Of course, Apple shareholders were against it, as they were the ones who had driven Steve Jobs out of Apple in the first place. Gilbert naturally understood this; before investing, he had asked David about the ins and outs of Steve Jobs' expulsion. Today's mention was just a probing move, giving the shareholders a heads-up. If he truly brought Steve Jobs back, he hoped their opposition wouldn't be too fierce.
After the shareholders' meeting, Gilbert made a special trip to Emeryville. The now somewhat famous Pixar Animation Studios was located there. Steve Jobs had bought the computer animation division of George Lucas's company for $10 million in 1986, becoming the owner of Pixar Animation Studios. After being kicked out of Apple, Steve Jobs focused on developing Pixar Animation Studios and also founded a small tech company.
At Pixar Animation Studios, Gilbert met the famous Steve Jobs, known from his previous life.
"I heard you acquired a stake in Apple for $26 million and even became one of the board members?" Steve Jobs asked right away.
With someone as overly confident and arrogant as Steve Jobs, playing mind games and tricks wouldn't work, so it was better to be direct. Gilbert frankly admitted, "That's right, I hold shares in Apple only because of you, Mr. Jobs."
"Me?" Jobs was a bit startled, "I've been kicked out of Apple for nearly ten years."
Gilbert didn't hide his purpose for coming and stated directly, "Let me put it this way, Mr. Jobs, I'm optimistic about Apple's future development potential. But the prerequisite is that the person leading it must be you."
"Oh?" Jobs was even more surprised, "So you want to invite me back to Apple?"
"Exactly..."
"Is that your personal idea, or the board's idea?"
"My personal idea..."
Steve Jobs smiled: "Director Gilbert, you should know that I was asked to leave by the board. Do you think they'll agree to let me come back?"
"Based on Apple's current situation, I think if things continue like this, Apple isn't far from bankruptcy," Gilbert said, pointing to Jobs' chest. "Apple is your brainchild; you definitely don't want Apple to shut down. Wait for your chance, Mr. Jobs. You'll have your day to return to Apple."
After Gilbert left, Steve Jobs fell into contemplation. Gilbert was right; Steve Jobs was naturally concerned about Apple's situation and knew that the company was in a very bad state. But he was a proud man and couldn't bring himself to humbly return to Apple on his own. He needed to achieve something significant first, so that Apple would invite him back.
Gilbert's promise to support him boosted Steve Jobs' confidence. The immediate priority now was to get Pixar Animation Studio in good shape. Thinking about things, Jobs looked at John Lasseter's proposal to create a 3D animation called Toy Story. Jobs was personally very optimistic about this project; perhaps it could help Pixar go public directly, and then he would have the capital to return to Apple.
All the money was invested in Apple, and in buying stocks of Microsoft, Cisco, and Oracle, so Gilbert's plan to buy a new house was put on hold. Thus, Gilbert still lived in his apartment.
---
Since his elder had gone to New York, Gilbert decided to hold a party at his elder's house to reward his team members.
Sofia Coppola came with little Scarlett Johansson. The little girl had been feeling quite triumphant recently. The scenes she filmed for Speed weren't cut and were fully preserved, giving her bragging rights among her peers. So, the first thing she did when she saw Gilbert was thank him.
"Gilbert, thank you for letting me be in the movie. This is my thank you to you." Scarlett Johansson said, handing Gilbert her half-eaten ice cream.
"Scar," Gilbert said, holding the ice cream the little girl had licked, "You're only repaying me with half an ice cream?"
"No," the little girl's eyes were still fixed on the ice cream in Gilbert's hand, looking like she wanted to eat more, "It was supposed to be a whole one, but I just couldn't resist..."
The little girl's words made both Gilbert and Sofia Coppola laugh. Returning the ice cream to Scar, Gilbert patted her head and said, "Eat less ice cream; it's easy to get an upset stomach."
"Got it!" The little girl happily started licking her ice cream again.
"Gilbert," Cameron Diaz led in a tall girl wearing tight jeans that showed off her long legs. "Let me introduce you, this is Charlize Theron, a friend I met in acting class."
Cameron Diaz introduced the two: "Sally, this is Director Gilbert Landrini."
"Hello, Ms. Theron." Having met many stars, Gilbert was calm when meeting another future superstar from his previous life. On the other hand, Charlize Theron, who had just arrived in Los Angeles, seemed quite excited to meet the young director who was currently making waves.
"Director Gilbert, I watched your movie Speed, and I really loved it." Charlize Theron held Gilbert's outstretched hand and didn't let go.
"Thank you, Ms. Theron, please come in!"
"Like Michelle, just call me Sally..."
"Alright, Sally, welcome to the party..."
As they went inside, Cameron Diaz winked at Gilbert, then glanced at Charlize Theron's backside, whispering in Gilbert's ear, "She feels great!" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. What did this woman mean? Was she pimping? Did she think he was a stud horse?
---
Everyone present were good friends; there was no formal socializing, so everyone could relax. Barbecue and beer were plentiful. Knowing that Gilbert disliked marijuana, cocaine, and similar substances, and since none of them were addicts, these things were noticeably absent from the party.
Matt Damon was talking about recent interesting anecdotes in Hollywood. The daily new occurrences were enough to excite him, a novice who had recently entered the industry.
Sofia Michelle, however, ribbed Gilbert: "Gilbert, I heard you lost money on stocks recently."
"Oh, wow, you guys know about that?"
"Who doesn't? Apple's market value has fallen to $1.8 billion; if it drops any further, it'll be on the verge of bankruptcy," Sofia said, rolling her eyes.
Gilbert flipped a chicken wing, handing a perfectly cooked one to Scar to gnaw on. He didn't stop talking: "Let them talk. In another ten-odd years, they'll be calling me an investment genius."
"Genius?" Sofia clearly didn't believe him: "Just don't lose all the money you made from making movies."
For Gilbert, the investment in Apple wasn't over. The next step was to facilitate Steve Jobs' return to Apple. Later, depending on the situation, he would invest again when Jobs returned to Apple and needed financing.
Next, Gilbert would seek out tech companies that hadn't yet risen to prominence. Amazon and Google both seemed to have been founded in the nineties. Gilbert had already commissioned stockbroker David to establish an investment company. All future investment activities would be carried out through this company.
However, he couldn't openly discuss these business ventures with his close friends, because Gilbert knew the future, and they didn't. Perhaps after some achievements were made, everyone would realize how incredibly precise Gilbert's vision was.
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