While the Vivendi team was making a big splash in Los Angeles, Simon was playing golf on the East Coast with General Electric boss Jack Welch, accompanied by executives from Daenerys and Time Warner.

In March, GE passed the merger and acquisition review of major government departments, and GE began to implement the merger and adjustment of Time Warner, and within three months, the two companies were basically integrated. After several games, Terry Semel, the former CEO of Time Warner Group, successfully ascended to the position and became the head of GE's media and entertainment business, taking charge of assets such as Time Warner and NBC television networks, and Bob White, the former head of NBC television networks from Welch's lineage, served as Terry Semel's deputy.

Jack Welch, who was well aware of the internal problems of Time Warner Group, was very resolute in sweeping Gerald Levine, Robert Daley and other executives out of the house this time, to ensure that GE's media and entertainment business would not be affected by infighting to the greatest extent.

If an enterprise wants to grow, it often needs a strong enough leader. In Simon's view, it is mainly Jack Welch who replaces Steve Ross this time, otherwise, it is obviously impossible to be too harmonious between the newly appointed Terry Semel and Bob White.

This time, Welch also took the initiative to propose that the executives of the two sides play together to communicate their feelings.

Unlike the situation in which General Electric has pressed Westinghouse in recent years, Welch obviously knows that in the field of media and entertainment, all the related assets of GE are integrated, and it is impossible to compete with Daenerys Entertainment, and even, let alone just media and entertainment assets, the market value of the entire GE Group is not as high as Daenerys Entertainment.

It just so happened that Simon also showed some kind of intention to play side by side, and it was also clear that this pattern would be beneficial to both parties, and Welch was very active in contributing to this situation, including this time choosing Terry Semele, who is very close to Daenerys Entertainment, to take over GE Media and Entertainment assets.

Inside a golf course near an affluent area in the northern suburbs of Greenwich.

While everyone played, they chatted casually about various current political and economic topics, Jack Welch is a senior golf enthusiast, almost reaching a professional level, everyone on the scene, Simon, who only knows the general rules, is at the bottom of the golf ability, however, whether it is Welch, or accompanied by Terry Semele, Robert Egger and others, none of them have any opinion on Simon's skills, but can accommodate Simon's rookie level.

This is a rarity in professional golf enthusiasts.

In related circles, people with too different golf handicap indices can't play together at all, and if they force them to get together, they will only be ignored or ridiculed, so it also leads to many people wanting to enter some circles, and they don't hesitate to spend a lot of money to invite professional coaches and spend a lot of personal time to practice golf ability.

All in all, the disparity in status is not to a certain extent, and you don't even think that others will accommodate you.

On the course, Jack Welch watched someone swing a shot casually, watched the golf ball deviate diagonally from the hole not far away, smiled and walked over with Simon, and said: "I recently carefully read the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that you asked people to pass on to me, and it was quite inspiring, but if this method is used too much, it will inevitably cause a backlash." ”

Simon held the club in his hand with both hands, and subconsciously wanted to try the feel, but he didn't expect this expensive titanium alloy club to bend down directly in his hand, seeing Welch's eyes slightly surprised, he just smiled, and summoned a beautiful female caddie not far away, changed the club, and said: " Actually, what I want to express is the idea, Jack, not just that bill, the next few decades will be an era of rapid globalization, the global economy is integrated, but each country has different rules, and if we want to be the winner as much as possible, we need to drag our competitors into our own rules as much as possible, and then use the rules to defeat each other. ”

Jack Welch thought for a moment, then smiled self-deprecatingly, and said, "I'm 61 years old and I've already started to plan my retirement schedule, and I may not have the opportunity to participate in these games in the future." ”

Simon shook his head slightly: "I also regret this. ”

Jack Welch felt the strangeness in Simon's tone, his mind moved slightly, and asked, "Simon, what do you think of General Electric after my retirement?"

Simon glanced at Welch, "Jack, do you want to hear the truth?"

