To put it carefully, Simon Westeros wasn't too concerned about external scrutiny.
Even the massive capital accumulations gained through consecutive financial market ventures were all within the rules.
As for Simon's biggest secret, even those closest to him had never been privy to it. To understand this, one would have to be able to dive into his mind.
Clearly, no one was capable of that.
Therefore, the extraordinary capabilities that Simon had demonstrated over the years could only be attributed to innate talent, if one were to seek an explanation.
Simon indeed possessed such innate talent.
However, although there was no handle that others could grasp to threaten him, Simon certainly did not want to be monitored, something no one would wish for.
He quietly made arrangements to identify any surveillance around him as time entered September 1991.
After the meeting with Al Gore, the Westeros System began mobilizing resources to promote the "Information Superhighway Act."
Not just through private political lobbying, but in order to create momentum for Cisco's IPO on September 6, discussions about the internet increased across North American media channels under the push of the Westeros System.
On September 1, The New York Times published a feature article titled "The Coming Age of the Internet" on the front page, authored by Simon himself. Subsequently, mainstream newspapers on the east and west coasts and the Igneel portal all republished this article.
The article was indeed written by Simon himself, but that's not entirely accurate.
Last year, Simon had compiled a memo on the internet industry's various aspects and future outlooks for executives at companies like Igneel, discussing core internet age concepts like portal sites, e-commerce, big data, and cloud computing. This time's article was just an excerpt from that memo's 'future outlook' section.
Given the rarity of interviews with Simon and his even rarer byline articles, the article in The New York Times inevitably sparked intense attention and discussion.
Despite some media criticism of Simon's view in the article that the internet industry's market value could reach trillions of dollars in the next decade as sensationalism, the most direct response to the article was a significant rise in tech stocks related to the internet sector on September 2, the start of the new week.
Cisco's IPO roadshow also saw a direct increase in stock subscriptions due to Simon's byline article.
By the end of the roadshow, Cisco had reached a subscription count of 530 million shares, which was 13 times over the 40 million new shares being issued and even twice the current total shares outstanding.
Unlike traditional magnates like Sam Walton, John Krug, and Warren Buffett, who took decades to amass substantial fortunes, Simon's personal wealth accumulation could only be described as miraculous.
Moreover, Simon's article was far from aimless.
Over the past year, too many signs had indicated that a new industry was rapidly rising.
Due to the economic recession affecting the world's largest personal computer market, industry experts had originally predicted PC shipments in 1991 would stall, remaining at the 20 million units shipped in 1990.
However, by the end of August, global PC shipments had already reached 15 million units, with the full year's projections now expected to hit 23 million units, an increase of 15% from 1990.
According to industry research, a significant portion of this was due to consumers purchasing or upgrading PCs for internet browsing.
Before this, as personal computers were more inclined towards office use and lacked entertainment features, few considered replacing their machines unless they were completely unusable.
Additionally, the increase in North American internet users was evident.
By the end of August, the total number of internet users accessing the World Wide Web platform in North America had surpassed 8 million, with a monthly user increase nearing one million. For the entire year of 1991, this figure was even expected to reach a staggering 13 million, with the largest internet service provider, America Online, revising its annual expected user count to between 6.5 and 7 million.
In terms of World Wide Web platform content, besides the Igneel portal website, by the end of August, the number of internet sites accessing the World Wide Web platform officially surpassed 20,000.
This number was negligible compared to the billions of internet sites many years later, many of which were just simple personal sites. However, the key point was the rapid growth rate of new sites accessing the World Wide Web, which saw a monthly increase of 1,800 sites in August alone, a growth rate of 9% per month.
This expansion speed once again highlighted the high growth potential of the internet industry.
Lastly, Igneel's continuous increase in revenue from advertising, software sales, and space leasing also demonstrated the profitable side of the internet industry.
Therefore, Simon's byline article acted like a catalyst, igniting the explosive trend of the entire industry with all the prerequisites already in place.
After several adjustments, the final IPO price for
Cisco was set at $18 per share, with 40 million new shares being issued, raising a total of $720 million.
Compared to the $17 to $19 range submitted to the SEC, Simon had made some concessions.
However, for a company with an annual revenue of just $1 billion, an almost $5 billion valuation and a one-time financing of $720 million, if successful, was indeed a feat.
In fact, the stock market listing was just the final step in an IPO. By the time of the 13 times oversubscription compared to the 40 million new shares issued, the success of the IPO was already a foregone conclusion.
Many investors were actually gambling.
Gambling that Simon Westeros, like in previous years, would create another miracle.
In just the technology investment sector alone, Simon's series of bets had already made him immensely wealthy.
The most typical was undoubtedly Microsoft.
Due to the continued hot sales of the Windows operating system, the day before Cisco officially listed, Microsoft's market cap had reached $12.6 billion.
The Westeros Company's 20.3% stake in Microsoft thereby increased in value to $2.55 billion.
Intel, whose alliance with Microsoft was becoming more apparent, had also seen rapid stock price growth over the year due to the ongoing growth of the PC industry and the increasing demand for high-performance personal computers. The day before Cisco listed, Intel's stock price had increased by over 35% compared to the same period last year, with a market cap of $10.7 billion, officially becoming a behemoth with a market cap in the tens of billions.
The Westeros Company, holding 15.6% of Intel, saw its investment increase in value to $1.67 billion.
