"M—Fk—"
"..."
"Carl Icahn"
"You fucking animal—"
The moment those leisurely words came out, Steve Case felt his blood pressure spike.
His face flushed red.
Veins bulged out on his neck.
Like a wild boar that hadn't eaten for days, he stared viciously at Carl Icahn.
He roared:
"Carl Icahn! Didn't you previously reach a deal with us?"
"You decided to work with me and Ted Turner to break up Time Warner!"
"And now! Now that Warner is offering a higher price, you want to choose them instead?"
"Oh my God—"
"Do you have even a shred of credibility, you bastard?!"
"You're actually tearing up a deal you proposed yourself?!"
"Aren't you afraid that once this gets out, no one will dare work with you ever again?!"
The furious questioning echoed through Time Warner's conference room.
Steve Case's accusations, or rather his revelations, made several directors on the wall-mounted screens shift in their seats.
On the surface, they seemed shocked by his words.
But in reality—
If you looked closely, you would notice that quite a few of them were wearing amused smiles.
In their eyes, what was playing out felt like a Broadway show.
Steve Case was just a clown having a meltdown on stage.
Ridiculous beyond measure.
Compared to the relaxed attitude of the other Time Warner directors, Carl Icahn, sitting in the conference room, looked cold and grim.
Carl Icahn raised his right hand and made a gesture for pause.
He slowly closed his eyes and said calmly, "Steve Case, you say I broke the rules? Okay. Since you insist on seeking trouble, I'll help you."
"First of all, anyone who knows me knows that when I want to dismantle a company, I do communicate in advance with that company's shareholders. One person alone cannot dismantle a corporation."
"But this time, after setting my sights on Time Warner, I never once took the initiative to contact you or Ted Turner."
"Our first meeting was on December 1, 2004."
"That was when you came to me."
"Creak—"
At this point, Carl Icahn paused.
At the same time, the sound of a cheap swivel chair moving suddenly rang out.
Time Warner's chairman, Richard Parsons, leaned back hard into his cushioned chair.
He pressed his forearms tightly against the armrests and looked down at everyone with a condescending posture.
He didn't say a word, but when he cast his scrutinizing gaze at Steve Case, he had already said everything.
What he hated most were traitors.
People like him, born to be servants, could not afford divided loyalties. Once they had them—
Well, his grandfather used to say that back in the day, the best ending for someone who betrayed John D. Rockefeller was to be fed to the dogs.
That stare made Steve Case's body stiffen instantly. At that moment, the Carl Icahn continued:
"Second, I want to say that although we met several times, we never reached a mutually satisfactory cooperation agreement."
"Because you threatened me. You wanted to take something from me."
"And I—"
"Do not accept threats."
"Pfft—hahahahahaha—"
Laughter erupted in Time Warner's conference room.
Everyone followed the sound and saw that it was one of the directors on the wall, laughing uncontrollably.
Seeing all eyes on him, he immediately pressed his hands downward.
"All right, all right."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh."
"But what Carl said was just too funny."
"Steve, Ted, you wanted to threaten Carl? Take something from him?"
"Oh—so are you planning to change careers now?"
"Going into the same line of work as Carl?"
"My God! The two of you add up to a hundred years old already. Changing careers now? Isn't that a bit late?"
"Hahahahaha—"
The other directors on the wall also started laughing.
Richard Parsons and Jeffrey Bewkes, seated in the conference room, shook their heads.
The mocking banter made Steve Case's face twitch and forced Ted Turner to take a deep breath.
Carl Icahn continued:
"Finally, I want to say that although you threatened me, I didn't immediately embrace Jeffrey Bewkes or the Warner faction inside Time Warner."
"Because their offer was the same as yours."
"The breakup they were willing to accept was only selling off AOL."
"So when no formal deal had been reached, and when I hadn't gotten better terms from them, I merely chose to align myself with someone who wouldn't threaten me. And in your mouth, that becomes me losing my credibility?"
"Is that reasonable?"
"And then, Steve Case, when you and Ted Turner agreed to a deal with me and then reneged, how could you possibly claim the moral high ground?"
"Aren't you the least trustworthy people in this entire transaction?"
"You—"
The casual question left Steve Case completely speechless.
His chest heaved violently, his eyes locked onto the Carl Icahn.
As if in the next second he might inflate like a balloon and float up to stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun.
That scene made Ted Turner sigh.
He glanced at the other directors on the wall. Everyone was just watching the show.
He looked at Richard Parsons in the main seat. The old Black servant of the Rockefeller family had made his stance clear.
He stared at Jeffrey Bewkes, who held the Ross family's voting power, smiling calmly—
Once the unified posture of all camps became clear, Ted Turner understood.
The tide was gone.
