RBCT Chapter 168 A Blessing in Disguise
Chapter 168 A Blessing in Disguise
Chapter 168 A Blessing in Disguise
After temporarily shelving MGM's financing plans, Ernst flew from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and landed at Houston Airport after nearly five hours.
It was midday, and the Houston sun was noticeably more intense than the New York sun.
As he descended the spiral staircase, he immediately spotted the approaching vehicle. Anran clearly valued Ernst's visit highly; Jeff Skilling even personally came to the airport to pick him up, demonstrating his respect.
"Ernst, my friend, I've been waiting for you." Skilling strode forward, his outstretched hand broad and strong.
"I am flattered by Mr. Skilling's personal welcome." Ernst grasped the other's hand, feeling the warmth from his fingertips.
"It seems Enron has been looking forward to our cooperation for a long time."
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"It's more than just anticipation, it's downright longing!" Skilling laughed heartily, leading Ernst to the car.
"You know, there aren't many guests that Kenneth would personally instruct to be treated with the highest level of hospitality."
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I got into the black Lincoln limousine, and the vehicle smoothly drove away from the airport.
Ernst was filled with helplessness when he was forced to cooperate with Enron.
But now, he felt that this cooperation was like a piece of fat meat delivered to his mouth, so after finalizing his plan, he rushed to Houston.
"You know, there are many things to consider when cooperating with a national giant like Enron," Ernst said seriously, glancing at the scenery outside the window before turning to Skilling.
"The sheer scale of the business alone is enough to give any decision-maker a headache."
Skilling took a bottle of chilled mineral water from the car refrigerator and handed it to him.
Ernst was taking credit for himself, but Jeff Skilling didn't see anything wrong with it.
Enron is a large company with tens of billions of dollars in business every year. Such business is unimaginable to others, but it is not so impressive for Enron.
If it were such a collaboration, he wouldn't have personally gone to Mountain View to lower himself to seek cooperation, saying, "I'm really looking forward to your proposal."
Ernst took the water, the coolness of the bottle seeping through his fingertips, and then the two began to chat about all sorts of unrelated topics.
The Enron headquarters wasn't far from Houston Airport, and during our casual conversation, the iconic Enron Building came into Ernst's view.
Under the sunlight, the glass curtain wall reflects the azure sky, and its 40-story height makes it stand out among the buildings in this complex.
"This headquarters building cost $430 million and took two years to complete," Skilling said, his tone tinged with barely perceptible pride. "The glass on the facade alone uses special insulation materials, so that even in the sweltering heat of Texas, the interior can maintain the most comfortable temperature."
It can only be said that Enron's headquarters truly fit the image of an American super-giant.
As the car pulled up at the main entrance and the doorman respectfully opened the door, Ernst's first impression upon entering the lobby was that it felt more like a financial company than an energy company.
Most businesses adopt a minimalist design style, emphasizing comfort.
But financial institutions are different. The people who come and go every day are mostly people of certain status and position, so luxury can give people the feeling of being rich and powerful.
Behind the reception desk surrounded by giant marble, two receptionists in custom-made suits bowed simultaneously.
A delicate fragrance filled the air, mixed with the scent of fresh lilies, and the vases in the corner were filled with fresh flowers that had been changed that day.
The modern artworks hanging on the walls are estimated to be worth over ten million US dollars. On the bar counter in the lounge area, crystal glasses reflect dazzling light under the lights, while in the place where bar stools should be placed, there are several genuine leather sofas from top Italian brands.
He was able to recognize the sofa brand because it was the same brand as the sofa in his Montecito home—truly luxurious.
He subtly withdrew his gaze and followed Skilling toward the private elevator. As the metal doors slowly closed, he noticed tiny, solid gold Enron logos embedded in the elevator's interior walls.
As Skilling led us to the conference room, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted the moment the door was opened.
The long table was filled with executives in suits, and all eyes were on him.
Ernst's gaze immediately fell on the old man in the main seat. His hair was neatly combed, and his eyes were sharp yet gentle. He was Kenneth Lay, the current chairman of Enron.
The Enron trio's rapid growth and subsequent involvement in one of the world's most infamous fraud scandals were inseparable from the Enron trio's contributions.
And Kenneth Lay, one of them, was the starting point of it all.
Without him, Enron would not have undergone its current business transformation, nor would it have had its current CEO, Jeff Skilling, nor would it have suffered its subsequent collapse.
"Let's give a warm round of applause to America's youngest wealth legend, Mr. Ernst Garfield!" Kenneth was the first to stand up, his booming voice filled with enthusiasm.
His applause was steady and powerful, setting the pace for the entire audience.
Ernst bowed slightly in acknowledgment. "I never expected to receive such a grand reception; it is truly an honor."
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"If you're not worthy, then no one in this house is." Kenneth strode forward and patted him firmly on the shoulder.
"When I was as young as you, I was still writing love poems to woo girls at the University of Oklahoma. I never dared to dream of a business empire."
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This self-deprecating joke instantly bridged the gap between them, and knowing laughter filled the meeting room.
Introduced by Kenneth, Ernst shook hands with each member of Enron's core team, including the last of the "Three Musketeers," the CFO.
Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow.
After everyone was seated, Skilling started the conversation. He leaned forward slightly, his hands clasped on the table.
"When Kenneth handed me the CEO position, he only told me one thing: to drive up Enron's stock price."
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His selfie swept across the room, finally landing on Kenneth. "Now, several years have passed, and I think I haven't let that trust down."
