America’s Road To Wealth

  Chapter 465 A fly in the ointment and the F1 desert

  “…What a beautiful house.”

   Looking at the beautiful Gothic castle standing on the green grass in front of you.

  Monica Cruz couldn't help but said with emotion.

  Beside the Spanish model, standing is her older sister Penelope Cruz.

   There is also Sophie Marceau from France.

  It was already noon on the second day after they arrived from France.

  They followed Abel and left No. 1 Garden Street, Kensington Palace, to Twickenham in the Richmond upon Thames district of London.

   The exact address is 268 Waldgrave Road, Fourth Street, Twickenham, London.

  This is the site of Strawberry Hill, the son of the first prime minister in British history and the British writer Horace Walpole more than 200 years ago.

  Looking at the beautiful castle that has been almost repaired, full of medieval classical temperament.

   Forget about Monica Cruz.

   Even Sophie Marceau's beautiful eyes were full of splendor.

  At this time, the black female assistant who was not liked by Sophie suddenly whispered to the three of them:

   "Ladies, the boss has already said. If you come to London in the future, you can live here."

   "Is this true?" Penelope said with some surprise.

  Such a big and beautiful house with such an important location.

   Being able to live here, even a successful female star would feel excited about it.

   If it were replaced by Huaxia, she would be a second-tier actress who suddenly heard from her lover that she could live in a courtyard at the level of a well-known prince's mansion in the imperial capital.

   Living in this kind of place is no longer a matter of comfort.

   It's a kind of psychological jump for ordinary people to live in this kind of place.

   What's more, as long as you are willing to spend money, no matter where you live, there are people who can take care of you comfortably.

   "Yes." The black female assistant said.

   Seeing her confirmation, Penelope's happy eyes turned to Abel who was not far away.

  The Spanish national treasure goddess thought in her heart:

  【It's not in vain that I persuaded my sister to accompany you...Hey, Monica, I'm here to help you! 】

  What did Penelope bring her younger sister Monica from France to England yesterday?

  Of course I didn’t bring my sister to travel.

  In the eyes of Sophie Marceau, the Spanish actress who is very "American", very commercial, and very Hollywood is very clear.

  She knew what she was worth to Abel.

   Israel serves people.

  Since serving people with Israel, it is valuable at this stage.

   Improve your "color" as much as possible to win Abel's heart. Penelope feels that this is what he should do most.

  So she tried hard to convince her younger sister who was also beautiful.

  The two sisters go up together, and the value increases each other.

  Thinking of last night, my sister tactfully tactfully Cheng Abohuan in front of me, and the happy look now.

   Penelope felt that she had done nothing wrong.

  What happened to the two sisters with the same man?

  As long as the man can support them, Penelope feels that it doesn't matter at all.

  The lions on the African grasslands, the strongest male lion can occupy more than a dozen strong female lions and breed a large number of cubs.

  Natural law is like this, and Penelope takes it for granted.

   Didn't you see that even the proud French Kiss next to him looks like he can't wait to move in right away?

  Human women have the same strong desire to pursue houses that can provide a sense of security and belonging, no matter which ethnic group they are in.

   Just like birds, many birds, the more beautiful the male bird can build a nest, the easier it is to get the favor of the female bird.

   Even Sophie Marceau is no exception.

   It's just that her vision and requirements are relatively high, and modern mansions are unlikely to attract her.

  Strawberry Villa is a castle estate with cultural characteristics and a long history. It was once a celebrity residence.

   can directly hit her atrium.

  The more she thought about it, the more obsessed Penelope looked at Abel.

   And at this time, Abel was looking at Penelope with watery eyes.

  He is talking to Lawrence Eagleberg, director of New Start Properties (UK).

  British New Start Real Estate Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American New Start Real Estate Company.

  Like the head office in the United States, Xinqidian Real Estate in the UK also takes the acquisition and purchase of high-end real estate as its main business.

  In fact, it is not only the British new start real estate.

   In France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Asia, there are already subsidiaries of New Start Real Estate.

  Even Huaxia, under the action of Smith Capital (Huaxia) last year, established a company dedicated to the acquisition of Imperial Courtyards...

  It is Huaxia, which is more strict about foreigners buying real estate, and there is no way to be too blatant.

  Americans are right when they say that Abe Smith is the craziest luxury home buyer in the world.

  Because the location where he bought the luxury house is not only in one place in the United States.

  In major well-known cities around the world, or those emerging areas.

  You can see New Start Real Estate, waving checks and contracts to buy houses everywhere.

  The Strawberry Hill in front of us is itself a Grade I historical building in the UK. It covers an area of ​​35.7 hectares in a typical rich area like Richmond, London.

  Even in the UK, it is a very good mansion.

  Strawberry Villa has 12 bedrooms, a lake, an orangery, a ballroom, a cellar and a cricket field.

  The history can be traced back to 1765. Except for the different styles, it is no worse than the castle mansion in the "Downton Abbey" film and television drama.

  The key location is also the residence of historical celebrities.

   It should have been very expensive.

  But Abel did not spend too much money to win Strawberry Hill.