Or rather, today's meeting was actually a farewell banquet hosted by the Ross family for him and Steve Case.
The Ross family wanted to tell him and Steve Case in front of everyone:
"You two are idiots."
Unwilling.
Fists clenched.
After pausing for two seconds, Ted Turner finally deflated.
He glanced at the restless Steve Case, then shifted his gaze to Carl Icahn.
"Carl, may I ask you a question?"
"If it's not confidential, I think I can answer."
Carl Icahn reopened his eyes as Ted Turner asked calmly.
Their eyes met, and Ted Turner asked softly, "Did you go to Jeffrey because of our threat?"
"No."
Maybe the question wasn't confidential.
Or maybe Carl Icahn wanted the two monkeys to die knowing the truth.
He shook his head. "Barry Meyer called me first. Last month."
"What?"
Ted Turner frowned slightly, letting out a short sound of confusion.
After confirming that Carl Icahn wasn't lying, he immediately turned his head and looked at Jeffrey Bewkes.
"You approached Carl Icahn first? Then where did you hear the news from?"
"Oh—we heard it from you."
Perhaps he thought he had already won, or perhaps he sensed Ted Turner's surrender.
At that moment, Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes leaned back easily, spinning a pen in his hand.
"Ted, you're old. So old that you've forgotten how you succeeded in the first place."
"If I remember correctly, when you were 24, your father committed suicide?"
"Then, in overwhelming grief, you took over your father's GG company?"
"You swore at your father's grave to continue his unfinished business, but unfortunately, when you opened the company's books, you discovered that although your father left you a company worth several million dollars, monopolizing the GG market in the southeastern United States, it was all surface glamour."
"Because the company was buried under massive debt."
"And once the creditors learned that your father had died, they wanted to take everything from you."
"Oh! Jeffrey! What exactly are you trying to say?"
The sudden dredging up of old history made Ted Turner frown deeply, his heart thrown into chaos.
He roared, "I asked where you heard the news! Where did you hear about my alliance with Carl Icahn?!"
"Oh—my dear Ted—I'm telling you the source of the news right now—"
Jeffrey Bewkes raised his voice, overpowering Ted Turner's rage.
He tapped the table with his index finger and continued:
"In your autobiography, you said that back then, to save your father's company, you did something remarkable."
"You first told the creditors you intended to repay them, then, while they weren't paying attention, you stole all the company's leases, account books, and fixed-asset contracts."
"Then you called the creditors and demanded that they sign a debt extension agreement and give up their claims on the company. Otherwise, you'd burn all the documents and call the IRS to report tax evasion."
"They were furious, but helpless. Without the records, they couldn't even collect what they were owed. So they had no choice but to sign."
"But even then, the matter wasn't over."
"Because the debt still existed, and you still couldn't repay it."
"So—"
"Back then, all the creditors who threatened you ended up dead."
"The comrades you met while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard all emigrated to Argentina."
"Oh!!! St—!"
Ted Turner finally snapped, slamming the table hard.
Like Steve Case earlier, he shot to his feet and roared:
"Jeffrey Bewkes—what the fuck are you trying to say?!"
"What I'm trying to say, Ted Turner, is this! We all know the only way to succeed is to wipe out all your competitors! And you have to do it fast, accurately, and ruthlessly!"
"Back then! You did it!"
"But now—"
Jeffrey Bewkes paused.
Perhaps his throat hurt from shouting.
Or perhaps he was savoring the disappointment on the clown's face.
He looked at Ted Turner and smiled like a daisy.
"You're actually thinking about what comes after success before you've secured it?"
"Oh—Ted—you've won too much. You've won yourself numb. And that's why you lost—"
"Thud—"
Ted Turner collapsed back into his seat.
At that very moment!
He finally understood!
It was fucking Kevin Feige who had leaked the information!
And if Kevin Feige leaked it?
Didn't that mean Isabella never once took them seriously from beginning to end?
Once this reality became clear, Ted Turner realized he had completely and utterly lost the hand he was playing!!!
Not only because they had personally delivered Carl Icahn straight into their opponent's arms!
But because even if they had held onto Carl Icahn and kicked the Ross family out of the company, they still wouldn't have been able to keep power!
Because Isabella—
Refused to team up with them.
And if that were all, it would have been bad enough.
What truly made them look ridiculous was exactly what Jeffrey Bewkes had said.
You can only think about the future after you win.
If you hesitate and look back and forth before you've won—
Then you're guaranteed to lose miserably.
"Alright—"
Ted Turner let out a deep sigh.
In that instant, he seemed to age ten years.
He looked around, meeting the eyes of the other fourteen people in the room one by one, and finally—
He pulled his still-standing ally, the country bumpkin Steve Case, down into his seat.
Only then did he say, "So you've all reached an agreement?"
