"Welcome to the Victory Fraternity! Trust me, this place won't disappoint you~"
During the official club recruitment event on Friday, facing Mike's arrival, Robert Musk enthusiastically opened his arms to welcome him.
"No tests required?" Mike didn't expect his process of joining the fraternity to be so smooth; he just filled out a form.
You know, the Sigma Chi Fraternity next door was holding an arm-wrestling event. Only by winning against the gatekeeper were you eligible to join Sigma Chi.
"For someone like you who owns an investment company, it's completely unnecessary. You perfectly meet our requirements." Robert had a friendly smile on his face.
The family Robert Musk belonged to was exactly the one that owned Tesla Industries. For a billionaire of this level, Mike's moves on Wall Street weren't much of a secret.
Moreover, if there was a ranking of billionaires under twenty, Mike would definitely be on the list and ranked quite high.
With such net worth and achievements, he was qualified to enter the upper society of the Big Apple.
"Alright~" Mike accepted his new identity, then asked: "What are the rules in the Victory Fraternity, and how are club activities carried out?"
The rules and activities of some fraternities or sororities could be very outrageous sometimes. So it's better to ask clearly in advance about such things.
"We are the rules~"
Robert's face carried strong confidence. In a capitalist society, rich people are just that domineering: "As for club activities, when a member has a need, they can apply for a gathering themselves..."
"The purpose of the gathering can be to seek help, or to share or exchange certain inside information with other members, etc."
To put it bluntly, the members of the Victory Fraternity were all people with both money and ability. Such people often had strong personalities, so rigid rules didn't apply to them.
The nature of the Victory Fraternity was more like a gathering place for talents.
"Thank you for informing me." A smile appeared on Mike's face; obviously, he was very satisfied with his fraternity.
"By the way, I have a private party invitation here. If you are free on the weekend, you can go check it out; it might be helpful to you." Before Mike left, Robert handed out a gilded invitation card.
Party location: Channing Building, Fifth Avenue, Big Apple.
Inviter: Martin Channing.
Good guy, Mike could be sure that he was indeed targeted by the eldest daughter of the Channing family.
"I'm just passing a message for someone; whether to go or not is up to you." Robert gave Mike a look that all men understand and waved: "Good luck, brother. If you need help, feel free to come to me anytime."
Strictly speaking, the strength of the Musk family was not smaller than that of the Channing family, and it had more heritage.
So Robert didn't need to look at the face of the Channing family's eldest daughter; therefore, he had the confidence to back Mike up.
"Thanks for your concern; I'll come to you if needed." Mike accepted Robert's kindness.
Relationships are built up bit by bit in this kind of back-and-forth.
After two contacts, Mike realized that Robert was a rich second generation with quite a few ideas, and also a contact worth making friends with.
Besides, passing a message for someone couldn't be blamed on him.
Mike, having confirmed he was targeted, could foresee that even if he chose to join the Sigma Chi Fraternity next door, Johnny would probably also take out an invitation card from the Channing family.
...
Time came to Saturday morning. A black extended business car set off from Wall Street and drove along the commercial district towards Fifth Avenue.
"Mike, do you like watches, sports cars, or expensive jewelry?" In the business car, Chris chatted with Mike.
King Investment Company, about to enter the physical industry, needed to pay most attention to the tax reporting issue later.
You know, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is not to be trifled with.
And buying luxury goods for tax deduction is a reasonable tax avoidance method used by various enterprises.
"Is it for tax reporting? Sports cars, yachts, private jets, whatever, can be arranged." Mike said casually. The life of rich people is just so unpretentious.
"Uh~ Conservatively estimated, our current annual reasonable tax avoidance capital quota should only be a few million dollars." Chris looked at Mike speechlessly and continued: "This money is okay for buying sports cars; as for buying yachts and private jets, we can't do it for the time being."
Better yachts and private jets cost tens of millions of dollars easily; even rich people can't necessarily afford to play with them.
"I didn't say buy now; there will always be opportunities in the future." Mike imagined the future.
After all, after funds reach a certain amount, how to spend money for pleasure is also a science. Yachts, beaches, sunshine, bikini beauties, etc., can all be enjoyed when there is a chance.