  Actually, the price of buying a castle estate in the UK is not expensive.

  The key is that after buying them, not everyone can afford them.

  The British Historical and Cultural Heritage Association, which is responsible for, manages, and monitors these castle estates, has strict restrictions on the renovation and addition of these castle estates.

  After the purchase, according to the requirements, the owner of the castle needs to conduct a comprehensive structural and maintenance inspection of the house every year.

  If you fail to do so, you will be warned by British Historical and Cultural Studies.

  The number of warnings is too many, if the owner has not responded yet.

  It can be mentioned above the British government, and then taken back by the country.

  As for the maintenance of these castle estates, some of them are in disrepair. Even if all the rooms are painted again, it may cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

   Those manor castles in remote locations cover an area of ​​tens of hectares, and the asking price is only one or two million pounds.

   Converted into RMB, they are not even as expensive as 3 bedrooms and 1 living room in the center of any first-tier city in China ten years later.

  But such castle estates are almost hard to sell, and there are many listings on the market.

  Even foreigners can easily buy it as long as they are willing to spend money on it.

  The reason for this is that even though these castle manors have changed several owners, almost none of them have been completely repaired.

   It is very likely that a castle estate priced at 2 million pounds will be simply repaired once it is bought.

  This expenditure requires millions of pounds, or even millions of pounds.

   That's all, not counting the cost of maintaining the castle estate in the future.

   Like Abel’s Strawberry Villa, it is full of various attributes.

   It is considered to be the top-grade batch of such castle estates in the UK.

   But to get it, Abel actually only spent 15 million pounds.

  And from last year to the present, the money spent on maintaining and repairing it has almost exceeded 15 million pounds.

  In addition to these, even if Abel does not live in it.

  The weekly consumption of this mansion will still be as high as about 5,000 pounds, which does not include labor costs.

  If Abel wants to move in, including labor costs, the minimum price is 50,000 pounds per week.

  In the UK, there are very few nobles who can afford a manor without working.

  Many British aristocrats whose ancestors were once brilliant, but now have nowhere to go, were forced to hand over their ancestral homes and lands to the National Trust.

   It is because of the sky-high consumption of these castle manors, it is really beyond the reach of ordinary people.

  If you want to use the castle to generate income, such as collecting tickets or something.

  The procedures will be very busy, and you need to report to the British government for approval, and then you have to pay taxes on the ticket revenue.

   It may be exhausting and not earning much money, and more maintenance costs and labor costs have to be subsidized.

   Not to mention that there are too many castles in Britain. So if the castle has no story, doing this kind of fancy work is basically a money-losing business.

  The inheritance tax in the UK is still very terrible, and nobles with better economic conditions have to sell their family collections to raise taxes when they inherit property.

  And those declining aristocratic families would rather hand over these castle estates to the National Trust than choose to inherit them.

  Because for them, these castle estates that can only spend money but not make money are simply negative assets, which will definitely drag them down.

   Over time, this kind of castle estate, which used to symbolize wealth and status, naturally became less and less valuable.

  Even the British National Trust, and the Society for Historical and Cultural Studies, are more than happy to dump them.

  Because even keeping repairs and maintenance to a minimum is very expensive.

  Last year, I first saw how beautiful Strawberry Villa was after being renovated, and how cheap this old castle manor was.

  At the beginning, Abel had the mentality of farming.

  Later, he discovered that these things were useless, and they had no possibility of appreciation.

   Finally gave up, and only bought a strawberry villa, planning to live in it occasionally after renovation.

   "...Continue with the acquisition, I will ask David to re-transfer a sum of funds into the account of New Start Real Estate later."

   After listening to Lawrence Eagleberg's "complaint", Abel smiled and said softly.

   Yes, Lawrence Eagleberger is here to complain.

   To be precise, I came to ask for money.

  Because of the British new starting point real estate company, it has been established for almost a year.

   So far, it has successively acquired a large number of high-end properties and real estate.

  These acquisitions are worth millions or even tens of millions of pounds.

  After more than a year, the cost of the acquisition, as well as property taxes and other expenses, add up to an astronomical sum.

  At the beginning of the company's establishment, the 1 billion pounds allocated by Abel had almost been spent.

  Although some houses and properties have been rented out, a monthly rent can be charged.

   But these rents are only enough to maintain the operation of the company and pay property taxes.

  If you want to continue to acquire properties, you will be powerless.

  Abel's solution is also simple: allocate funds.

   It is still 2002, and the global economy will go up for many years.

  Even the horrible 2008 crisis will be eased and postponed.

  Before 2016, buying a house in the most popular regions around the world, even if inflation and property taxes are added, will still be a stable business with an annualized rate of return of at least 10%.

  Plus Abel likes to be charming in a golden house, and he likes to buy a house wherever he goes...

   It can be lived and has investment value, and it can also be used to attract girls. Of course, it is to continue to invest money in.

   What's more, the neon people and the international bulls gave him so much money this time.

   It is really appropriate to spend billions of pounds or dollars to buy some houses.

   Finish with Lawrence Eagleberg.