"If you're willing to raise your offer, I can still stand on your side."
Carl Icahn crossed his legs and smiled.
"Just like I said earlier, the Warner faction's offer to me was simply to sell AOL, then use the 20 billion dollars in proceeds to buy back and cancel shares."
"So if you can accept my plan to split the company into five parts, I'll still stand with you."
"They won't agree to that," Ted Turner said with a smile, shaking his head.
He pressed his lips together. No longer wanting to struggle, he was already preparing to leave.
But before he did, there was one thing he was curious about.
"Richard."
"Hm?"
"Can you tell me why Barry Meyer was able to win you over?" Ted Turner asked.
"I know Rockefeller invested in Warner back then because of Steve Ross, but after Steve Ross passed away—"
"Because I also want to leave Warner."
Rockefeller's house servant, Richard Parsons, answered bluntly.
"Barry Meyer promised me that after buying back the shares from you and Steve Case, he would also buy back the shares in our hands."
"To ensure that our total investment in Warner achieves an annualized return of no less than 30%."
Ted Turner fell silent.
They wanted to offer that kind of return too, but they couldn't.
The reason was simple. Performance.
Buying back and canceling shares can push stock prices up in the short term, but many factors affect a company's value.
You can jack up the price through buybacks, but if the company's performance looks ugly, whatever you pump up will fall back down later, which is just burning money.
And expectations matter too. If future earnings can't meet investor expectations, the stock still drops.
Only companies with extreme confidence in their performance dare to go crazy with buybacks and cancellations.
And Barry Meyer dared—
Because his ally was Isabella.
Right now, no matter what Isabella does, investors expect good things from her.
Ted Turner didn't dare make such a promise because he had no idea how to boost Time Warner's performance.
So—
Game over.
Carl Icahn's meeting with Time Warner officially began at 10:10 a.m.
By around 11:30 a.m., Carl Icahn had already left the building by car.
The brief meeting left everyone confused about how it went.
Just as people were preparing to pull out every trick to find out what had happened, at 2:00 p.m., Carl Icahn's fund and Time Warner released a joint statement.
The content was short and to the point. It boiled down to three items:
Time Warner has decided to sell AOL. Interested companies are welcome to bid. Time Warner plans to formulate a share buyback program totaling no more than 20 billion dollars, with at least 5 billion to be completed by the end of this year, and the remaining 15 billion to be completed before January 1, 2007. Since Time Warner has officially abandoned its internet business, AOL founder Steve Case and Ted Turner, who strongly pushed Time Warner to embrace the internet back in the day, have chosen to resign and will leave the board before next year.
Once this news broke—
"Ted Turner and Steve Case are just… gone???"
Roy E. Disney Jr. could hardly believe his ears.
But the secretary reporting to him nodded.
"Yes, Mr. Disney. Ted Turner and Steve Case were taken out by Barry Meyer."
"And it's said that Barry Meyer won over Carl Icahn while also gaining Richard Parsons' friendship. When the other shareholders didn't support them either, they had no choice but to leave the group."
"And—"
"It's said this departure is total. They're selling their shares."
"What??? They're selling their shares too???"
At the same time, at News Corporation headquarters.
Rupert Murdoch stared at his assistant in shock.
"So that means they handed over all power before leaving the company? How could they possibly accept terms like that?"
"You're sure your information is correct?"
"I'm sure. I'm sure neither of them resisted. Or rather, they wanted to, but knew it was impossible."
While Rupert Murdoch was still reeling, Carl Icahn was on the phone with Michael Eisner.
Facing his old friend's probing, Icahn spoke bluntly.
"Michael, I'd like to help you take down Barry Meyer, but Ted Turner and Steve Case are just too useless."
"Neither of them comes from entertainment, yet Time Warner's core revenue is entertainment."
"So even if they controlled Time Warner, they wouldn't know where to take it."
"In that situation, shareholders naturally resist them."
"Especially when Barry Meyer alone has contributed almost all of the group's net growth in recent years—"
"Michael, I'll be honest. I've always thought Ted Turner and Steve Case were idiots. Their success came entirely from the era they lived in, not from their own ability."
"And then there's Isabella. That little girl is… strange."
"I heard Barry Meyer pushed Hannah Montana to air? At first, his expectations were just that it would be popular enough to annoy Rupert Murdoch. Isabella only gave an idea and didn't really participate."
"But it still exploded—so hard everyone was left speechless."
"People like that, wherever they go, will have powerful capital lining up to back them."
"Her money-making ability—"
"Even I'm jealous."
"Because it's too clean."
"And that's the scariest part."
Michael Eisner fell silent.
He had thought Ted Turner and Steve Case could torment Warner for a long time, but instead—
"Sigh—"
Michael Eisner let out a heavy breath.
