The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 315: BlackRock]

New York, Christie's Classical Art Auction

Hawke raised his paddle at the sight of the Aztec stone carving displayed on the stage, offering $300,000.

No one bid against him. No one wanted it.

It was nothing more than a vaguely shaped granite monkey.

"$300,000 once... twice... $300,000, sold!"

With the auctioneer's final strike of the gavel, Hawke successfully acquired the artifact.

From the back row, Leonardo glanced in Hawke's direction, perplexed as to why he had bought such an ugly stone.

The auction continued. In an effort to cultivate his image as an art collector, Hawke also purchased a Southeast Asian jade carving and an ancient Greek parchment.

Hawke also kept an eye on Leonardo, who had acquired two modern oil paintings.

As for the auction's highlight — a Monet painting — Hawke merely observed. His cash flow was still healthy, but he needed to allocate his funds wisely.

At this stage, splurging on artwork was out of the question.

That painting ultimately went to BlackRock's founder, Larry Fink.

...

After the auction, Christie's hosted a reception dinner at the Waldorf Hotel.

Since he intended to participate in more auctions in the future, Hawke made a point of attending, using the opportunity to chat with a key executive from Christie's North America.

To the outside world, as the founder and chairman of Twitter, Hawke was seen as one of the rising stars of the tech elite.

Leonardo had met Hawke once before at a party in Los Angeles. He took the initiative to greet him, shaking his hand and saying, "I saw you pick up a few antiques at the auction." ℝἈ₦օВЁꞩ

Hawke replied earnestly, "I have a keen interest in historical artifacts. They represent different cultures and histories."

Leonardo noted, "But the ones you bought were all from overseas."

"That's just how it is," Hawke said truthfully. "Anything unearthed in North America belongs to the Native Americans."

Leonardo nodded as Hawke continued, "I've already collected enough Native artifacts."

Leonardo, recognizing Hawke's influence — not just as a billionaire but as the owner of Twitter, a powerful media tool — took a friendly approach. "I'm also interested in antiques and art. We should discuss it sometime."

Hawke knew about Leonardo's ties to the Clintons, which could prove useful in the future. So he played along. "I'm still new to this world, and I've spent a lot of money foolishly — especially in L.A., where I bought plenty of fakes."

Referring to the ancient Greek parchment he had won, he added, "Especially with ancient parchments — so many counterfeits out there. Do you know any tricks to identify the real ones?"

Seeing Hawke's "sincere" inquiry, Leonardo responded, "When it comes to ancient Greek parchments, I once heard a master collector say the easiest way to verify authenticity is by examining the script and the condition of the parchment itself."

Hawke nodded. "Parchment is fragile and hard to preserve."

"Exactly. And the biggest issue with ancient Greek parchments today? Forgeries," Leonardo said, hoping to leave a lasting impression on Hawke. "Aside from the condition of the parchment, the writing itself is a major giveaway."

Hawke was intrigued. "The script?"

Leonardo elaborated, "Take the Declaration of Independence. It's written on parchment. If you've ever seen the original in a museum, you'd know it's America's most important historical document. And America has the world's best technology. It's been carefully preserved since the country's founding, yet after just over 200 years, the writing has already faded."

He paused briefly, allowing Hawke time to think before continuing, "But ancient Greek parchments? After thousands of years, the writing is somehow clearer than the Declaration of Independence? Does that make sense to you?"

Hawke raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you were so knowledgeable about antiques."

Leonardo gave a wry smile. "Only because I've been scammed so many times. Bought plenty of fakes. Every time someone needs something, they miraculously 'discover' it in a cave or underground."

Hawke understood. "So the demand comes first, and then they manufacture artifacts, books, and antiques accordingly?"

Leonardo chuckled. "Exactly."

...

The two continued chatting until someone approached, drawing Leonardo away.

Hawke glanced over.

Leonardo was now with Gisele Bündchen — they hadn't broken up yet.

His mind instinctively drifted to work.

If he could get exclusive footage of their breakup, Twitter would enjoy a fresh surge of attention.

...

Just then, another figure arrived — someone Hawke recognized instantly.

It was Larry Fink, founder and CEO of BlackRock.

Fink had seen Hawke's photos and profile in reports from BlackRock's San Francisco office. "Douglas mentioned Twitter and its founder to me long ago," he said. "Didn't expect to finally meet you here."