"You are the boss~" Chris indicated he believed Mike's nonsense. Afterward, he took out a stack of documents and continued: "Also, the company is preparing to look for a lawyer to cooperate with. Do you have any opinions?"
Company tax avoidance issues, commercial dispute issues, property rights trademark maintenance issues, etc., all require lawyers. It can be said that a qualified commercial lawyer is equivalent to the guardian umbrella of an enterprise.
"This one~" Mike pulled out a document marked with the name [Manny] from numerous documents.
This Mr. Manny, although not very eye-catching now, would become a legendary lawyer on Wall Street in the future.
The thing he was best at was dealing with financial dispute issues.
And this person belonged to the type who gets things done for money, has clean hands and feet, and won't provoke unnecessary trouble for clients.
In Mike's impression, Jordan Belfort's future foreign exchange business in The Wolf of Wall Street was facilitated by this great lawyer.
"OK, I'll find someone to contact this Mr. Manny later." Chris had no objection.
Now that King Investment Company had just started and the scale wasn't that big, there was no need for too famous lawyers. Lawyer Manny had a clean resume and reasonable fees, which suited the company's current requirements very well.
As time passed bit by bit, the black business car drove smoothly into the bustling Fifth Avenue.
The location here was no worse than Wall Street where land was worth gold. On both sides of the street stood the most expensive luxury stores in the world.
And here, possessing an independent commercial building, the Channing family showed its powerful strength.
"I think you should wear a tie." In front of the building, Chris took out a spare red tie, looking even more nervous than Mike.
This private party was initiated by Wall Street upstart Martin Channing. One can imagine that those coming to the party would probably be some big shots.
In Chris's view, this was a good opportunity for Mike to make friends with "dignitaries." Even if he couldn't make friends, leaving a good impression on people was good.
"No need for a tie; I'm fine like this." Mike, wearing a casual suit, appeared very relaxed.
He clearly knew that when his own class wasn't up to standard, rushing up wouldn't gain "friendship."
Coming here this time was mainly to broaden his horizons.
As for making friends with "dignitaries," forget it; Mike didn't want to and couldn't do it.
"Alright, you are the boss~" Chris seemed to have gotten used to his young boss's maverick ways.
Then, he said: "I'll wait for you at the parking spot over there later."
For the Channing family party, each invitation card allowed only one person to enter.
At the entrance of the magnificent commercial building, after Mike handed over the invitation card, he was led into the building by the doorman and took the elevator to the reception hall on the top floor.
At this time, many successful people wearing expensive suits and expensive watches had already arrived here. Among them were interspersed a few bejeweled and beautiful ladies.
In addition, the reception hall was decorated luxuriously and grandly, with waiters carrying trays passing through from time to time.
Everything here indicated the identity of the owner here—a super tycoon.
To use an appropriate metaphor: every breath taken here smelled of money.
Mike's arrival didn't attract too much attention. Even if someone was surprised by his looks, they didn't rashly come up to greet him.
Happy to be idle, Mike took a glass of champagne from a waiter's tray and walked towards the corner.
The people chatting in the middle of the hall obviously all knew each other. Without anyone to introduce, it wasn't easy to join such small groups.
"Hi, you look very unfamiliar~" A young man in his twenties with a mature look walked up to Mike and praised: "I guarantee I've never seen you before. Otherwise, with your handsomeness, I would definitely have an impression."
This young man looked very talkative, and his eager expression also indicated that his purpose for coming here should be to make connections.
Unfortunately, those successful people in the center of the hall seemed to look down on this young man. Therefore, he settled for the second best and approached Mike, who was equally young and suspected to be a rich second generation.
"Thanks for the compliment; it's indeed my first time attending such a party." Mike responded with a smile, not disliking this extremely ambitious young man in front of him.
In this era of rapid economic development, having ambition is also a beautiful quality.
"By the way, I'm Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker. May I ask what industry you work in?" Jordan, with keen observation, had already seen that the suit on Mike wasn't a famous brand. Therefore, he was a bit skeptical about the other party's identity as a "rich second generation."
It wasn't that Jordan was snobbish; figuring out the target's accurate situation is a basic quality of a qualified broker.
This belonged to occupational disease.
After all, only by clarifying the client's situation and needs can one better market the product.
This "product" can be a commodity, and of course, it can also be oneself.