America's Road to Wealth

in the afternoon.

Standing on the balcony on the second floor of 9555 Heather Road, Beverly Hills, I watched the convoy leave the villa and drive on the mountain road outside. There was even a police car escorting the convoy ahead.

Eva Green still felt a little unbelievable. She never expected that she would be lucky enough to meet the legendary figures in this world at such a close distance.

Morgan, Rockefeller, DuPont, Mellon... these names, she felt that any one of them who visited Europe would be received with the highest etiquette by the heads of state of the countries they visited!

And now, these people came here with smiles on their faces. Talking and laughing with the young man who was messing around with them endlessly last night!

Even women like Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba, who are of ordinary origin and are still developing in Hollywood, can get their praise and respect, and have lunch with them on a very equal basis...

This simply made Eva Green feel very dreamy, as if there were only plots in novels or movies.

"...It's shocking, isn't it?" Amanda Seyfried's voice suddenly came from beside her, and Eva turned her head to look at the young girl, only to see that the girl's huge and beautiful eyes were full of yearning.

"That's Morgan and Rockefeller, names that only appear in our professional textbooks and news! I didn't expect that I could be so close to them!"

Amanda Seyfried looked proud and excited.

Eva Green kind of sympathizes, but she's not American after all, she's French. So her feelings are actually not as deep as those of Amanda Seyfried.

"Amanda..." Eva hesitated. "Okay, I wanted to say something. But I don't think it's necessary. Ha, I hope we can become good friends in the future."

The literary girl just now actually wanted to say, "Is it worth it?"

But when she thought about it carefully, if it wasn't worth it, then probably nothing in this world was worth it.

As long as she is his woman, even if she is a plaything, she will have the opportunity to have such close contact with these big bosses behind the scenes of the world.

Be his woman, get pregnant for him, and even have lunch with these people.

And those creature comforts that any woman can indulge in and then cannot do without.

Adding these together, it is simply a fool and a fool to say whether it is worth it or not.

Amanda Seyfried, who is beautiful and young, looks like a good girl, didn't think so much, she responded with a smile:

"Of course, of course we will be good friends..."

Amanda was a little shy and didn't say the following words.

Because the scene was too outrageous, she was a little embarrassed.

Eva Green smiled, thinking that this younger sister was cute and innocent.

Perhaps for this reason, she last night, right?

Eva Green feels she has found a "blind spot" and is determined to get on well with Amanda Seyfried.

Not to mention the women's intrigue or other thoughts here at 9555 Heather Road, Beverly Hills.

Abel himself left with Morgan and the others, but he did not follow them to the place where they were staying.

His convoy traveled through downtown Los Angeles to South Pasadena in the late afternoon and early evening.

Pasadena is located 15 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles, where the world's top research university Caltech is located.

However, the reason why Pasadena is famous is because of the annual Rose Bowl—the Super Bowl, which is similar to the American entertainment Spring Festival Gala and the number one program in the United States.

Famous for its annual Rose Parade.

But what is little known is that the wealthy area at the southern end of Pasadena is actually the gathering place for most of the old money and powerful people in California.

In the small area of ​​South Pasadena, there are a large number of independent villas, even townhouses and residential areas.

Pick any one of these villas at random, and it is likely to be the residence of a certain congressman in California, or a high-ranking official in the city of Los Angeles.

Abel has been here twice, and this is the third time.

And he came here, of course, not to visit or visit a high-level official in California.

After all, even the current Governor Davis relied on him to avoid being impeached and to continue to stay on the throne of California Governor.

Even Davis is like this. In California, only his two father-in-laws can let him visit in person.

That's right, when he came to South Pasadena this time, he came to visit one of his father-in-law, the core figure of the California consortium, and the father of Miss Keira Wilson, Mr. Slade Wilson.

Although the headquarters of the Wilson family is actually mainly in San Francisco. But the influence in Los Angeles is also great, after all, this is also the territory of the California consortium.

The old man, who is in poor health, prefers the weather and climate here. Many times, Shrede mainly lives here.

South Pasadena, 823 Madre Street, in a typical California-style elegant villa.

Abel saw Slade Wilson who looked much older than half a year ago.

He was a little surprised, because the health of the father-in-law was one of the secrets of the California consortium.

He really didn't know how old Slade Wilson was, except that Kayla would tell him occasionally.

He remembered that Slade was actually about the same age as his father, Neil and the others.

But now Slade Wilson looked 20 years older than them.

Obviously, the ravages of the disease, as well as the catalysis brought by the medical treatment, have caused the health of the core figures of the California consortium to deteriorate rapidly.

"You look a bit surprised...but kid, you have to know that it's because I'm in poor health. I'll tolerate your messing with my dearest daughter!"

The old man's temper was a little lacking, but his words were continuous, and his mental state seemed to be good. At least he could stare at Abel with a dignified look.

Abel smiled slightly, and Slade Wilson was stunned with a single sentence.

"The child is very healthy, and the due date is about early August. How about calling him Slade II?"

