Bishop of the Devil

After parting ways with Stern, Richard immediately returned to the hotel to look for Paul Allen.

Paul Allen was teasing little Mary, "Did Sterling let up?"

Richard nodded.

"Yes, that old boy Stern did a great job this time. I finally counted on him." Paul Allen said with a smile.

…

"Lee, relax. Your current status is no worse than Ballmer's, so there's no need to be nervous." Paul Allen saw that Richard seemed a little nervous and couldn't help but say.

Richard shook his head. He was not nervous, but more excited at the moment.

As long as Ballmer can be persuaded to quit, he will become the owner of the Clippers. As for other competitors, such as Magic or Diddy...

Then Richard didn't take it seriously at all. He was not at the same level as these people.

"I know, Paul, how is your relationship with Ballmer?" Richard asked curiously.

Both of them started their careers with Microsoft, but there are differences in their fortune histories.

Paul Allen is called the man behind Bill Gates, but this is actually wrong. He was the one who first proposed to found Microsoft...

Later, he and Bill Gates competed for equity, which also caused a lot of turmoil. The two sides were extremely unhappy, but later they laughed away their grudges and their relationship became much more harmonious. After all, they were friends since childhood.

Ballmer joined Microsoft later and was the first business manager hired by Bill Gates.

Business manager, as the name suggests, Ballmer is not a technical person, but a business person, which is why he can take over Bill Gates' position now.

Richard really can't see through the relationship between the two people. In his opinion, the relationship between the two people is a bit subtle...

"Don't worry, Li, he and I are very good friends. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come forward to bring you to see him." Paul Allen said with a smile.

Richard nodded, as long as the relationship is good, don't let Paul Allen come by then, which will have the opposite effect.

…

"Man, finally you guys are here. Let's drink a glass of champagne just opened." Ballmer was quite enthusiastic after seeing Paul Allen walk in with Richard.

After all, he is engaged in business, and his ability to liven up the atmosphere is definitely not comparable to that of a nerd like Paul Allen.

At the moment, Ballmer can definitely be said to be very proud of himself. When he was in charge of Microsoft, the WIN7 system that emerged last year was very popular in terms of reputation and sales, and was known as the system second only to XP...

"Steve, I'm afraid you won't be in the mood for champagne after a while," Paul Allen quipped.

Ballmer said nothing and looked at Richard curiously.

He was wondering how the young man in front of him did it from poverty to a current net worth of 4.6 billion US dollars.

According to this year's new Forbes ranking, Richard's net worth has reached US$4.6 billion.

Luck actually accounts for a large part of Ballmer's fortune...

Imagine if he had not applied for a job at Microsoft, how could Ballmer have so much wealth now.

But Richard is not like that. His vision in the investment field is so precise that it makes people frightened. The stocks he bought have definitely skyrocketed by geometric multiples.

This is why Richard's net worth has skyrocketed every year in these years.

Investments in Apple, Facebook, Twitter, etc. have all brought extremely generous returns to Richard, and judging from the current situation, this return is far from reaching the limit.

This terrifying ability makes Ballmer envious. He knows very well that if nothing unexpected happens, it may not take long for Richard to surpass himself in terms of net worth.

"Sit down, Paul. I have to admit that Li may be the most outstanding young man I have ever seen. You are indeed better than me in this regard." Ballmer couldn't help but praise Richard.

Paul Allen laughed heartily at this compliment, "Okay, Steve, let's talk about serious things."

"I really don't understand why you came up with the idea of ​​acquiring the Clippers. Are you crazy?"

"Look at your big belly, look at all the fat on your body, I didn't remember you being a basketball fanatic." Paul Allen asked in confusion.

After Paul Allen asked this question, Richard couldn't help but laugh in his heart.

In fact, under normal circumstances, Ballmer wanted to acquire the Clippers, and it was Paul Allen who instigated him, which led to Ballmer's subsequent acquisition of the Clippers.

