Chapter 17: Famous in England
The reporters were in an uproar at the mention of £200 million. They had originally thought £100 million was a sky-high price, but after hearing William's argument that buying the game could boost a company's stock price by billions, it suddenly seemed possible.
Given the current frenzy in the stock market, William's estimate could very well be realized. The reporters knew they had their headlines for tomorrow.
William watched the reporters fall silent and smiled to himself. Buying the game now might indeed boost a company's stock price as he'd claimed, but things would be very different come March.
"Alright, one final question. Anyone?"
A reporter, prompted by William's reminder, quickly asked, "Mr. Devinshire, do you really have a connection to the Duke of Devonshire? And do you have any rights to a noble inheritance?"
William shot the reporter a look. *This is a trap,* he thought. *None of these London journalists are trustworthy.*
"It's not relevant. If you're asking about a connection, I can only say that we share a common ancestor from over a thousand years ago. I was not born into the nobility. My mother has no inheritance rights to any title. We are ordinary people. Are you satisfied with that answer?"
The reporter who had asked the question pressed on, "But according to our sources, the current Count of Oxford still has no heir, which would make you the sole successor to the title. What are your thoughts on that?"
William didn't know how to answer. Saying yes would seem too calculated, but he didn't want to lie. "I have no opinion on the matter. I have now answered all my questions. Thank you."
With that, William turned to go back inside, ignoring the reporters who began shouting for him to properly answer the last question.
He paid them no mind. He had come out to be interviewed for one reason only: to use the media to put more pressure on the companies looking to buy his game's copyright. Everything else, he ignored.
By February 12th, newspapers all over England were reporting on William Devinshire. The coverage was even more detailed than before. Some reporters had gone to his former primary and middle schools, interviewing his old teachers and classmates to dig up every detail of his past.
The more serious papers, like *The Times* and the *Financial Times*, focused on William's comments about the game copyright's potential impact on a listed company's stock price. They even brought in various economists and fund managers to analyze his claims.
To everyone's surprise, most of the experts supported William's views, believing that in the current investment climate, there was a ninety percent chance his predictions would come true.
Even the morning television news broadcasted clips from William's interview. People across the country watched the handsome, intelligent, and wealthy young man speak confidently and articulately, easily handling the press corps. It instantly made William a national celebrity.
The tabloids, meanwhile, focused on a story about William confessing his feelings to a girl in middle school. They had even found the girl and conducted an exclusive interview. Now a young woman, she expressed her regret for turning William down back then and hoped he would give her another chance.
William was thoroughly exasperated by these tabloid stories; he couldn't even remember the girl in question.
The downside of his newfound fame was that William and Lina were now prisoners in their own home. A large crowd of reporters was camped outside, waiting for him to emerge so they could get another big story.
Even the two office workers who rented a room in his house couldn't leave for work that morning. As soon as the two women stepped outside, they were mobbed by reporters asking a barrage of questions. In the end, they needed a police escort to get free from the crowd.
Even the reclusive Duke of Devonshire was cornered by reporters and asked about his relationship with William's family.
The old Duke was surprisingly approachable. He smiled and said he was very happy to see such an excellent young man among his distant kin. He recalled meeting William's grandfather, Henry, when they were younger, and said they had gotten along well.
He added that although William had never contacted them, as a fellow descendant of the family, he hoped William would find the time to visit. He formally welcomed both William and his mother to his estate.
When the reporters heard the Duke himself admit that William was truly a descendant of the Devinshire family, they went into a frenzy, reporting the news with renewed vigor.
After reading the reports, William sighed to his mother, Lina, "Experience really does come with age." The old Duke had handled the situation with impressive savviness.
William was stuck at home for three days. During that time, many large corporations sent representatives to London to find him. They wanted to negotiate with him directly about licensing for *Plants vs. Zombies* toys and other joint ventures.
William wasn't ready to meet them individually. Instead, he had his company issue a public response, announcing a unified negotiation session to be held on February 15th at the Hilton Hotel for all interested parties.
Honestly, William had considered keeping the copyright for *Plants vs. Zombies*, but after two days of careful deliberation, he decided to sell it.
First, keeping the copyright in his own hands was not the same as it was for a major corporation. He lacked the sales and distribution channels and would ultimately have to license the game to other companies anyway. He was better off taking the money and moving on to new projects.
Second, he knew the Nasdaq was about to collapse. In the coming two years, IT-related companies would face extremely difficult times, and their stock prices would plummet. It was better to take advantage of the peak of the IT bubble to sell the game for the best possible price.
When the stock market finally bottomed out, he could buy up stocks in companies with bright futures. The share prices of many of those companies would rise dozens or even hundreds of times over the next decade.
Third, he was genuinely afraid he wouldn't be able to hold onto the game if he kept it. Capital plays by no rules of benevolence or reason. If he held onto the copyright, powerful interests would do everything they could to snatch it from him. The game was too famous now, and everyone agreed on its potential to skyrocket a company's stock price.
Fourth, he planned to invest the money from the sale into shorting the Nasdaq. Even if he didn't understand the intricacies of finance, he had the capital. He would go to a Swiss bank, find an agent, and contractually require the bank's traders to short the market according to his specific instructions. He only intended to be a short-term seller. In just a few months, he could make at least five times his initial investment.
His plan was to leave forty percent of his funds in England. He would use that money as collateral to secure a loan from a Swiss bank. He would then combine the loan with funds from his offshore company to play the Swiss market. The profits would remain in Switzerland and never enter his English accounts, meaning he wouldn't have to pay a single penny in taxes to the English government.
Even if the English government found out, there would be nothing they could do. He could operate from outside the country.
Any future acquisitions or investments could be handled through his offshore company.
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