Early March.

Lin Zuhui received the visiting Bill Gates at ICQ's US headquarters.

It turns out that after Microsoft acquired hotmail free games last year, it was found that ICQ also added a 'free mailbox' function, and with the addition of free mailboxes by ICQ, the user growth rate has increased exponentially, and now it has become the choice of 10 million users.

With such a fast-growing Internet company, Microsoft plans to acquire it if it is not impressed.

In the conference room, Lin Zuhui looked at Bill Gates, but he had already denied the possibility of acquisition in his heart, not that he and Bill Gates had a grudge, on the contrary, the two were still acquainted; New Era Group holds a 1.5% stake in Microsoft, which is an investment on the surface; Lin Zuhui also personally invested in a 2% stake in Microsoft, which is an investment in the shadows.

However, ICQ is obviously not the time to be acquired, and Lin Zuhui also has some ambitions, wanting to replicate the success of QQ in his previous life and build ICQ into a global social software; When the time is ripe, sell yourself at a high price, probably after the bubble crisis.

"Mr. Lin, when I came to Hong Kong in 1995, you said that you were going to develop a 'Cyberport' in Hong Kong, and to be honest, I was a little skeptical, but now that you have achieved something on the Internet, I think Hong Kong has great potential for development." Bill Gates said with a smile.

In fact, there is another layer of meaning in his words, I stood up for you at the beginning, and now you should return this affection!

Lin Zuhui is so shrewd, there is no movement Bill Gates, what he means is right, Lin Zuhui wanted to engage in high-tech at the beginning, and the direction of public opinion in Xiangjiang is really not good; took advantage of Bill Gates' visit to Xiangjiang, and he took advantage of a wave of popularity.

But, such a small thing, you actually took it out as a favor, I invited you to eat that meal for nothing!

Lin Zuhui said with a smile: "The United States is the paradise and the best soil for the Internet, don't look at ICQ originated in Xiangjiang, but it is a colleague and customer in the United States, and it has carried it forward!" ”

Bill Gates immediately said: "In this case, Mr. Lin is also an Internet investor, why not sell ICQ to Microsoft?" ”

Lin Zuhui said calmly: "How much do you plan to valuate?" ”

Bill Gates was suddenly very happy, and said impatiently: "$600 million in cash, or Microsoft shares of the same value; I believe that Lin Zuhui knows the prospect of our Microsoft, after all, you have an investment! ”

Lin Zuhui said with a smile: "Thank you for letting me know the value of ICQ, but I don't plan to sell it for the time being, because he has just set sail." I don't know how many customers it will have in the future, and I don't know what its prospects are, saying I want to wait a few more years to see! ”

Bill Gates's face darkened, and he thought about it for a long time, but he didn't even mean to sell!

At this time, the overlord and monopolist of the Internet, Bill Gates, showed his 'true face' and said: "Mr. Lin, you must know that it is easy for Microsoft to develop software like ICQ. ”

If you can't buy it, you will copy it, this is the big fish of the Internet eating the small fish, and in the end almost a few oligarchs will be achieved.

Lin Zuhui said calmly: "ICQ is not Netscape, in another five years, you will take dozens of times the price to discuss the acquisition with me!" ”

Bill Gates was embarrassed, because Netscape is also a company invested by Lin Zuhui, so the two sides actually have a 'feud'!

"I hope ICQ will have that day, Mr. Lin, but I still tell you clearly, we will do instant messaging."

"Welcome, there is competition, the product will be better and better!"

The words of the two bigwigs made it obvious to the subordinates on both sides that Lin Zuhui was calm and graceful, while Bill Gates was aggressive, but he relied on Microsoft's monopoly position. It's as if Microsoft has already started to fight a lawsuit at this time.

After Bill Gates left with someone, Lin Zuhui became very interested and decided to let ICQ develop globally and add new features.

Therefore, he first arranged for Jingwei Capital to interview an elite-level CEO for ICQ, after all, he was a technical talent, and he was not very suitable for the new development.

Next, Lin Zuhui developed new features and improvements for ICQ:

For example, in the past, the ICQ information was stored in the client, but then the ICQ information will be stored in the server, so that you can send offline messages, add offline friends, and save some history.

For example, add the functions of chat rooms, group chats, and group messages.

In short, ICQ is upgrading step by step, always ahead of competitors.

Microsoft just relies on having strong talents, but ICQ is also rich and backed by Wanhui Media Group, which is not bad for money and talent. ICQ is independent free software, and Microsoft just wants to learn from IE browser to bind competition, but it is also useless.

Therefore, in the face of Microsoft's threat, Lin Zuhui is not afraid at all.

In the end, he still has a lot of combinations that he hasn't beaten down, such as developing ICQ games and adding entertainment functions; For example, the development of the ICQ space is the first to enter the social field; For example, the ICQ rating system has been increased, and red diamonds, blue diamonds, and pink diamonds have been raised

After playing until 2002, he won't sell it without $10 billion!

If Activision Blizzard is included, $20 billion will always be worth it!

Speaking of which, the company invested by Lin Zuhui is listed once a year, Netscape was listed in 1995, YAHOO was listed in 1996, and Amazon will also be listed this year; For a time, Lin Zuhui also had a great reputation in the American investment community.

Kingston, in which he invested, had a turnover of less than $500 million that year, and rose to $1 billion the following year, which also shocked the investment community. Of course, Kingston is still expanding, so the dividends are almost non-existent, and the return period is probably after the millennium.

The 'somewhat wrong' investment is undoubtedly Apple, which was worth $3 billion last year and $3.5 billion after the new shares.