Edgar Bronfman Jr. did the same elsewhere.
At that moment, he truly felt his father had been right.
Some people really are… uncanny.
"Wow—so Ted Turner and Steve Case didn't even make a move on Isabella this time?"
"They just thought about Isabella and then—poof, gone?"
"What the hell does that even mean?"
As for the chaos outside—
Well, the people involved actually understood it very clearly.
As the losers, Ted Turner and Steve Case chose silence. Right now, they had no face left to show.
And as for the winners—
Isabella was on the phone with Barry Meyer.
"Okay, Barry, I understand what you mean."
"You're saying the reason Carl Icahn could be won over was simple. First, you offered him a higher buyback price so he could make more money. Second, because he hates being threatened. Right?"
"Yeah. But actually there was a third point."
"I promised him that after we take control of the Time Warner board, for the next five years, CNN will only report news that's favorable to him. He liked that promise."
"Okay. Then I have a second question."
"Go ahead."
"The Rockefeller family, or rather Richard Parsons. Why did he support you? Was it really just because you offered a price they couldn't refuse? They shouldn't be short on money."
Now that the war was over, there was no need to hide anything anymore.
During the conflict, there were two things Isabella hadn't fully understood.
First, how Barry Meyer managed to win over Carl Icahn.
Second, why the Rockefeller family cast the decisive vote that influenced the entire group.
As for the first, Barry Meyer's answer was simple.
After confirming that Carl Icahn had allied with Ted Turner, he proactively approached Icahn and told him that no matter what Turner promised, he could offer more.
Since Carl Icahn hated being threatened, the cooperation went smoothly.
As for the second—
Barry Meyer cleared his throat and smiled.
"Isabella, this is actually very simple."
"My former deputy, now Time Warner's CEO, Jeffrey Bewkes, is not an ordinary person."
"He came out of Citi."
That's right.
Jeffrey Bewkes wasn't just Steve Ross's man.
He was also Laurence Rockefeller's man.
The relationships here were complicated.
So it had to be explained from the beginning.
Jeffrey Bewkes's father was named Eugene Bewkes.
He was the right-hand man of Norton Simon, a billionaire tycoon from the last century.
Many people may not recognize Norton Simon's name, but his companies were globally famous.
Heinz.
Yes, the Heinz that once dominated American dining tables.
But Heinz was only one of Norton Simon's many assets.
He also owned McCall Corporation. One of its presidents was Marvin Pierce, the father of Barbara Bush, wife of George H. W. Bush.
He owned Max Factor, the founder of the cosmetics industry.
He once owned Avis, the largest car rental company in the United States.
Even Canada Dry was one of his toys.
And Eugene Bewkes was the man who managed all those businesses for Norton Simon.
If you really had to compare, he was basically the CEO of a modern-day Berkshire Hathaway.
Old money.
When Jeffrey Bewkes was young, his father wanted him to inherit the job and continue serving the Simon family.
Jeffrey initially did just that, working at the Simon family's vineyards.
But over time, he found the work boring and wanted a change.
Norton Simon liked the young man a lot. The estates Bewkes managed were his private properties, so even when Eugene Bewkes scolded his son viciously, the old man still supported him going out into the world.
After learning that Jeffrey Bewkes liked the sea, Norton Simon recommended him to Laurence Rockefeller.
Laurence Rockefeller then, out of respect for Simon, placed him into Citi Group's shipping division.
At that point, everyone thought that was that.
But in the early 1980s, one of Bewkes's classmates entered the entertainment industry and told him it was fun.
So Bewkes felt the itch and submitted his resignation to Laurence Rockefeller.
Rockefeller wasn't angry.
Out of respect for an old friend, he called Steve Ross.
And that's how Jeffrey Bewkes entered Warner.
Since he didn't know anything at first, Steve Ross had Barry Meyer mentor him.
Only then did he truly settle down at Warner.
And that "settling down" was Barry Meyer's real trump card.
Did Steve Ross's death mean the Ross family was weakened?
Didn't matter.
As long as he clung tightly to his brilliant disciple, no one would dare stab him in the back.
And Jeffrey Bewkes's network extended far beyond the Simon, Rockefeller, and Ross families.
For example, the person who first dragged him into entertainment was named Bill Moseley.
He was an actor, best known for playing Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
But his father was no ordinary man.
He was a Yale University trustee and chairman and CEO of the Railway Express Agency.
So Ted Turner and Steve Case wanted to play dirty?
Oh—
Were those two little cuties even remotely qualified?
Once all of this was laid out—
Isabella finally understood why Barry Meyer had said earlier that things were complicated.
Because in the end, every struggle boiled down to the purest form of competition—
Whose dad is stronger.
You pull your people. I pull mine.
Then you collide.
Winner takes all.
Simple. Brutal.