At an Upscale Restaurant...
You had to hand it to Zane. He could be very careful with his money in many things, but when he was trying to be charming, he was very generous.
He had recently met the young and beautiful actress Jessica Chastain, and his restless heart had started to stir. His fun, whirlwind romance with Adriana Lima had been just that—fun. But they had both agreed to cool things off a few weeks ago, and take break from each other. So Zane was, for the moment, single again. Now, he had invited Jessica out to a very fancy dinner.
"Good evening, sir, madam. What may I get for you?" a waiter asked politely.
Zane gave Jessica a warm smile and then ordered a ton of amazing food: "I'll have the Marseille fish soup, foie gras steak, Parisian lobster, pheasant in red wine... oh, and a bottle of your seasonal red wine."
Jessica just smiled and ordered a simple steak and some pancakes.
For the rest of the meal, Zane was in top form. He was witty, funny, and full of great stories. He constantly made Jessica laugh.
"Mr. Blackwood, you're really something," Jessica said, pretending to be mad as she dabbed a tear of laughter from her eye. "You've made me ruin my makeup!"
"Nonsense!" Zane replied right away, his voice warm and sincere. "I think you look absolutely beautiful right now!"
"Really?" she asked, blushing.
Zane leaned in, his eyes full of honesty. "Jessica, I mean every word. Don't be fooled by those actresses you see on screen. Away from the cameras, they're just regular people. They can't compare to you at all. They're not even on the same level."
Jessica's smile got even wider. She was only nineteen, and she was completely swept off her feet by Zane's charm. By the end of the meal, the two of them were much, much closer.
That night was... very pleasant.
In a giant suite at the Hilton Hotel, Zane and Jessica... well, they had a very good time.
The next day, Zane's back felt like it was about to give out.
"It's great to be young," he groaned, "but man, if you don't stay in shape, you really can't keep up!"
...
Even though he was having a "wild" time, he was still a pretty good guy. He didn't do drugs, he didn't gamble, and he didn't drink too much. He was a model young man, really.
He knew this was all part of the fun of Hollywood. He knew these smart, talented actresses were having fun, too. It was a game, and everyone was just enjoying the ride.
...
Zane's fun days were interrupted by a phone call. It was his personal lawyer, David Martin.
"Mr. Blackwood, I've made some progress on that thing you asked me about. I've found two good banks for you. If you have time, I can come see you."
Zane's mind snapped right back to business. "Alright," he said. "I'm on the set of Juno at the Warner Bros. lot. Let's meet at noon and have lunch."
He hung up. He was going to buy a bank.
Why? Because it would make it so much easier to do all his future business deals and investments.
He was also getting ready for next year.
"Next year is 1997!" he thought. "That's when the big Asian financial crisis happens. That's when George Soros and the big Wall Street banks are going to make so much money from Thailand, Malaysia, and all those other countries. How can I miss out on something like that?"
He could wait on other things, but when it came to making money, Zane was always ready to go.
At Noon...
David Martin laid out a stack of papers. "Mr. Blackwood, I've picked two banks for you. California Standard Bank and Los Angeles Credit Bank. They both cost around $20 million. You can definitely afford either one."
Zane looked at the info. He made his choice fast.
"David, I want California Standard Bank. You can start the process."
California Standard Bank was perfect. It was started in 1965, had four branches, and 115 employees. It was a good, solid, small bank.
In America, everything is for sale. If it's not, you just aren't offering enough money.
Sure enough, in less than ten days, Zane bought the whole bank. It cost him $21 million.
This was a lot of money, and it used up almost all of his free cash. He needed to make more money! And he needed to make it fast!
"What can make me rich quickly?" he wondered.
"Stocks? No, that's still a little slow."
"Gold? Too slow."
Finally, Zane's eyes lit up. He turned his attention back to the internet.
"I can start my own internet company!"
This was the perfect time for it. From 1996 to 1999, internet companies were the most profitable things in the world. You could have a silly-sounding idea, get a bunch of investors to give you money, and then sell the company on the stock market for a huge profit.
Was there anything more profitable in the world?
"LinkedIn!" he thought.
It was a brilliant idea. He would start an online job-seeking website.
"Perfect. I'm such a genius!" he thought.
"Once I start LinkedIn, I can use my other company, ICQ, to tell everyone about it! I'll get a massive number of users. I don't even need to make a profit. I can just sell the company later and make a fortune!"
Zane was very clear about who he was. He was an investor, not a hands-on builder.
"Didn't I come to this life to enjoy myself?" he thought with a grin. "Why make myself so tired? Being a rich, idle, 'salted fish' (a person who just enjoys life)... doesn't that sound way more appealing?"
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