With elders and children present, the dinner conversation was kept light, covering topics such as the kids' homework, recent interesting events in Greenwich, and even the President blocking others for over an hour by parking Air Force One on the runway for a haircut.
After dinner, around 8 PM, Sophia's parents took the two children away, leaving Simon, Sophia, and Nancy to continue chatting in the living room, shifting the conversation to more formal business matters.
In the week following Forbes' announcement of the new list of America's 400 richest people, Simon, now the world's first centibillionaire, saw little change in his life. However, media discussions about him were lively, particularly as the uproar from Ygritte's launch of the 58list website had not yet subsided. Traditional print media platforms were mostly negative about Simon.
"The Westeros system's layout in the internet industry is a more advanced form of monopoly than any in the past. You've touched on every aspect of this new tech revolution and have strong influence everywhere. Given the deteriorating relationship between the Westeros system and traditional media, I think your biggest worry should be another 'Ida Tarbell' emerging."
In the living room, Nancy, leaning on the sofa next to Sophia, commented on the series of disturbances caused by 58list.
Sophia, being French, was unfamiliar with the history of antitrust in the U.S. oil industry and asked curiously, "Who is Ida Tarbell?"
Nancy explained, "She was the author of 'The History of the Standard Oil Company.' Her series of articles directly led to the breakup of Rockefeller's business empire."
Simon, lounging on a nearby single sofa with a cup of coffee, said, "I remember later analyses suggesting 'The History of the Standard Oil Company' was full of biases and inaccuracies. Moreover, after the breakup of Standard Oil, it didn't benefit the public; oil prices actually rose significantly in the following years."
"Even if that's true, who cares? Most of the public is ignorant and easily manipulated. They only need to see that so-called justice is being served."
Simon nodded. "I agree. That's why I've been trying to show the public what they want to see."
In the 58list incident, Ygritte's media campaign focused on the free convenience the site provided to the public.
Nancy added, "But real power doesn't lie with the public."
"The Westeros system's lobbying expenses in Washington this year are far higher than you might imagine. I even urged Jeff to set up a dedicated lobbying office in D.C. recently."
Nancy eyed Simon. "Are you really only 25 years old?"
Most people have to learn from experience, but Simon seemed capable of foreseeing and arranging many things in advance.
Simon sipped his coffee slowly and said with a touch of melancholy, "Actually, I'm 280 years old."
Nancy playfully tossed a small pillow at Simon and teased Sophia, "I think he might really be a 280-year-old vampire."
Sophia laughed and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Nancy reached out and adjusted the scarf around Sophia's neck. "Obvious evidence."
Sophia's face reddened as she swatted Nancy's hand away.
Nancy didn't press further and turned to Simon. "But the real issue is interests. Interests are the root cause of all conflicts."
"If you look closely, many of my earlier arrangements were aimed at mitigating potential conflicts of interest."
"Unfortunately, it's far from enough."
"I understand. Whether it's the new tech industry or Hollywood, I hope the companies within the Westeros system will eventually become publicly held, but with control firmly in my hands."
Nancy asked, "Then why do you still hold so much now?"
Simon shrugged. "I can't just let it all go at once. People are greedy. If I'm too proactive, they'll think I'm weak and demand more."
Nancy tilted her head, pondered for a moment, and shook her head. "It's a deadlock."
"Exactly," Simon smiled. "So my plan is to make them come and fight for it."
The Westeros system was in a capital jungle of survival of the fittest.
If Simon threw his food to the surrounding predators too readily, it would only attract more. Although he didn't plan to oppose everyone, before sharing the food, breaking some tiger heads and wolf legs might make potential predators reconsider their strength.
Nancy said, "Aren't you worried things might get out of hand?"
Simon glanced at her. "Do you think a billionaire is easy to bully?"
Nancy rolled her eyes. "You're getting arrogant."
"That's confidence," Simon said, checking his watch. "Shouldn't you be heading back? I can have a driver take you."
Nancy blinked and quickly clung to Sophia's arm. "I'm staying here with Sophie tonight."
Simon looked at the petite woman clinging to Sophia and said, "I'm already considering how to make things difficult for you."
"Try it. I've had headhunters contacting me for two years."
"Should we let Sophie decide?"
"Sure," Nancy tightened her grip on Sophia's arm and looked at her friend. "Sophie, choose me, me, or me?"
Simon protested, "That's cheating."
Nancy just huffed and gave Sophia a pleading look.
Sophia, blushing, gave Simon a helpless look.
"Alright."
Knowing there was no hope tonight, Simon set down his coffee cup, got up, and walked over to the two women.
Nancy, startled, watched as Simon's tall frame loomed over them. He tilted Sophia's chin and kissed her boldly. The embarrassing sound made Nancy instinctively shrink back. Just as she was about to flee, Simon finally let go of Sophia and said, "Good night."
Sophia's voice was soft. "Mm, good night."
