Chapter 121: Enclosing Land for Grazing

"Boss, per your request, there are three farms available for consideration."

"Philson, what is your recommendation?"

"This one, the Ice Bear Farm located in the Rocky Mountains. It covers 120,000 acres, features abundant glacial water as well as two other rivers, and the price is quite reasonable."

"Tsk, it's decent enough, but a bit small. Do you have anything larger?"

Philson couldn't help but inwardly roll his eyes. For most people, a few thousand acres is a farm, yet here was his boss, complaining that over a hundred thousand acres was too small.

"Boss, among those currently on the market, this is already the largest one."

"Fine, let's go with this one then. I plan to build an airstrip there in the future, so look into the surrounding land. If the price is right, let's aim for around 200,000 acres."

"Understood, boss. I'll get on it."

William White wasn't being reckless. The top ten landowners in the United States typically hold around a million acres each. The White family's holdings, even including their Texas ranches, only totaled about 400,000 acres.

That wasn't the main issue, though. The top farms had fertile soil and excellent irrigation, making them major grain producers. His family's land was relatively barren; it might be fine for grazing, but trying to grow crops there would result in massive losses.

He also decided to purchase Lanai Island in Hawaii. Twenty million dollars wasn't a huge sum to him, so he figured he might as well buy it.

American land didn't hold much value as an investment; buying it and waiting for appreciation was largely pointless. Even with permanent property rights, it didn't hold much significance.

Even if mineral deposits were discovered on the land, it would only be a small windfall; dreaming of becoming a tycoon through mining was a fantasy. In the United States, having a mine didn't equate to having real wealth.

Mining was grueling work, and in this era, few people wanted to do it. Operations that relied entirely on mechanical extraction might be okay, but as for the rest, one could only scoff.

With the economy in a slump, no one was buying minerals. And don't forget, the railways were monopolized; those shameless vultures would strip you down to the bone before you knew what hit you.

The top ten financial conglomerates were no joke. They had their hands in every sector and wouldn't allow any new power to grow too strong. The disastrous failure of the Hunt family was a lesson in that.

"Boss, the White family is preparing to purchase a farm in Montana and a small island in Hawaii."

Watching his subordinate struggle to articulate the news, Steve Ross also wore a look of constipation. What was the meaning of these scattered, erratic moves?

"What kind of output do those places have?"

"The Montana farm is near the Rocky Mountains; even if there were resources, the transportation costs would be exorbitant. Hawaii is even more ridiculous—it only has a pineapple plantation that loses money year after year."

"Hmm, I see."

Steve Ross had been under immense pressure lately. Atari's arcade project was nearly stagnant, and while their home consoles were doing alright, they were far from meeting expectations.

The film division was even worse. Their flops were truly spectacular—don't even talk about hundred-million-dollar box offices; if a film cleared ten million, it was by the grace of God.

Being at a disadvantage for a while wasn't the problem; the issue was the lack of hope. The film studios today didn't even know how to make movies anymore.

The comedy films they made by jumping on trends were worthless and mocked by everyone. The screenwriters racked their brains but couldn't figure out where they were going wrong.

The editors they had hired at high salaries were now on the verge of being demoted to janitors.

Trying to copy William White's editing style was a recipe for disaster. He watched the finished film before editing; that was basically cheating. If they could learn anything good from that, it would be a miracle.

The scale of the White family's farms was already absurd, and now he was investing in more. Wall Street was baffled. This investment was pure madness; he would have been better off expanding his Texas ranches, at least that would reduce overhead.

The small island in Hawaii was easier to understand; American tycoons loved playing "farming games," and many parts of Central and South America had already been ruined by such experiments.

The ideal was nice, but the reality was harsh, mainly due to labor issues. People in tropical and subtropical regions didn't care much for working; they could obtain food so easily, why bother working themselves to death?

William White was clearly planning to "farm," which was the consensus among the top elite.

It would be a lie to say they weren't envious. According to calculations by a group of busybodies, William White held at least five hundred million dollars in cash.

That figure was terrifying. Add in his film company, software company, and that weird game console company, and by any calculation, he was a billionaire.

His massive farm holdings were ignored as "negative assets," and everyone was baffled as to why he had sold off his oil companies—those were real money-makers.

What was most frightening was that his businesses were private, and he had very little bank debt.

Had he made enough money and decided it was time to play?

As for what was going on in Hollywood, they weren't oblivious; it was an open secret. As long as you had enough status, nothing was a problem.

Was he planning to retire?

But then, they remembered he was still in school. Talking about retirement seemed like a bored man's fantasy.

"William, why aren't you buying farms in Texas? The land here is practically being given away."

"Ha, George, don't talk about that nonsense. Help me find a place with natural spring water, and I won't even haggle—I'll buy it on the spot."

"My God, are you crazy?" George W. Bush jumped on the other end of the line.

"That place is snowed in half the year. Are you planning to sell ice water?"

"Ha, you guessed it! Impressive. But you're slightly off—not ice water, glacial mineral water."

"Fine, you'll lose a fortune. How are you going to transport it from such a remote place?"

"Hmph, there's a type of transport called an airplane. They can fly in the winter, too."

"You must be insane. Who's going to buy it at such a high price?"

"Pfft, scarcity creates value. If they can't afford it, they shouldn't drink it. You're a rich kid, after all. If others sell it for 25 cents, I'll sell it for a dollar. Is it that they can't afford it, or that I can't? One million for a 10 percent stake—don't say I didn't look out for you."

"Hmm, let me ask my old man."

It wouldn't sell.

Just kidding. Drinking water is all about marketing.

Is Evian's water quality actually that good?

This business is all about how you spin it.

At least half of the mineral water Nestlé sells in the U.S. comes from tap water. They've been in lawsuits for years, but has that stopped them from selling a single bottle?

Americans consume more bottled water than anyone else in the world, and the wealthy consume even more. What's a little higher price? As long as you can prove the product is "good," there are no problems at all.

"Dad, he's planning to invest in bottled water."

"From such a remote place?"

"Yeah, he says it doesn't matter, he can ship it by air. One dollar for a 500ml bottle."

Not just the son, but George H.W. Bush felt dizzy too. Was he planning to just rob people?

"One million for a 10 percent stake? I think it's worth a try."

"Hmm, tell me your reasoning?"

"He asked me if I cared about spending a dollar on a bottle of water, and I said no. That's it."

"Heh, that's true. If the quality is truly good, there are plenty of people who wouldn't care."

"Dad, his wine prices are going up, and sales are still increasing. That 'traditional artisan' crap—the whole state of Texas uses that process, yet people still fall for it."

Regarding the wine bit, all of Texas was speechless. They never knew you could be so shameless.