   Not long after, a new subordinate came to Strawberry Villa to report to Abel.

  Different from Lawrence Eagleberg.

  The latter subordinate is one of the famous big men in Britain and Europe.

   "Wow, that's Bernie Eccles, right?"

   Not far away, under the leadership of the housekeeper.

   is studying, watching Monica Cruz of Strawberry Hill, couldn't help whispering.

  She saw the president of F1, Bernie Ecclestone, who is very famous in the UK and Europe, standing beside Abel with a submissive look.

   Don't look at Bernie Ecclestone, Abel has taken control and ownership of F1.

   But because he is still in the position, plus this incident has not been reported much.

   Especially good at marketing, Bernie Ecclestone who is often on the news and TV stations in Europe.

  At this moment, it seems that he is still the glamorous super rich, the head of F1.

   Seeing her younger sister like this, Penelope, who knew something about F1, started teaching her younger sister again.

   "Monica, let me tell you! F1 traffic jams are actually our men's industry now! Bernie Ecclestone, he's working for our men now!"

   "Wow!" Monica Cruz was surprised.

  Sophie Marceau looked at Penelope who tried her best to bring her sister into the water, somewhat contemptuous.

  But she felt a little envious in her heart.

  Sophie doesn't have a beautiful sister like Monica.

   "I appreciate your ambition, but you know, it's not that easy to make Americans like F1."

  “It takes years of marketing, advertising, and some opportunities to make more Americans pay attention to F1 racing.”

  A corner of the lawn.

  Abel said to Bernie Ecclestone, who was once a savage, but now a man of current affairs.

  Bernie Eccles passed over here.

  I mainly want to discuss with Abel, or hope that Abel can help F1 cars to open up the market in the United States.

  Yes, that’s right, the United States has the most developed car culture and is known as the “country on wheels”.

   is the country on wheels, but it is also the grave of F1.

  In other parts of the world, when F1 racers appear, they are absolutely star-studded. But in the United States, maybe even Schumacher is walking on the street, and no one knows him.

  As the most traditional and prestigious motorsport in the world, F1 has never been able to open the market in the United States.

  A few years ago, F1 racing in the United States even stopped for almost 10 years.

   Since re-hosting in Indianapolis, the impact and income have also been poor.

  The fans who go to the Polis Circuit to watch the F1 race are only half of the Americans...the other half are the real F1 racing fans from all over the world.

   What's even more ridiculous is that American automakers hardly participate in F1, except that Ford once had a little relationship with F1.

  General Motors, Cadillac, Chevrolet, etc., these car brands that are well-known in the United States and once ranked among the best in the world in sales, none of them have taken F1 seriously.

   It's not that Americans don't like racing cars, but that Americans like racing cars, which are different from other countries.

  Brutal, rough, and exciting performances are what Americans like best. Such as NASCAR, such as monster trucks.

   "But I will support you, who told me to be the boss of F1 now."

  Abel smiled and said: "Go to contact Michael Levin of Smith Media. Smith Media will help the F1 field and expand its influence in the United States as much as possible."

   "In addition, you can also try to contact GM and Ford, give them some convenience, and see if you can let them join. I will give you the contact information of the CEOs of these companies."

   "Well... I'm their director."

   Hearing what Abel said, Bernie Ecclestone was overjoyed.

   Huaxia has a "fly in the ointment" stalk.

  It means that the United States and China, two absolute powers, have a mess of football strength and football industry.

  The two largest individual markets in the world, but FIFA cannot benefit from it...

  The United States is okay, and it has developed more or less later. The World Cup has been watched by 20 million people, and it has always been a safe place for international football.

  Because the United States is actually the nursing home with the "oldest history" in international football. Superstars such as Pele and Cruyff have played their residual heat in the United States.

  In the parallel time and space, future superstars Beckham, Henry, and Kaka also went to the United States to retire.

   In contrast, Huaxia's football... Later, it even forced FIFA to find ways to modify the rules, and wanted Huaxia to enter the World Cup.

  FIFA is trying to influence and call on Chinese people through the World Cup, and strengthen Chinese people's love for football, so that FIFA can make money from Chinese people. It can be described as sinister.

   Fortunately, China has the protection of the country (sea) foot (ginseng).

  They have seen the sinister intentions of FIFA. If they are not fooled, they will be bad, they will not score goals, and they will not be able to go to the World Cup...

   In fact, the same is true for F1 racing cars. It now attaches great importance to the United States, just like FIFA will attach importance to China in the future.

   Now there is finally hope that with the help of Abel, they will really try to develop the American market.

  Bernie Ecclestone is very excited.

  The old man is now even a little glad that Abel has become the real boss of the F1 car.

   "Oh ~ BOSS." This proud little old man was convinced for the first time, "I believe that with your support, we will be able to succeed. Let the roar of the F1 racing engine resound over the tracks in North America."

   After Bernie Ecclestone, who was too enthusiastic, was dealt with, Abel had time to pay attention to Sophie Marceau and the others.

   And by this time, it was already afternoon.

  (end of this chapter)