Kenneth smiled and nodded. "You've done more than just live up to expectations; you've created a miracle."
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"But the miracle needs to continue." Skilling then changed the subject, his tone becoming serious. "For a listed company's stock price to continue to grow, two conditions must be met."
"First, we have consistently exceeded expectations in terms of performance, which Enron has achieved, with a compound annual growth rate of over 30% over the past five years. Second, we have found new growth curves and made plans for the future in advance before our existing businesses reach their ceiling."
He gestured to Ernst, "So I went to Mountain View myself and invited this pioneer of the Internet age to give Enron some guidance."
"He's the person I think understands the internet best, and we need him to find a new business growth point for Enron in the internet industry. To be honest, I'm very curious about Ernst's proposal and I'm looking forward to it."
These words, seemingly complimentary, were actually a veiled attack; the other party wanted to put him in a difficult position until they found a result that would satisfy everyone for An Ran.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Ernst picked up his water glass, the cold liquid sliding down his throat, making his thoughts clearer.
He put down his water glass, looked around the room, and finally fixed his gaze on Skillin's face.
"Regarding natural gas futures, I think everyone here is an expert." Ernst cut to the chase without any pleasantries.
A low chuckle rippled through the conference room. Everyone knew that Anran had made its fortune through natural gas futures.
No one in the world understands natural gas futures better than them; it was through this business that Enron created such a vast energy empire.
In 1989, Enron's performance showed no improvement, so its CEO at the time, Kenneth, approached the consulting firm McKinsey, hoping that McKinsey could find a way out for Enron.
The person who received him at the time was Jeff Skilling, who was still working at McKinsey.
He made a bold suggestion to Kenneth: since energy regulations in the United States had been loosened, the price of natural gas would inevitably fluctuate as much as the price of oil in the future.
American commodity exchanges offer crude oil futures and options, but not natural gas futures and options.
Since both the supply and demand sides of natural gas have a need to hedge risks, why didn't Enron leverage its advantages in natural gas storage and transportation to create financial derivatives of natural gas?
At that point, Enron would no longer be an energy transportation company, but would become the Goldman Sachs of the energy sector, a market maker.
Skilling's idea did indeed allow Anran to take off, and even soar into the sky.
By last year, over 90% of Enron's revenue came from market-making financial services.
"Since natural gas can be financialized," Ernst raised his voice a few decibels, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd, "then why not electricity, water, coal, or even timber?"
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"A single natural gas futures contract allowed Enron to build a business empire," Ernst continued, his tone perfectly inflammatory. "What if we built a trading platform covering all energy categories? That would be a true energy financial behemoth."
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This idea made many executives sit up straight instantly, their eyes lighting up. However, some people, such as Skilling and Kenneth, did not show any emotional fluctuation.
They had considered Ernst's idea long ago.
"The idea is tempting," Skilling finally spoke, his fingers lightly tapping the table, "but the implementation is too difficult. We lack a cross-category business foundation, and more importantly, how do we build a platform that can handle such a large scale of transactions?"
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"And how can Google get involved in this collaboration?"
"Google will not participate in this collaboration." As soon as the words were spoken, a murmur of surprise rippled through the conference room.
As an internet giant, Google was the company that Enron sought to partner with, hoping that Google could drive Enron's internet business forward and endorse Enron's position in the internet industry.
Ernst raised his hand to signal for quiet, and after the room calmed down, he continued, "Google's ecosystem is too different from Enron's; forcibly bundling them together will only result in mutual destruction. But I have another company that is Enron's best partner."
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"Which company?" Skilling pressed, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.
PayPal is a company focused on online payments; simply put, it's an online bank.
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He paused, giving everyone time to process his thoughts, before revealing the real core of his argument: "If all of Enron's financial operations were migrated to the PayPa| platform, imagine this: anyone with a computer could directly trade energy futures, without brokers or cumbersome procedures. How difficult is it to find a computer in America?"
The meeting room was completely silent as everyone mentally pictured the scene.
"By then, every computer will become an Enron trading point," Ernst's voice was penetrating. "Investors across the United States, and even the world, will be able to participate in Enron's energy futures trading, which will be an exponentially growing market."
This was Ernst's conclusion after careful consideration: since cooperation was necessary, PayPal was the best choice.
Enron gained access to a trading platform that transcended geographical limitations, while PayPal leveraged Enron's reputation and customer base to expand rapidly.
More importantly, Wall Street will spare no effort in promoting this partnership in order to boost Enron's stock price, which will bring a massive number of mid-to-high-end users to PayPa|.
"As for your concerns that Enron lacks a foundation in other cross-category energy businesses, I think that's not a difficult issue for Enron."
Skilling stopped tapping, and for the first time, obvious excitement appeared in his eyes.
It's not really a difficult problem. If you don't have a product category, it's easy to solve. Just acquire one, right? Enron's biggest deficiency was its trading platform, and PayPal solved that problem perfectly.
Seeing the other person's lips curl into an uncontrollable smile, Ernst knew he was smitten.
"Hahaha!" Kenneth suddenly burst into laughter and was the first to applaud.
He stood up abruptly, his movement so fast that he almost knocked over the chair behind him.
"I knew it! I knew it!" he said excitedly. "Insisting on cooperating with you back then was definitely the right decision An Ran ever made!"
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Then, cheers erupted, and applause surged through the conference room like a tidal wave.
Ernst stood up and accepted the praise with a smile, but his mind remained unusually calm.
This is just the beginning. With Anran's protection, PayPay can immediately set foot on Wall Street's private territory.
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