Slade Wilson was silent for several seconds before heaving a long sigh.

"call--"

"You can't be called the second generation. My grandfather is the first generation, and I am the second generation. If you want to be called, it should be called the third generation Slade." The old man said softly.

Abel smiled and nodded.

In fact, in the United States or the United Kingdom, the so-called generations are not particularly reflected in the names.

The so-called Slade I and II often have exactly the same name, at most they have different middle names.

The titles I and II are only used in private, or when distinguishing two people on paper.

After such an episode, Slade Wilson's emotion of giving Abel a bad blow has been completely diluted.

The core figures of the California consortium and the leader of the Texas United consortium began to talk about business.

"The theme of this meeting is mainly the discussion of the 7th or even the 8th interest rate cut." Slade Wilson said softly: "I don't think there is any need to discuss this kind of thing, because reality really needs it, then It can be done directly.”

Long, long ago, there was an institution called the Federal Reserve whose ostensible mission was to keep the U.S. economy stable and healthy. However, this institution faces many challenges, one of which is the issue of interest rates.

One day, the Federal Reserve suddenly discovered that the U.S. economy began to show signs of being unhealthy, the economic growth rate began to decline, and the unemployment rate began to rise.

In order to prevent the economy from falling into recession, the Federal Reserve decided to take some measures to stabilize the economy.

So the Fed started cutting rates.

The first rate cut in the post-21st century was in 2001, when the U.S. economy was facing the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the fallout from 9/11.

Since then, the Fed has cut interest rates six times, bringing the federal base rate down from 6.5% to 3.75%.

However, at present, the economic development of the United States is still a big problem, and the data in various aspects are far from ideal, especially the unemployment rate that has remained persistent for a long time.

At this time, whether to cut interest rates again has become a new problem and challenge for the Fed.

Shareholders hold regular meetings four times a year to decide whether the Federal Reserve can lower or raise interest rates, not the decision of the White House.

You must know that the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States is a private bank, and shareholders have a profit demand for it.

Like last year, the Federal Reserve earned a total of 58.4 billion US dollars, which is more than most American banks. It is the real most profitable bank in the world...

Of course, in order to block the hearts and minds of all Americans, most of its profits will be handed over to the White House as national fiscal expenditures.

How do shareholders make money? It's very simple...they are the first to know when the Fed will raise and lower interest rates.

Knowing this, the next thing is easy to operate.

They can prepare for the Fed’s rate hike and rate cut more than ten days earlier, or even one or two months earlier than most people, and earn the profits that a behind-the-scenes player should earn...

In addition, shareholders can also ask the Federal Reserve Bank to give priority to buying the US bonds in their hands, or to sell corresponding US bonds to them...

Before the super black swan of 2020, U.S. debt has always been one of the most stable assets in the world, comparable to gold.

In addition to not being able to get the profits of the Federal Reserve, as a shareholder of the Federal Reserve, there are too many other benefits.

For example, as shareholders of the Federal Reserve, to a certain extent, they will be regarded as the real masters of the United States and so on.

"You don't want to go, right? Slade?" Abel saw what the old man meant.

The latter nodded: "If it's just this kind of issue, just ask John to represent me."

Abel was silent for a while, knowing that this was the old man expressing his opinion to himself—even if Keira gave birth to Slade II, John Wilson would still be an important part of the California consortium, and he would not be completely lost because of his infertility. right.

That was Slade Wilson's only son after all.

"Okay. But in fact, apart from raising and lowering interest rates this time, I have another proposal at the meeting, and I hope to get your support by then."

As soon as Abel finished speaking, Slade Wilson sat up straight when he heard what he said, and swept away his lazy look just now.

The California sick tiger has always known that when it comes to doing things in the Federal Reserve, the young man in front of him is better at and bolder than his young self!

"What kind of proposal?" he asked curiously.

"About some shareholders of the Federal Reserve Bank, can they continue to shoulder their responsibilities. Or should I say, can they still have the ability to continue to stay with us?"

Upon hearing this kind of content, California Sick Tiger's eyes widened suddenly, and his breathing became a little short.

"Hiss... You bastard. How dare you mention it, you are too aggressive."

After hesitating for a moment, Slade Wilson pondered for a while, "This kind of proposal cannot be passed, and it will also make you hostile to many people."

But Abel shrugged, "If I say that we will stand together at that time, there are also Morgan, Rockefeller, DuPont and Mellon. Plus Texas and California, I think this issue, it has Definitely likely to pass the vote."

"call……"

Slade Wilson exhaled lightly, and looked at Abel with a complicated expression.

"Have you had contact with them?"

"Yes, just now. When we had lunch, I talked about this direction. These guys were very moved, and some even suggested that I would give me an answer at night."

"Who is the target?"

"It is very likely that they are from Cleveland, such as Mather, Hannah, Humphrey, and Eaton." Abel responded softly.

