of monopoly were premature.

Moreover, Ygritte had proactively opened several core patents of the World Wide Web, fostering a positive image of openness and sharing.

AOL's operations were also not monopolistic due to its limited scope.

Cisco, which did have monopoly tendencies, offered unique products in North America. Forcing the company to license its products to others would be unfair.

However, with the internet industry's explosive growth, the dominant positions of these three companies were becoming more apparent.

Certain private strategies, if scrutinized, might indeed violate U.S. antitrust laws.

But it was a matter of whether to pursue it seriously.

No American corporate giant could claim never to have violated antitrust laws.

The timing of the Senate candidate's accusations was poor. Ygritte was about to make a key announcement regarding technology openness.

This time, it was the much-coveted email technology.

As one of Ygritte's most widely used portal applications, nearly every web user registered an email account upon logging into the Ygritte portal.

By September 1992, Ygritte's email registrations had reached 37 million, with over 10 million daily active users.

Such a large user base was a goldmine for any tech-savvy company.

Ygritte's email ad revenue was also growing rapidly.

However, for Ygritte's team, running the email service meant significant operational costs.

Though the costs were worth it, the team sought ways to leverage email technology for other ventures.

The suggestion to open email technology initially came from Carol Bartz, head of software services.

The portal team opposed the idea, seeing email as a crucial tool for user acquisition.

The dispute ultimately landed on Simon's desk.

Carol Bartz had taken on the enterprise email service business initially. However, her team realized it would be more efficient to provide a complete email technology solution directly to users rather than managing the service themselves. This approach would relieve Ygritte of server maintenance, email management, and sensitive content issues.

The argument about minimizing legal risks from information leaks persuaded Simon.

Although no internet privacy laws existed yet, the risks were still significant.

Managing a vast email user base, Ygritte frequently faced hacking attempts, necessitating a large security team.

By merely offering technology and services, email management would fall on users, reducing Ygritte's liability in case of data breaches.

There were also long-term considerations, such as inevitable government surveillance of the internet.

While the U.S. often accused other countries of cyber espionage, it was well-known that the U.S. government also engaged in significant online monitoring.

Post-9/11, the Patriot Act, pushed by the Bush administration, was essentially a surveillance law.

The act allowed the government to view citizens' emails under the guise of national security.

Given America's long-standing surveillance habits, Simon was certain that even without 9/11, the government would find other reasons to intervene in the internet space.

If only one provider controlled email services, Ygritte would face immense pressure to comply with government surveillance demands.

By voluntarily relinquishing control over email technology and enabling numerous email service providers and private servers, the burden of government scrutiny wouldn't solely fall on Ygritte.

Opening email technology and rapidly promoting Ygritte's standards would also prevent the development of alternative technologies by competitors.

After resolving this matter, Simon spent several days in San Francisco, working with the Ygritte team to finalize the details of the email technology release.

Coincidentally, as the Senate candidate criticized the Westeros system's control over the internet, Ygritte promptly held a press conference to announce the technology's release.

Of course, after much debate, the technology release remained limited.

Initially, it would be available only to companies and government agencies, with recipients prohibited from offering email services to the public without permission.

This approach would prevent direct competitors to Ygritte Mail.

Moreover, this restriction appeared reasonable to outsiders.

However, Simon didn't intend to maintain total control indefinitely.

Following the plan, Ygritte began secret negotiations with Microsoft and AOL.

Upon successful agreements, both companies would launch their email services.

This technology wouldn't be exclusive to Westeros-affiliated companies. Ygritte was also seeking partners outside the system.

By September 16, when Simon returned to Los Angeles, Daenerys Entertainment was preparing for the fall premiere of its new show "Desperate Housewives" on the USA Network.

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