I’m in Hollywood

In the evening, the black stretched Cadillac car slowly stopped in the 20th Century Fox Studios park. The style of the car looked a bit strange. The streamlined front section of the ordinary car style, with the elongated body in the middle and the square at the rear, gave people a sense of The feeling of a gecko with a broken tail. The driver got out of the car and opened the car door. Elizabeth, who was standing outside the office building and was explaining something to the assistant beside her, realized that this was Eric's car, walked over quickly, and got into the car.

When the driver outside closed the door, Elizabeth said, Why do you suddenly drive such a car that looks so ugly?

Eric put a piece of information in his hand on his knee and said, The girl bought it and said it was a birthday present for me. I have to take a courtesy car to attend the premiere, so I can only drive this one.

The car started slowly, and Elizabeth froze for a while, and said, Is your birthday this month?

Eric shook his head: No.

Elizabeth said: Then what birthday gift did she give?

Eric shrugged: How do I know, according to the frequency of girls giving me birthday gifts, I should be 280 years old now.

Elizabeth burst out laughing and said with contempt, It's all your pet, you're crazy all day, and the aesthetics are so bad, you have to buy such an ugly car.

Eric smiled and said: Don't look ugly, it is very expensive. It is said that it is the next-generation presidential car designed by Cadillac for the White House, and Clinton has not even taken it.

It's so ugly anyway, Elizabeth still had a smile on her face, noticing the information in Eric's hand, looking at it curiously, and said, What is this, um, the Ford Foundation?

Eric handed over the information in his hand and said, I've been looking at some family foundation information recently.

Elizabeth took the information from Eric and turned over a few pages, with a mocking smile on her lips, and said, So, you have to start planning for the future?

Yeah, Eric leaned on the back of the chair, raised his legs, and said, Recently, I suddenly discovered that some things still have to be done. I used to be more resistant to the so-called foundation, but now I feel that this is really a The best way to pass down the family.

After reading a series of materials in recent days, Eric found that these family foundations in the West were contrary to his original imagination in terms of asset size and operation mode.

Just like the Ford Foundation, when it was first established, the registered capital of the Ford Foundation was only 25,000 US dollars. Even if Henry Ford died later, the entire estate was injected into the foundation, and the assets did not exceed 2 billion US dollars, but now, the Ford Foundation's Assets have reached 9 billion US dollars.

Without accounting for inflation, this effectively means that the Ford family's assets are actually rising all the time. Moreover, the family inheritance model of the foundation can also avoid the inheritance tax problem that future generations continue to face to the greatest extent.

What is even more surprising is that even after a hundred years, with the Ford Foundation holding only 2% of the Ford Group, under the rules of the dual share structure, the Ford family still controls Ford Motor, a super company with a market value of hundreds of billions of dollars. Big Mac Auto Industry Group. The control of the Ford Motor Group also allows the Ford family to maintain a strong hidden social influence for a long time.

Outside of the Ford family,

Whether it is the Carnegie Foundation or the Rockefeller Foundation, based on numbers alone, the assets they control now also exceed the legacy left by their ancestors at the beginning. These billions of assets, although they cannot be squeezed into the Forbes Rich List , but enough for them to maintain the glory and social status of their ancestors.

As for the control that Eric was most concerned about at the time, this is even less of a problem.

Almost all of the family foundations Eric has seen are in the hands of the founding family. Although they are ostensibly in the name of non-profit public welfare foundations, they need to donate a certain amount of assets every year. But the way these donations work is full of mystery.

Assuming that a foundation must donate $100 million a year, it may seem that the foundation is bleeding unconditionally, but in fact, the family that controls the foundation has the final say on how the money is spent.

Whether it is the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, or the Rockefeller Foundation, the original so-called purpose of establishment was to promote the development of the entire social education, technology, medical and other industries as the goal. The foundation has a very broad and flexible space

For example, if a family business wants to obtain more favorable policy conditions from the government, it can give a sum of money from the family foundation to sponsor members with voting rights to conduct some inspection projects that are beneficial to the 'tech industry', bringing Family trip to Hawaii or the Bahamas or something. Moreover, even if they see the tricks, no one can accuse the foundation of breaking the rules, because they are not-for-profit, and this practice is completely in line with federal law.