"Of course. ”

Simon said: "I'm very, very unfavorable. ”

Seeing Simon use two 'very' in a row, Welch's footsteps subconsciously slowed down a little, and said in a serious tone: "Why?"

"Because what I just said, globalization," Simon slowed down, saying: "Under the trend of globalization, many of GE's businesses at this stage, such as electricity, lighting, transportation, water, etc., will inevitably be replaced by relatively low-cost companies in Asia, Latin America and even Eastern Europe, and in the end, only a few cutting-edge aviation, nuclear power and other businesses can be retained." Oh, and there's media and entertainment, which is one of the more powerful cultural industries in the Federation, and as long as it's run properly, it's never going to go out of style. ”

Jack Welch simply stopped and stood on the spacious lawn, attracting the attention of Robert Iger and others, who were divided into balls not far away, thinking that the two had encountered some problems. However, the two bosses were not summoned, and the others did not come over without interest.

After thinking for a moment, Welch said: "Simon, I think you are a little serious, in fact, the global economy has shown the characteristics of globalization at this stage, and General Electric can still maintain its strength. ”

Simon didn't really have any interest in golf, and when he saw Welch stop, he pointed to the sidelines: "Jack, why don't we go and take a break." ”

Welch, anxious to know the answer, nodded.

The two summoned a battery car and soon came to the hospitality villa outside the stadium, sat in a café, and waited for the waiter to bring coffee and dessert to leave, before Simon continued: "What I just said, globalization is only one of the reasons. Also, there's the question of your successor, Jack, I won't go into too much of it, but without any inquiry, I'm sure that no matter how carefully you choose, your successor won't have the kind of prestige and control you have over GE that you have now. This will inevitably lead to another result: without strong control, GE's operations will inevitably be interfered with by external factors. ”

"External factors?"

Simon pointed to himself, "Like me." ”

Welch couldn't help but be a little wary: "Simon, what do you want to do?"

Simon shook his head with a smile and said, "Jack, as the majority shareholder who currently controls 5% of General Electric's stock, you should believe that I have the same interests as General Electric. ”

The expression on Welch's face still didn't relax.

Simon shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, that's the third and most important reason after the trend of globalization and weak successors, the financial capital of the Federation is becoming stronger and stronger, compared to the industrial capital that has been declining for decades because of the increasing hollowing out of industry in this country. With your control over GE, Jack, nothing will happen as long as you're in office. However, once you retire, financial capital will soon become a dominant force in GE's development. As for what financial capital will do, you can look at what Wall Street has been doing since the eighties, and you should understand. Well, in fact, the changes in AT-T in recent years are the most obvious reference. ”

What are the changes in AT-T?

Since it was split in the 80s, although the federal government has been increasing its efforts to regulate telecommunications over the years, AT-T has been constantly stripped and dismembered over the years, and the fundamental reason is that the financial capital of the United States has controlled AT-T, so through continuous splitting and integration and other financial means, more benefits can be arbitraged in the short term.

This trend for AT-T will continue in the coming years. Even Simon has quietly taken a fancy to some of AT-T's business and is waiting for the right time to make a move.

Who cares if these actions will hurt the foundation of AT-T and whether it will affect the long-term development of the telecom giant?

The same is true of the post-Welch era in memory, the fate of General Electric.

The huge GE empire, in just over a decade after Welch's retirement, has been broken up and sold, and its market value at its lowest point was less than one-tenth of the market value of 600 billion at its peak in 2000.

After listening to Simon's words, Jack Welch's face changed several times, how smart this legendary senior official of General Electric was, he quickly realized that what Simon said was the truth, and even an unstoppable industry trend, he couldn't help but be a little depressed, but still asked: "Simon, why are you telling me this?"