Just the investments in Microsoft and Intel alone far exceeded the returns Simon initially made from the 1987 stock market crash. The Westeros Company's holdings in companies like Oracle, SUN, and Silicon Graphics had also seen significant growth over the year.
With the listings of America Online and Cisco, the Westeros System's stake in the new technology industry had reached a level comparable to that in the media and entertainment industry.
Cisco's market listing was an event Simon could not miss.
Arriving in New York a day ahead, Simon stayed at his apartment on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue the night before, and just after seven o'clock in the morning on September 6, he hurried to the Nasdaq Exchange in Midtown.
The bell-ringing ceremony, given the series of maneuvers surrounding Cisco's IPO, was even more bustling than America Online's in July, with a strong supporting presence from Hollywood and additional invites to a large number of politicians and celebrities.
After a photo session and brief exchanges with guests, Simon was quickly led into the interview hall of the Nasdaq Exchange.
The setup was nearly identical to two months prior.
Although Simon had already answered many questions during America Online's listing, the media's curiosity about him was clearly not satisfied by just ten minutes of interaction last time.
"Simon, Cisco's IPO has essentially succeeded. However, a $5 billion valuation still seems crazy to me. How did you make up your mind?"
"Because I believe Cisco has such market potential, just like when I invested in companies like Microsoft and Intel. It's a very clear industry trend. The market size of the traditional telecommunications equipment is huge, and the emerging internet industry should naturally have a comparable capacity in its infrastructure market. Cisco's development has just begun."
"Traditional telecommunications equipment manufacturers, like Motorola, have market caps around $10 billion. Simon, do you believe Cisco can surpass Motorola?"
"I have already sold my Motorola shares."
"..."
This reply seemed somewhat irrelevant.
Inside the interview hall of the Nasdaq Exchange, reporters were momentarily stunned by Simon's response, then some laughed.
Simon Westeros and Motorola's disputes had been frequently mentioned over recent years.
Robert Galvin, Motorola's former chairman, still often criticized this young magnate's various actions in the media.
Many tech stocks were rising recently.
However, due to Simon's remarks at that moment, Motorola's stocks might experience another drop after the market opened today.
Although Motorola had also developed rapidly in recent years, this was a company even Simon Westeros did not favor.
"So, Simon, what do you think Cisco's market potential should be?"
"It depends on how long you're talking about."
"Five years?"
In this timeline, the internet development level in 1996 should at least be equivalent to the memory of 1998.
Simon thought for a moment and replied, "Let's say $50 billion."
The room burst into a brief uproar upon hearing Simon state this figure.
Many live cameras were present, and Simon Westeros making such bold statements was accountable.
Five years, $50 billion.
With Cisco's current valuation of $5 billion, this represented a 1000% growth.
If it were from $0.5 billion to $5 billion, such potential might exist. However, with the existing scale, jumping from $5 billion
to $50 billion was a transformation from quantitative change to qualitative change.
In all of North America, only a few companies like IBM, General Motors, and AT&T had reached a market cap of $50 billion.
"Simon, are you serious?"
"Simon, is this a guarantee, or just a joke? You know, there might be tens of millions of people watching you on TV right now."
"Simon, what's your basis?"
"Simon..."
The reporters below stirred up a commotion, and even some observers outside the interview area showed surprised expressions.
Simon sat relaxed on the sofa, waiting for the noise around him to subside a bit before he slightly pressed down his hand and said, "What will happen in the future, no one knows. $50 billion is my confidence in Cisco. You can choose to believe it or you can completely ignore it. Since this is about the future, I can't provide any guarantees. However, everyone can refer to what has already happened. For instance, a few years ago, when I first invested in Microsoft, its market cap at the lowest point during the stock market crash was only over a billion dollars. Just yesterday, it reached $12.6 billion."
"Simon, Microsoft is a miracle."
Simon shrugged and smiled, "Who says it isn't? And remember, Microsoft still has many competitors, while Cisco doesn't. Not just in the U.S., but globally, there's no competitor for Cisco yet. The internet industry is bound to be global. So, who can say Cisco won't become the next miracle?"
"Simon, are you suggesting Cisco is a monopolistic enterprise?"
Hearing this question, Simon glanced at the reporter who asked it and quickly shook his head, "Of course not, I hope that companies that can compete with Cisco will appear soon. Lack of competition only leads to stagnation in an industry."
That reporter quickly followed up, "But Cisco, America Online, and Igneel, the three companies monopolize the World Wide Web technology, that's a clear fact."
Simon shook his head again, "I don't agree with your view. It's very irresponsible to hastily describe some enterprises as monopolies. The current situation, more accurately, is that a few companies in the Westeros System are ahead of many others, just like many years ago when Bell first invented the telephone, you can't label someone as a 'monopoly' just because they invented something before others. The Westeros Company has invested billions of dollars in recent years to promote the development of World Wide Web technology. The World Wide Web technology was invented by us, so of course, we have the right to enjoy this leading advantage."
Another reporter asked, "Then, will the Westeros System open its core patents to competitors?"
Simon nodded, "Actually, we're already doing that. Otherwise, you wouldn't see up to 20,000 network sites appearing on the World Wide Web platform."
After finishing, Simon subtly glanced at the host next to him, who was still the Vice President of the Nasdaq Exchange from the last time America Online rang the bell. Understanding the hint, the host selected a media outlet that was closer to the Westeros System and skillfully navigated away from the sensitive topic of 'monopoly.'
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