Another example is that the children of the family are not very competitive and cannot be admitted to Harvard and Yale on their own merits, but the significance of these schools to the children of the family is definitely more than simply acquiring knowledge, so it is impossible to do so. Therefore, the family can donate a sum of money from the foundation to these schools to promote the development of the social education industry. By the way, it's time for the kids at home to go to college. Do you want it or not?

Moreover, these are actually only relatively high-sounding operation methods. As for various operations in private, it is even more varied.

In general, donations from these foundations have a strong purpose. In the final analysis, it is for the fundamental interests of the corresponding family. There are very few examples of truly selfless and good deeds.

Just like the Bill Gates Foundation, the most well-known to the public in the original time and space, everyone only saw that the net worth of the gate classmates has been rising and rising, but in addition to spending one million dollars to develop a new type of 'human population suppression plan' 'If you make a contribution, there is no other well-known public welfare program.

Most importantly, adopting the foundation model to inherit family wealth can maintain the cohesion of the entire family to the greatest extent. In order to enjoy the support of the family foundation for a longer time, the descendants of the family who are a little more ambitious will involuntarily contribute to the promotion of the fund. It is also the most fundamental reason why families such as Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford can inherit their heritage for a century.

But if the traditional property inheritance model is adopted, not to mention the high inheritance tax will directly hurt the family's vitality. Even if the second generation of the family can continue to be strong, the third and fourth generations, perhaps with different abilities, or uneven distribution, or other reasons, this family can only go down a path of disintegration and decline sooner or later.

In the car, Elizabeth heard Eric's words, but her face showed a narrow expression and a faint resentment: So, Mr. Williams, have you thought about these things when you think about it, where is your family?

Eric coughed awkwardly and changed the subject: Well, what are your family going to do?

Elizabeth pouted, but still said, My dad plans to use the trust fund.

Eric recalled the materials he had read recently, and said, This, should I still have to pay taxes then?

Elizabeth nodded: Yes, but the tax rate should be controlled at around 15%. When the time comes, News Corp. will get together a little bit, and the family will probably be able to pay the tax without selling stocks. Our family is not as big as yours. Speaking of which, Your personal assets are so huge, the IRS will definitely keep an eye on you, and it will definitely not be easy for you to pass on your assets without paying taxes like other families in the future.”

Eric said easily: The IRS is still controlled by humans. As long as it's not a machine, it's easy to handle.

After chatting like this, the car quickly arrived at Santa Monica Street in Hollywood.

Today is the premiere of Miramax's Horse Whisperer, which opens on November 6, the day after tomorrow.

As Miramax's largest investment film so far, the Weinstein brothers also attach great importance to this project. However, choosing the November 6th schedule, in addition to the Weinstein brothers' usual film distribution operations, another It is also a helpless move.

Starting from next week, there will be an average of two new films per week, with super blockbusters like Mission Impossible 3 and Star Wars Episode 1 in between, Harvey can only choose this schedule, although there are risks, but This is also the safest distribution model. Elizabeth explained: Speaking of this, it is the two films from Colombia, and the selection of the schedule is really interesting. Dead High School is on November 13, and Thailand Di Xiong and Star Trek: Uprising are crowded together, and Julia's Kissing Mom ​​is behind Star Wars Episode 1, everyone can see that Star Wars Episode 1 The two-week box office is destined to be very amazing. Even Fast and the Furious has retreated to the next month and day, but Kissing Mom ​​insists on Christmas. I can imagine the scene of a tank running over a bicycle. .

Eric reluctantly said: This is also no way, when I got Columbia here, the schedule has been set. Moreover, the cost of these two films is even more annoying. Deadly High School cost 30 million, Kissing Little Mom ​​cost 50 million. In my opinion, the cost of these two films can be halved. Now I want to get Julia over and ask her to refund half of the salary to me. The family comedy of the two heroines actually asked for $20 million, robbing money.