Simon took a sip of coffee, leaned back in his chair, and said: "You can take this as a kind of introspection, Jack, in fact, you don't have to lose, anything, birth, growth, prosperity, decline, death, these are inevitable, and standing in my current position, I always can't help but think about a lot of things in private, and it turns out that we can change very little." ”

Jack Welch looked at the young man who was a little lazy on the other side, and suddenly smiled again: "Simon, I didn't expect your mentality to be older than mine." ”

"If you've lived hundreds of years and lived a lot of lives, that's the case. ”

"Heh, it's a joke, isn't it?" said Jack Welch, smiling a little more, "Actually, everyone has been very curious about you all these years, and so have I, but, Simon, I believe you are a miracle, but definitely not a miracle." ”

Simon just smiled.

Jack Welch paused, picked up the coffee in front of him slightly, put it down again, obviously hesitated for a moment, and said again: "Simon, actually, you want to control GE in the future, right?"

Simon was noncommittal: "Why do you say that?"

"Your intentions are too obvious," Welch simply let go of the coffee cup in his hand and said, "I have followed the three companies you have recently established, FusionTimes, SolarCity and SpaceX, nuclear energy, solar energy and aviation. Although you were very indifferent just now, I can understand that you still want to be able to change some things, and if you want to change, of course, the more resources you can use, the better. Moreover, you decided that my successor could not have the prestige that I have now, and it just so happens that you have that, plus you are a major shareholder in GE, and finally, and most importantly, you are young enough. ”

Feeling Welch's blazing gaze, Simon's smile remained unchanged, and he paused slightly, but nodded slightly.

Seeing that the young man opposite had admitted it, Jack Welch also leaned back in his chair relaxedly, pondered for a moment, looked up at the opposite side again, and said seriously: "Simon, I will seriously consider this matter." ”

"I'm looking forward to your decision. ”

At this point, neither of them continued, but Welch brought up another thing: "Regarding the negotiations between the DC Cinematic Universe team and Batman actor Adam Baldwin, Simon, I think, a base salary of $15 million, plus a 10% share of the gross profit of the global box office, such a request is not too much, do you think?"

The fact that Daenerys and Time Warner are quietly negotiating with Batman star Adam Baldwin to increase the film contract has been circulating in Hollywood for a long time.

In fact, this is also an intention shared by both sides.

Compared with Brad Pitt, who has been set by Simone as the male protagonist of "Changing Face", Adam Baldwin is very constrained by the role of Batman, and his attempts to play Bruce Wayne in other movies over the years have basically ended miserably, and the actor has gradually corrected his mentality and began to seek more benefits from the "Batman" series.

Hollywood's basic cap salary has been successfully locked in at $15 million by Simon over the years.

The focus of the negotiations between the two sides is still divided.

For so long, Adam Baldwin no longer seeks a share of the peripheral channels, but insists on getting a share of the global box office, which is not yet the local box office that the producers prefer.

Simon didn't expect Jack Welch to talk about it personally.

Not surprising.

The head of GE does not lack a macro vision of running a business, and he is often personally involved in various micromanagement.

In the original time and space, as one of the pillars of the NBC television network, "Seinfeld", starring Jerry Seinfeld really didn't want to continue in the end, that is, Jack Welch personally came forward to meet Jerry Seinfeld, and finally renewed the contract for an additional season at a sky-high price of 100 million US dollars, NBC did not suffer, and the last episode of "Seinfeld" created a ratings miracle of 75 million people watching at the same time.

Jack Welch personally spoke, and Simon also confessed: "I also think this price is not outrageous, the current controversy is a matter of several contracts, here I hope Adam will sign three more, and then the DC Cinematic Universe can be laid out to "Justice League 2", and I hope that one will be signed, I don't want to see this uncertainty." ”

According to the global box office volume of 1 billion US dollars, the studio can probably share 400 million box office, and the total production and publicity cost of the DC Cinematic Universe series in the future will be about 200 million US dollars, the gross profit is about 200 million US dollars, and 10% of the global box office gross profit is 20 million.

For a $1 billion movie, the lead actor took a total of $35 million, and Simon didn't think it was too much.

Jack Welch saw that Simon was not entangled in the price code, but hoped to sign three films at one time, and also expressed his approval, not to say more, the DC Cinematic Universe continues to this day, and he also understands that if this series wants to remain strong, the stability of the main creator is crucial.