It wasn't until Simon had been gone for a while that Nancy finally took a deep breath and then scolded Sophia. "You're too indulgent with him."
As a woman, Sophia could see the potential spark between Nancy and Simon. Her strong-willed friend was likely drawn to stronger men, and the one who had just left fit the bill.
The space she could occupy in that man's heart was already limited; Sophia didn't want to share it with anyone else. However, apart from some natural actions, she didn't intend to do much more, knowing it might backfire.
The next day was Saturday, September 11.
Early in the morning, The New York Times reported that the U.S. Senate had officially confirmed a hearing on September 16 regarding Ygritte's 58list website, addressing issues like fraudulent information, public safety hazards, and disguised price dumping to determine if further investigation was warranted.
Ygritte promptly responded on its portal, expressing willingness to cooperate with the hearing.
In the original timeline, Bill Gates' indifferent and arrogant behavior at the congressional hearing on Microsoft's monopoly led to a two-year antitrust investigation that nearly split the company.
Later, during Facebook's privacy scandal, Mark Zuckerberg wisely took notes from Gates' mistake, showing utmost respect and cooperation at the congressional hearing. Many lawmakers were satisfied with his performance, turning what seemed a punitive session into a mere formality.
Although there were many influencing factors, pleasing the lawmakers certainly helped.
After all, everyone values their reputation.
Congressional hearings required the presence of the target company's leader. Although 58list's CEO was Michael Novak, Ygritte's President Jeff Bezos announced on his Facebook page that he would attend the hearing to answer any questions the senators might have, showing the company's commitment.
Besides meticulous preparation for possible questions, Ygritte hired a PR team and government consultants to design every detail of the hearing.
However, when Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole invited Simon to personally attend the hearing, Ygritte declined, citing Simon's need to accompany his pregnant wife.
Congressional hearings were not prestigious events.
Respect had been given; overstepping was inappropriate.
Simon spent the weekend flying to San Francisco to spend time with his assistant, returning to Los Angeles on Monday.
Janet had settled the matter of Veronica staying in North America.
Veronica would be based in New York as the Special Financial Advisor for Westeros, overseeing the finances of AOL, Verizon, and Nokia.
All three companies were in a high-growth phase, with active cash flows due to continuous expansion and significant autonomy given to their executives.
In such conditions, the lack of strict oversight was risky, potentially leading to an Enron-like scandal.
After Veronica's appointment, the heads of the three companies called Simon to express varying degrees of opposition, but Simon didn't relent. As long as the companies stayed on course, he wouldn't interfere much with Steve Case and others' management. However, this didn't mean he would completely trust them.
On September 16, the congressional hearing on 58list took place in Washington as scheduled.
The hearing had three parties: the senators, Ygritte executives, and representatives from several major newspaper groups.
To avoid traditional media twisting the narrative, Ygritte arranged for the hearing to be televised live, with NBC and CNN broadcasting the expected three-hour session.
FOX and ABC, having interests in print media, chose not to participate.
Simon wasn't surprised.
Ygritte Portal also provided comprehensive text and audio live coverage.
After half a year of technical upgrades, AOL had completed its ADSL network transformation, meaning that by September, the basic internet speed for over 26 million AOL users had reached 256Kbps, doubling the speed of old dial-up connections.
Many users even had 512Kbps, enough for real-time audio streaming.
With Simon allowing the Westeros system's wild expansion, AOL would accelerate its reach beyond the East and West coasts.
Simon watched the three-hour hearing from Dume Cape Manor.
There were no major surprises, and Ygritte's advantages were clear.
Most senators, being old-timers, were still unclear about the internet, requiring Michael Novak to explain many basics.
Novak was patient, and these basic questions—such
as what 58list offered and how it made money—inevitably took up much of the hearing.
Though there were sharp questions about how 58list handled fraud and misinformation, Novak had prepared well and addressed each concern.
The hearing's climax was the newspaper groups accusing 58list of price dumping.
They argued that 58list's free model was destroying the multi-billion-dollar classified ad business of traditional newspapers, threatening thousands of jobs, and that once it had a market advantage, 58list could charge higher fees.
Ygritte countered firmly.
They argued that 58list saved the public unnecessary expenses.
Posting a classified ad in a newspaper could cost $30, while the same amount could buy users access to Ygritte's free news, email, social networks, online games, and more—58list being just one service.
Moreover, Ygritte Portal had its commercial model, primarily earning from business ads, which justified 58list's free service.
Additionally, they argued that 58list couldn't charge high fees in the future, as free competitors would emerge, making the newspaper groups' accusations baseless.
In the end, the three-hour hearing saw the senators largely playing a minor role, and the newspaper groups' representatives were thoroughly defeated.
Over 50 million users followed the live broadcast on TV and online, overwhelmingly supporting Ygritte. The newspaper groups, trying to protect their interests, ended up as the hearing's villains.
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