She can come back from Paris the day after tomorrow. When she comes back, you can just hold down and beat her,

That would be too cheap for her, Eric squeezed the knuckles of his knuckles and said hardly: At least two times.

Hehe, Elizabeth laughed, remembering something else, and asked, When are you going to London?

The fifth Victoria's Secret show is about to be held. In order to promote the Victoria's Secret brand in Europe, this show chose to be held in London. Because it is a relatively important session, Eric has also confirmed his attendance.

On the 10th, Eric said: The big show will be held on the 12th. I will rush there two days in advance, and I will come back sooner. After all, there are so many things here.

Hum, Elizabeth snorted suddenly and said, It's no wonder you want to come back soon, Jealous-Daddy, so many beautiful daughters.

Eric smiled and stretched out his hand to hold Elizabeth's chin and kissed it, If you go with me, I'll let them call you Jealous-Mommy.

Elizabeth opened Eric's strange hand and blushed: Ah!

The car came to a theater on Santa Monica Avenue, and the premiere of Horse Whisperer was selected at a flagship theater under the Royal Entertainment Group, the largest theater chain in North America.

At this time, reporters and fans were already crowded on both sides of the red carpet in front of the theater. It might be that some heavyweight guests were walking on the red carpet. Before they got out of the car, they could hear cheers.

Under the guidance of the staff, the Cadillac car paused for a while before driving towards the red carpet entrance. Eric got out of the car first, turned to the other side to hold Elizabeth, and the two walked to the red carpet together.

Compared with those celebrities with gorgeous clothes and beautiful accessories, the two of them are dressed very casually. Eric has a daily black suit, and Elizabeth is only a water blue corset dress. However, the two set foot on the red dress. The blanket caused a sensation more than any other guest present.

Because the topic of Eric kept coming up during this time, not only the fans who cheered constantly, but also the reporters on both sides of the red carpet looked extremely excited. The security on both sides of the blanket was maintained as much as possible, and the reporters even had to break through the protective fence and rushed to the two of them.

Eric and Elizabeth walked along the red carpet completely undisturbed and entered the theater.

In recent years, Eric has been consciously bringing his different women to the public. This has continued. Although he has never explained anything to the outside world, many people have gradually accepted the fact that he has several girlfriends. This is actually what Eric wants to achieve.

The Weinstein Brothers' network accumulated over the years is still very strong. When they came to the theater hall, they were already crowded with guests from all over the world. Everyone was chatting in groups of three or five, and they saw Eric and Elizabeth appear. , have gathered around.

Everyone chatted for a while, Elizabeth was pulled aside by Harvey Weinstein to discuss things, Eric chatted with Robert Redford, director of Horse Whisperer for a while, and was about to go to Elizabeth's side, a man wearing a white dress The blonde girl came over: Mr. Williams, it's nice to see you again, do you remember me?

Of course, Eric nodded with a smile, you are Kerr's friend, Scarlett Johansson, right? You are so pretty today.

Thank you, Scarlett said shyly, Mr. Williams, I would also like to thank you for helping me get this role.

Eric shook his head: It's not necessary. In fact, I didn't help much, or your own performance was good enough.

Scarlet finally found the opportunity to come up and have a few words with Eric. She didn't want to be so unsophisticated. However, just as she was about to say something, Elizabeth and Harvey turned to Eric. Walking over, Scarlet had to give up the topic she just thought of, greeted Harvey politely, and walked away a little disappointed.

Little guy with great potential. Seeing Scarlett walking away, Harvey praised and said, Eric, let's go in, the premiere is about to start.

Eric nodded, feeling that Elizabeth took his arm naturally, but a burst of pain came from his arm, and said helplessly: I didn't do anything, just give it to the little girl.

Elizabeth gave him a disdainful look: You obviously like little girls.

You are defamation.

What did Drew say?

Okay, I surrender, let's talk about something else.