Unexpectedly, in a year, Apple's market value has fallen into a dog, and now the market value is less than 3 billion.

Sure enough, two days later, Jobs met Lin Zuhui.

As soon as they met, Jobs said: "Mr. Lin, do you think Jill is qualified to be the CEO of Apple?" ”

The reason why he first looked for Lin Zuhui was because he knew that Lin Zuhui was the first to propose to return to Apple and serve as CEO.

Lin Zuhui knew that at this time, he would definitely gain a wave of goodwill by supporting Jobs with a clear banner. The only pity is that Jobs only lived to 2011.

It's not that Lin Zuhui wants to ask Jobs, but Lin Zuhui just wants to increase his influence in the United States to ensure that he can make money steadily.

"Of course not, I've always supported you as CEO! But as you know, Jill is a director of Apple, so my proposal was not accepted. ”

Jobston was pleased, saying, "Apple's stock price continues to fall, and the directors are a little unhappy with Jill. So, I'd like to ask Mr. Lin to convene a board meeting to remove Jill, so that I can lead Apple to turn around the current unfavorable situation. ”

To put it bluntly, maybe Jobs became a consultant and waited for Jill to 'make a mistake' himself. Of course, it's not a mistake, it can only be said that Jill was born at the wrong time, and he also has ability, maybe it's just not as good as Jobs.

"No problem, but Apple's stock price can fall again, and maybe the directors will be more determined to remove Jill. I've also bought some Apple shares before, but still not much! ”

Jobs' eyes lit up and he immediately said, "I can sell 1 million shares!" ”

Stocks, after they are thrown away, they can be slowly absorbed back.

Lin Zuhui said with a smile: "I don't have many stocks in my hand that can be sold, only 500,000 shares. ”

Next, the two agreed on a time to sell a large number of shares in the market together, causing Apple's stock price to plummet again. Then, on the board of directors, Jill was challenged.

Of course, it is up to Steve Jobs to convince a few more shareholders, and at least seven more are needed to make the situation clear. And selling stocks is only a small auxiliary effect.

A few days later, Apple's stock price began to plummet again, and its market value fell to around $2.5 billion at one point. At the same time, the board of directors proposed by Lin Zuhui was also convened subsequently.

In the conference room, Lin Zuhui said directly: "In view of the fact that President Jill has not improved the current situation of Apple in the past year, I suggest that another president be elected to improve the current situation of Apple." ”

For a while, everyone focused on it, Lin Zuhui is the major shareholder of Apple, but he has not interfered in too many things in the company, but in the position of president, he has been lingering, hoping that Jobs can take this position.

Jill, who is also a member of the board of directors, immediately retorted: "Mr. Lin has just joined the board of directors of Apple and does not know the current situation of Apple, in fact, the situation of Apple is not something that can be changed overnight, it takes time to change." I think I've done a lot and Apple will get better slowly! He controlled his emotions and did not attack Lin Zuhui, after all, this Chinese has a very good connection on Apple's board of directors.

Lin Zuhui immediately said: "I also agree with you cutting some redundant business and streamlining some departments of Apple." But you're like a quack doctor who didn't cure Apple for the root of the disease, in short, didn't find the key problem! ”

He is the richest man in the world, and his eyes are vicious, so what comes out of his mouth is very convincing, and the directors nod their heads one after another. For a while, the scene was obviously in favor of Lin Zuhui's views.

In fact, at this time, Jobs also convinced many directors that they were already interested in resolving the matter today. However, it is clear that more directors can be brought in, which is good for Apple's unity.

Jill said unconvinced: "Mr. Lin seems to understand very well, or you approve of Jobs too much, so you have a deep prejudice against me!" ”

Lin Zuhui shook his head and said, "I have no prejudice against you, I'm just thinking about Apple!" In my opinion, Apple needs a 'blockbuster' product, not a large number of products, and an excellent computer product can make Apple recover. And this product, I believe that Jobs can create it, and let's not forget that in the seventies and eighties, it was Jobs who created Apple's great technology. ”

As soon as the words fell, one of the directors said, "Not bad! It's time to reappoint the president, and now how much Apple's stock has fallen, we are running out of patience, or rather, if Apple doesn't change, it will go bankrupt! ”

Another director said, "Yes, I choose to believe Jobs!" ”

Soon, public opinion in the conference room was one-sided, and Jill sat in his place decadently.

Lin Zuhui also said: "President Jill, thank you for everything you have done for Apple, we will take care of you according to the generous dismissal plan!" ”

The cost of firing a president is far greater than the cost of electing a president. For example, Jill's salary is about $2 million, but to fire him, he needs to come up with more than $6 million.

Jill finally took the initiative to say: "Since everyone has decided, then I just need to abide by the decision of the board of directors and now officially vote!" ”

At 13:2, a high vote passed to fire Jill and appoint Jobs as the new CEO.

In fact, Jobs was only half convinced!

Jobs' return to Apple caused a lot of public opinion in the United States.

After all, Apple used to be a great tech company, but now it's just gone.

Today, IBM dominates, and Apple's market share has fallen from 16% to 4%.

Lin Zuhui is very satisfied with the role he played in the CEO change of Apple, which further consolidated his position in Apple - the major shareholder.

Of course, after helping Jobs take office, Lin Zuhui once again kept a low profile at Apple, and in the future, he may choose to let Lu Bingwen, president of Matrix Capital, attend for him.

For Mr. Lin, it makes more sense to maintain a friendly relationship with Mr. Jobs than to be a director at Apple.

(End of chapter)