[Chapter 51: Encounter at the Car Dealership]
As John Leighton turned his head, he noticed two young men in their twenties, both dressed in suits and ties, also checking out the Hummer.
One appeared to be Caucasian, while the other seemed a bit familiar, but from the Middle East, judging by his look.
Seeing John glance their way, the Caucasian young man nodded at him and extended his hand with a smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kenny."
"I'm John Leighton. Nice to meet you too," John replied with a smile, introducing himself.
"I'm Mansour. Great to meet you," the Middle Eastern guy said. Neither of them acted condescending just because John looked younger; their greetings were casual and friendly.
What John didn't realize was that when he and his group walked in, they had already grabbed the attention of everyone around. It was clear they were centered around John, and they certainly didn't look like small-time players.
To them, a guy that young leading a crew suggested he had some status or clout.
Too bad for everyone else -- they had no idea John was basically a nouveau riche. At least for now, that's the impression he gave.
"You're Mansour? From the Middle East?" John suddenly exclaimed when he heard the name.
"Oh, you know me?" Mansour replied, surprised, while Kenny looked at John curiously.
"Yeah, I think I've seen your name somewhere before. That's why you looked familiar. Can't recall exactly where though. You must be part of the Abu Dhabi royal family, right? I mean, someone like you would definitely attract global attention," John said, laughing it off and shrugging.
After John's explanation, the two relaxed. Of course, as the son of the president of the United Arab Emirates, appearing in newspapers or magazines was normal. They accepted John's casual guess.
...
At that moment, John realized why Mansour seemed familiar. Mansour's identity was out there in online info and encyclopedias. John had once looked up info about the rich elites in Dubai and Abu Dhabi out of curiosity and had picked up some details -- just hadn't connected the dots right away.
Dubai, famously known as the flashy luxury hub, is actually an emirate under the UAE, but most of the country's land and true oil wealth belonged to the Abu Dhabi royal family.
Many people mistakenly thought Dubai's wealth came straight from oil, but actually Abu Dhabi's fortune was the real oil kingpin, comparable to Saudi Arabia in oil trade.
Dubai, later known worldwide for tourism, trade, finance, and real estate, faced a huge financial crisis when its property bubble burst. It was Abu Dhabi's bailouts that kept Dubai afloat.
Even the world's tallest building, originally called the Dubai Tower, was renamed the Burj Khalifa in honor of Khalifa, Abu Dhabi's emir and the UAE president.
...
John's knowledge about Mansour came mainly from the news about the Abu Dhabi consortium's purchase of Manchester City football club. Mansour was its public owner.
Most people first got to know Abu Dhabi's royal family through Mansour and the football club.
Mansour was son of the current emir of Abu Dhabi and the UAE president. Later, his older brother took over as emir and president, while Mansour took on important government roles. He was said to be on the board of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the major sovereign wealth fund controlling close to PS500 billion in assets.
He consistently ranked near the top in global power and wealth lists -- definitely a major figure of his era.
Thanks to Manchester City, Mansour became a popular name worldwide, bringing exposure to Abu Dhabi's massive wealth fund and letting regular people grasp the scale of their influence.
...
"So what are you two doing here?" John asked, puzzled.
From his understanding, Mansour, as the president's son, showing up at a car dealership was a bit odd. John knew these wealthy folks used only the best of everything, their cars always custom-made.
"We're just touring Los Angeles today, thought we'd pick up a car to use for a while. Mansour here is a big shot," Kenny said.
John couldn't help but chuckle silently. Rich people's world -- normal folks would never get it.
"John, don't let this guy fool you. He's a Rockefeller," Mansour joked.
At that name, John was stunned again. Anyone would immediately recognize the weight that name carried.
Now John understood why Kenny hung out with Mansour.
Rockefellers made their name thanks to oil -- and Abu Dhabi is famous for its oil as well. It made perfect sense they knew each other.
"Well, I never thought I'd meet members of the Rockefeller family and the Abu Dhabi royal bloodline all in one day. Should I feel honored?" John joked self-deprecatingly.
"Cut the act, John. Be straight with us. What does your family do? I saw the four of you walk in just now -- two clearly bodyguards, and the black guy probably your close guy. No way you're just an average guy," Kenny pressed.
John realized they probably thought he was from some wealthy family, which explained why they were so friendly.
When John mentioned he'd just left the orphanage earlier that year and turned an investment from $500,000 into millions, even tens of millions in just a few months, the two were visibly shocked.
Actually, John had deliberately shared his story; nothing to hide anyway.
He knew this world cared about strength -- ordinary people wouldn't get two guys like Kenny and Mansour to hang out with them. Only if they showed real power would they be taken seriously.
"Damn, John, you're amazing. No one else makes money as fast as you," Kenny and Mansour marveled after hearing John's story.
Millions or even tens of millions meant little to them, but going from a few hundred thousand to tens of millions in months -- that was impressive.
"Just got lucky," John said with a smile.
"Sure, sure, I'm not buying that luck. If you get another great investment opportunity, hit us up," Kenny joked, pulling out his business card and handing it to John.
Mansour did the same.
Their cards were elegant, embossed in gold with just names and numbers -- clear symbols of wealth and status.
"I don't have one, but I can give you my phone number," John laughed, exchanging numbers with them.
...
"Mr. Leighton, your car paperwork is ready. All you have to do is sign," the dealership staff announced as Zack and company returned. John greeted everyone before heading off to settle payment.
For some reason, Mansour and Kenny followed.
John checked the price -- because they were luxury bulletproof editions, the cars jumped from $50,000 to $120,000 each.
Seeing John's cars, the two decided to buy the same model. John had expected them to choose Hummers but they found them too bulky for casual cruising.
Just as John pulled out his credit card, Mansour beat him to the checkout. John was speechless.
Mansour joked that if he didn't pay, it meant he didn't want to be friends -- showing some classic Arabian hospitality.
John just went along with it, thinking it wasn't worth arguing over a few grand. Zack and the others looked on, amazed.
*****
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