Now Paul Allen is definitely not encouraging Ballmer. Knowing that Richard is interested in the Clippers, he still encourages Ballmer to buy the Clippers. Isn’t that because he is full...

Richard was very curious about what Ballmer was thinking and why he had the idea of ​​acquiring the Clippers.

Ballmer laughed and said, "Paul, it seems you told me before that eggs cannot be put in one basket. I have always remembered this sentence. It is quite philosophical."

"So taking this opportunity, I decided to enter the sports industry."

"As for why I chose the Clippers, the reason is very simple. I am optimistic about the Clippers' future prospects. Even a layman like me knows that the Clippers have great potential and will definitely make money in the future."

Richard was startled, good guy, how dare Ballmer want to acquire the Clippers, just because of what Paul Allen said before?

The most painful thing is that Richard remembers that this sentence was said to him and Paul Allen...

After arguing for a long time, it turned out that Ballmer's desire to acquire the Clippers was all caused by himself.

Richard looked hopeless, what's the matter?

Ballmer and Paul Allen have different personalities. Paul Allen is an adventurous person and is also very interested in the sports industry. He owns not only the Trail Blazers, but also the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.

It can be seen that Paul Allen is quite interested in the sports industry.

Ballmer has never been involved in the sports industry before. Perhaps he came up with the idea of ​​acquiring the Clippers because he saw Paul Allen doing well in the sports industry.

Since Ballmer just wants to make money, it's easy to handle, and Richard can relax.

Since entering the room, Richard has not spoken, but quietly listened to the conversation between Paul Allen and Ballmer.

"Ahem." Richard coughed slightly, indicating that he had something to say.

The two old men looked at Richard, wanting to hear what Richard would say.

"Mr. Ballmer, if you just want to invest, acquiring the New Orleans Hornets is actually a better choice right now. The rate of return will be higher. It can reach a rate of return of more than 300% in 8 years!" Richard After sorting out his thoughts, he said with a smile.

Ballmer looked stunned. A rate of return of more than 300%? How can this be?

Even within eight years, the average annual return rate is over 40%, which is quite terrifying.

Ballmer did the math. If Richard hadn't said anything nonsense, based on the current $300 million of the Hornets, it would mean that he would make a net profit of $900 million by selling the Hornets in eight years? !

This rate of return is really amazing. Ballmer looked at Richard curiously, where did he get the confidence to say such a thing.

Judging from the confident expression on Richard's face, it didn't look like he was talking nonsense at all.

Richard really didn't talk nonsense. At this point in time, it is really the best time to buy a team. Even if he does nothing, the market value of the team will soar, and everyone will make a lot of money.

After the Hornets, later the Pelicans, were bought for US$300 million, their market value soared to US$1.22 billion eight years later...

This is despite the fact that the Pelicans have had no outstanding record in the past eight years. If they can achieve an outstanding record, the market value can continue to rise.

So if Ballmer wants to invest, investing in the Pelicans is undoubtedly a very wise choice.

"Lee, your expression tells me that you are definitely not lying, although the news is quite shocking." Ballmer said seriously.

As a top rich man, he naturally has a top financial team behind him.

His financial team helped him analyze that acquiring the Clippers is definitely profitable, but only if their purchase price is no higher than US$1.2 billion, because the limit of the Clippers' future market value growth is US$1.5 billion.

In fact, from the current perspective, there is no problem with such an estimate, because even Stern does not know at the moment that he will sign such a terrifying broadcast contract in a few years, causing the market value of NBA teams to surge.

Invested US$1.2 billion and received US$300 million.

Invested US$300 million and received US$900 million.

I'm afraid this is just a fool, and he should know what choice to make.

Of course, the premise is that Ballmer has to confirm where Richard got the confidence to say this.

If the Hornets really make so much money, then why didn't Richard buy the Hornets and instead focused on the Clippers?