Mavi's English was fairly standard. After all, many of the military factory's foreign clients communicated in English.
"Mr. Mavi, welcome! You must be exhausted from your journey. This way, please." Jeff Bezos greeted Mavi and his entourage with a smile, leading them into the company building.
Amazon's office building in the year 2000 was quite modest overall. It lacked the modern and stylish feel typical of internet companies.
The same could be said for the office itself. There were only about a hundred employees, all sitting in front of old-fashioned flat-screen monitors, busily handling online business. The occasional ringing of old-fashioned telephones gave Mavi a strange sense of nostalgia.
To him, all these technological products from the year 2000 were nothing more than antiques.
"Mr. Mavi, this is Amazon's business department. All online transactions across the U.S. are processed here in a centralized manner. Our company, Amazon, was founded in 1995 and initially operated solely as an online bookstore. We've grown to this scale entirely because of the rapid development of the internet..."
Jeff Bezos couldn't quite read the expression on Mavi's face. The only thing on his mind was the hope that this Russian tycoon in front of him would be generous enough to invest in the company and give them a much-needed boost. So, he did his best to paint a bright picture of the future of the internet, hoping that this arms dealer would understand.
Of course, Mavi understood. As someone from 2018, he knew better than anyone. At that moment, he simply nodded slightly and asked Jeff Bezos, "How was the company's profit last year?"
"Mr. Mavi, in 1999, our company's net profit was $9.81 million. This may not seem like a significant amount right now, but I firmly believe that in three to five years, our profits will multiply several times over!" Jeff Bezos said passionately.
Before the meeting, he had looked into Mavi's background and learned that he was a Russian arms dealer worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This made Jeff Bezos nervous—considering the company's relatively modest profits and the looming dot-com bubble crisis, he wasn't sure if they could convince Mavi to invest.
"Mr. Bezos, no one can guarantee what will happen in three or five years. Let's talk about the present instead. With only $9.81 million in profits and the bubble crisis looming, how much do you expect me to invest?" Mavi wasn't about to throw money at someone blindly. Otherwise, people would think he was an easy mark.
Hearing Mavi hit the nail on the head, Jeff Bezos and the other executives exchanged glances. Their expressions darkened slightly, sensing that this negotiation might end up being another fruitless effort, just like the previous meetings in the past few days.
"Uh… well… to be honest, Mr. Mavi, you know that our industry is part of the emerging internet sector. Its future potential…" Despite the uncertainty, Jeff Bezos knew he had to take a shot.
He gave Mavi a detailed rundown of Amazon's growth and future plans. Finally, with a hopeful yet slightly anxious tone, he said, "Mr. Mavi, do you think an investment of $18 million would be acceptable? Our company desperately needs this funding. If you're willing to invest, we can discuss shares and profit distributions—everything is negotiable!"
Jeff Bezos was willing to make concessions to secure the funds. Rather than watching the company struggle, he preferred to offer investors greater benefits.
This was exactly what Mavi had been waiting for. He had no problem investing money—he just needed to invest it wisely. He wasn't about to let himself be seen as a walking ATM, handing out cash at will.
"$18 million seems a bit low, don't you think?" Mavi said with a slight smile.
As soon as he spoke, Jeff Bezos froze for a moment. The surrounding Amazon executives also exchanged glances, their expressions filled with surprise.
"$18 million… seems low? You mean… you mean…?" Jeff Bezos asked, his tone a mix of anticipation and hesitation.
"I mean, let's round it up—how about $50 million?" Mavi said with a relaxed smile. Throwing money around like this felt incredibly satisfying.
Of course, this money wasn't being given away for free. A $50 million investment meant his shares and dividends would need to increase accordingly—otherwise, he wouldn't invest a single cent.
"Round it up to… fifty… fifty million dollars!?" Jeff Bezos stood there, momentarily stunned, unable to process what he had just heard. He had originally assumed that by "rounding up," Mavi meant increasing the $18 million to $20 million.
But never in his wildest dreams had he expected this. Who could have imagined that Mavi's idea of rounding up was on an entirely different level? It completely shattered his expectations.
The surrounding Amazon executives were also in shock, staring at Mavi and Jeff Bezos in disbelief. They had seen investors negotiate before, but they had never seen anyone invest like this!
"Yes! Yes! Yes! That would be fantastic!" Jeff Bezos had initially proposed $18 million as the bare minimum needed to get the company through its crisis. Now that Mavi was offering an additional $32 million, there were absolutely no objections.
In terms of shares and profit distribution, Jeff Bezos was more than willing to offer the best possible deal. After all, this wasn't just an investment—it was a lifeline.
"Then let's have a great partnership!" Mavi said, shaking hands with Jeff Bezos.
"A great partnership indeed!" Jeff Bezos exhaled deeply and grinned. His emotions had been on a rollercoaster ride today—up and down, thrilling and intense.
Mavi didn't need to personally handle the investment details. He had plenty of experts working for him who could take care of it.
His job was simply to sign the papers and transfer the money once everything was finalized. And just like that, he would own a stake in what would become the largest e-commerce company in the U.S.!
This future giant would one day rival Apple in market value. On September 4, 2018, Amazon's market capitalization surpassed $1 trillion, making it the second U.S. company to hit that milestone.
It was clear just how valuable Mavi's investment would become…
A $50 million investment was well within Jeff Bezos' acceptable range. If Mavi had invested too much—say, over 51%—he would have effectively taken control of the company. No smart business owner would agree to that, especially not the future powerhouse that was Amazon.
Mavi wasn't worried about being a foreigner running a company like Amazon. After all, some of the biggest internet giants—Tencent and Alibaba—had foreign majority shareholders. Alibaba's largest shareholder was Japan's SoftBank, while Tencent's was South Africa's Naspers.
These examples proved one thing: "In a society governed by the rule of law, everything is negotiable."
Mavi's strategy was simple—use American companies as his financial backbone to support his military industry in Russia.
…
Once all the details were finalized, Mavi swiftly transferred $50 million to Amazon, helping them overcome their crisis.
One thing was clear—people in the year 2000 were much more straightforward and trusting. There weren't as many tricks and games as there would be in the future.
Feeling good after closing the deal, Mavi considered buying a house in Washington, D.C. (since, in this parallel world, Amazon's headquarters was in D.C.). This way, he could invest and also have a permanent place to stay instead of living in hotels.
So, he called his butler, Ivan, into the room and asked, "Ivan, what's the most expensive mansion in Washington, D.C.?"
The butler thought for a moment before respectfully answering, "That would be the White House, young master."
"You…" Mavi nearly choked on his own breath. He realized it was his fault for not phrasing the question clearly. Technically speaking, the White House was the most expensive mansion in Washington, and there was nothing wrong with that answer…