Mather, Hanna, Humphrey, and Eaton, the Cleveland Consortium with these four surnames as its core is a large monopoly capital consortium in the Midwest of the United States. Its business is mainly based on basic industries. It was formed in the early 20th century.

Named for its center of activity in Cleveland, Ohio.

This consortium mainly started with iron and steel, and gradually developed into rubber, railway and machine manufacturing departments, and controlled and participated in the control of Republic Steel Company, Lex-Youngston Steel Steel Tube Company, Armco Steel Company and National Steel Company.

The consortium used to occupy a huge position in American industry, but after the First World War, it developed into a large-scale national consortium.

But times have changed, and since the late 1960s, their development has slowed down and their status has declined considerably.

The reason is well known by looking at the current steel production in the United States.

How can the Cleveland Consortium, which is mainly based on steel and related industries, maintain its previous status?

Although they are very old, their influence in this country has been declining. This is even more so since the beginning of the new century, especially after the national policy of de-industrialization has reached a consensus among the upper echelons of the United States.

The decline of this group of people is inevitable.

Slade Wilson is very clear about this, and he also knows that if he really wants to do what Abel did, the best target for surgery must really be this group of people.

It's just that these Cleveland people are absolutely impossible to catch without a fight, and they don't know what means will appear later.

Ohio State, that's an amazing place, not lost to Florida in a way.

"I remember their voting rights, it seems to be 9%?" Slade Wilson said softly.

"Yes." Abel replied, "It's 9.2%. And I don't think they can take that much. Maybe 4.2%, and 3.2%, are a more reasonable figure."

Of course, you can't just take them all away. If you really want to do that, there will definitely be something unbearable.

The Federal Reserve, the reason why it can be the master of the United States is because it is the place where the upper class in the United States divides the cake.

Except for places like Las Vegas and Hawaii, most of the mainland fifty states have more or less voting rights.

Unless Cleveland pulls to the same level as Las Vegas, it will save some face no matter what.

"I have reservations, but I will participate at that time. The premise is that you kid, don't play tricks like last time!" Slade Wilson gave his answer clearly after quick consideration.

In the last meeting in Washington, although the California consortium did get more voting rights.

But the California consortium, which is obviously stronger, did not get as much as the Texas consortium.

Although Slade Wilson knew, at least half of the reason for this was that the control of the local consortium by the California consortium was indeed not as strong as that of the Texas consortium.

Not even as good as the Utah Mormons.

But it's okay not to think about this kind of thing, it's really easy to get angry when you think about it.

Abel shrugged again with a smile. He only needed Slade Wilson to play.

After this most important topic is over, the following content will be much easier.

After all, if it weren't for such an important topic, Abel wouldn't need to visit him in person. He always knew that the old man had a lot of opinions on him.

The daughter of a core figure in a consortium, she should be affectionate to herself. It is indeed easy to have opinions when giving birth to a child.

"This year's Super Bowl, you must be there!"

When talking about the local conditions and customs in South Pasadena, Slade Wilson suddenly said forcefully:

"You are such a showy guy, but you haven't even participated in the most popular show in the United States. How can you say that is unreasonable?!"

"Hahaha——I don't like to show off at all." Abel laughed and said very bluntly: "Besides, you don't want to give me any shares, even a little bit!"

In the United States, even the Federal Reserve is private. The Super Bowl, which is the annual championship finals of the NFL league, and the NFL league itself are of course private.

With so many American football venues in the United States, why is the Super Bowl held at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena?

Obviously Pasadena is a small city no matter how you look at it. It's not good to put it in New York. Houston is no worse than Pasadena, so it's right here.

The reason is naturally because of the California consortium, they are the largest shareholder of the NFL.

And MLB is American Professional Baseball, and its second largest shareholder is a member of the Texas consortium.

So Abel has appeared in the MLB field many times, but he rarely appears in the NFL field, and there is only one time. That's because the New York Giants are his personal team, and New York is one of his territories...

Slade Wilson chuckled and shook his head, "1%, you must participate in the Super Bowl this year."

"Too little, 2%. At that time, I will show up with great fanfare, and I will definitely make you feel that paying this share is a good deal."

Abel bargained.

"I really can't do anything about you." Slade Wilson smiled, because it was a little easier to complete this small task, "Then I promise you."

"I promised so quickly... I feel like I'm going to be short." Abel also said with a smile, the atmosphere between the son-in-law is very harmonious on this kind of matter.

After all, for people like them, let alone just this little share.

Even the entire MLB league or the NFL league, they actually don't pay much attention to it.

Compared with these commercial sports, if you can know the actions of the Fed in advance, even if it is only once, the profits you can earn during this period are almost equivalent to the profits of the NFL or MLB for a year.

Whether it's the NFL or the MLB, just like the NBA, it's just something for people like them to relax and relax once in a while.

Abe didn't leave South Pasadena until nightfall.

Even Slade Wilson wanted to have him for dinner, but he declined.

Then halfway, instead of returning to the villa at 9555 Heather Road in Beverly Hills, he turned into San Gabriel, near Los Angeles.