Hawke knew exactly who he was referring to — Douglas Coster, the now-deceased head of BlackRock's San Francisco division.

Their conflict had escalated to gunfire. Hawke had been lucky — he'd survived.

Douglas wasn't so lucky. He'd ended up with multiple bullet holes.

Hawke was blunt. "We didn't interact much, but BlackRock taught me a lot."

Larry Fink, in his early fifties and still highly ambitious, chose to ignore the remark and instead said, "It's a shame we missed out on investing in Twitter."

Hawke countered, "We could have partnered in business. Last year, Twitter needed funding, but your side made a poor choice."

Back then, BlackRock had valued Twitter at under $2 billion. By the end of the year, Silicon Valley firms valued it at over $8 billion.

Now, with Twitter having secured investment from Silicon Valley, even the most conservative estimates placed its valuation above $10 billion.

BlackRock itself had a market value of just under $20 billion.

On paper, they were almost on par.

But Hawke knew that behind BlackRock were powerful and difficult-to-deal-with investors.

Fink continued, "Douglas made poor decisions, but that was his call — not BlackRock's."

Hawke didn't believe a word. "Let's hope so."

Seeing Twitter's potential, Fink didn't want to let it slip away. "With Twitter growing at this pace, an IPO will be on the horizon soon. BlackRock can help make that process smoother."

Hawke got straight to the point. "What are your terms?"

Fink didn't hesitate. "Allow BlackRock to invest in Twitter's next funding round."

"Fine," Hawke replied. "But with a dual-class share structure — your side gets Class A shares, entitled to dividends but with no voting rights."

Fink kept his expression neutral but cursed inwardly. This bastard was as ruthless as BlackRock itself.

Hawke wasn't done. "And BlackRock will have no influence over Twitter's daily operations."

Fink understood — this was essentially a rejection.

Still, he maintained his composure. "We can consider that. BlackRock only has one requirement — ensure the number of female employees is as close to 50% as possible."

Hawke smirked. "How about this — BlackRock implements that first and maintains it for two years. Then Twitter will follow suit. Deal?"

Fink studied Hawke in surprise.

Since last year, BlackRock and Vanguard had been pushing diversity policies. One of the key evaluation criteria for their investments was "equality," including gender balance in the workforce.

Most companies complied.

After all, those in dire need of capital wouldn't push back.

Hawke said, "If BlackRock can do it, Twitter will consider it."

Unlike other firms, BlackRock was purely an investment company. Its biggest roles were market analysis and asset management.

If women account for half of the positions in these positions, the results will be outstanding. 

If time went on a little longer, BlackRock's chances of over 90% would go downhill and it would no longer be a threat.

With no agreement reached, the conversation ended on a cold note.

...

When leaving the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, someone suggested to Larry Fink that he should launch another high-end business war.

But Fink was cautious. He had done his research — Hawke always had bodyguards and was personally highly capable.

If they failed to eliminate Hawke, they wouldn't just face retaliation from a powerful political-business family, but also Hawke's own brutal methods.

Douglas Coster had already been proof of that.

...

Hawke traveled around New York exclusively in bulletproof sedans. 

After returning to his suite at the Four Seasons, he instructed Betty to get everything ready — the group was heading to Boston. 

Hawke had no intention of directly approaching the two recruits hired through Campos, nor did he plan to appear in front of Zuckerberg. 

What he wanted was to see for himself whether, with enough time, effort, and the right mix of financial and sensual temptations, a person's path could be altered. 

Resisting money and pleasure was easy to say but hard to do — few could truly manage it. 

...

Over in Cambridge, Bart and Neville were already working on Zuckerberg, applying subtle pressure through frequent drinking sessions and wild three-person parties. Slowly but surely, they were steering Zuckerberg's entrepreneurial vision in the direction Hawke had mapped out. 

The three of them had agreed to make an investment together. 

Even before Hawke arrived in New York, Bart and Neville had set up a new company. 

The firm was registered in the Cayman Islands, with Bart and Neville holding small stakes. The controlling interest, however, belonged to one of Hawke's offshore shell companies. 

Under this company's name, Bart and Neville had hired a dozen girls in Cambridge. They even forged some student IDs and campus passes, using them to conduct direct field research on female students from Harvard, MIT, and other nearby colleges.

*****

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