Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

The Getty Art Center, with its limestone walls, was filled with various precious artworks.

Being one of the wealthiest and most upscale art institutions in the world, the artworks displayed here mostly came from renowned artists across the globe.

There was no trash here, provided that one had eyes to appreciate it.

Link was a boxer, his taste in art mirroring that of the average person; to him, the abstract expressionist pieces around him held almost no beauty.

Some of these paintings and artworks were just random splashes of paint on paper with a few straight lines, some were a chaotic mix of sand, pebbles, nails, and broken glass mixed into the paint on a fiberboard.

Yet such paintings would fetch tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of US dollars at auctions.

Among them, Jackson Pollock's "Number 5, 1948," had sold for 144 million US dollars in 2006, making it the most expensive painting in the world.

"What do you think after seeing these artworks?"

Ivanka asked, looping her arm through his.

"I feel pretty poor."

Link shrugged. After his net worth had reached a billion, he had thought himself wealthy, but after visiting these art exhibitions, he realized that with his current fortune, he could only afford a few dozen of the artworks here.

"It's good that you think this way. Many people become arrogant and self-absorbed after suddenly becoming rich, thinking too highly of themselves. If they saw these artworks, they would realize their wealth is nothing in front of art."

Ivanka pointed at one of Pollock's paintings as she spoke.

Link looked at her beautifully made-up face and laughed, "Did you bring me here to clear my mind of any delusions of grandeur?"

"Of course not, I wanted you to understand the relationship between money and art. Money is fluid, like water and air, no one can possess it forever, but art is eternal. You're a musician; your albums are artworks that will belong to you for decades, even centuries.

Now that you have money, I hope you spend more time on creating music instead of just making more money, which would be a waste of your talent."

Ivanka spoke earnestly.

Link nodded, understanding her point.

But creating art was no easy task; he had been genuinely creating since becoming a singer, not merely copying.

However, creating was difficult; last year he had written seven songs for his fourth album, but only one was selected.

The rest were critiqued by Graham and others as being immature or stylistically inappropriate, and could be given to other singers.

"So you don't agree with me quitting the music industry?"

"Of course not, think about it. As a billionaire, how many will remember you in hundreds of years? As an artist, like Beethoven, Van Gogh, Michelangelo, their names will be celebrated for a thousand years, isn't that cooler than being a billionaire?"

Ivanka said, looking at the artwork.

"Yes, you're right, I will try harder."

Link put his arm around her waist and walked forward to the next gallery, which featured photographic art. There, they encountered Nicole Kidman and her husband Keith Urban, who were also viewing the exhibition.

Keith Urban, a renowned country music singer who had won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance four times. Link had met Keith Urban in Nashville in 2009 at a Taylor performance and had become acquainted with him, as well as Nicole Kidman.

After their greeting, Link spoke warmly with the couple, and Keith Urban reciprocated with polite enthusiasm, asking him when his new album was coming out.

Nicole Kidman appeared somewhat surprised to see him, her expression complex and not as enthusiastic as when they last met at a Weinstein party.

Link didn't mind. He chatted with them a bit longer and then continued to explore the exhibition with Ivanka.

In addition to Nicole Kidman, he had also met couples like Sandra Bullock and Natalie Portman, people who had a good relationship with Harvey. When they met him, they maintained a certain distance, but others didn't show any change, perhaps because they hadn't received the news.

"It's clear, the entire Hollywood mainstream actor circle is shunning you. What are your thoughts on that?"

Ivanka said with a smile.

"Time will prove that they picked the wrong side."

Link said, unconcerned.

"Are you sure you want to acquire Lionsgate Films? That might not be an easy task."

"I'm prepared for that."

Link shrugged as he spoke.

Acquiring Lionsgate Films was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but part of his plan to make inroads into Hollywood.

Lionsgate Films was founded in 1997 as a new film company formed by the merger of Canadian film company Cinepix Entertainment and American television production company Trimark Pictures.

It was originally headquartered in Canada and moved to the Santa Monica district of Hollywood in 2000.

This company mainly produces and releases low-budget films, mostly horror movies, such as the "Saw series," "Hostel," "All Cheerleaders Die," among others.

They have also made many high-quality art films, like "Requiem for a Dream," "Dancer in the Dark," "Hard Candy," "Girl with a Pearl Earring," "Rabbit Hole," among others.

In 2004, they co-produced and released "Fahrenheit 9/11" with Miramax Films, which was regarded as a game-changing success for Lionsgate Films, earning them hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Before 2000, the total box office of movies distributed by Lionsgate Films accounted for less than 0.4% of the total North American box office.

By 2004, their market share had jumped to 4%, and last year it broke through to 5%.

Although 5% is not much compared to the more than 10% held by the six major studios, in the independent film field, only a few companies like New Line, Focus, Miramax, and Summit Entertainment could compete.

Due to good box office results last year, the stock price of Lionsgate Films rose to around 8 US dollars in June of last year, and at one point, the total market value exceeded 700 million US dollars.

Due to the poor box office performance of two films at the beginning of the year, the current stock price is around 7.4 US dollars, with a total market value of about 630 million US dollars, making it the highest-valued company among independent film production companies.

After entering the film industry, Link founded Palm Beach Films and also wanted to acquire a movie company with an established distribution division.

Lionsgate Films, Summit Entertainment, and Miramax Films, which is about to be sold by Disney, were all under consideration.

Having a distribution company meant that films produced by Palm Beach Films could be released independently without sharing box office revenues with distribution companies.

For example, "Scandal Plan," released by Warner Bros. Pictures last year, had Warner automatically receive 18% of the North American box office share and 25% of the international box office share, as well as the rights to "Scandal Plan," earning more than Palm Beach Films.

If distributed independently, this issue could be avoided.

In acquiring a distribution company, he also considered other film companies, with Summit Entertainment, which had recently soared with the "Twilight" saga, initially being the top choice.

However, in terms of development potential, Lionsgate Films was stronger.

After successfully distributing films like "The Hunger Games" and acquiring Summit Entertainment in 2012, Lionsgate's annual total box office share in the North American market exceeded 10%, often surpassing Fox Films and Paramount Pictures, catapulting into the top five in the film industry.

Currently, the market value of Lionsgate Films is less than 700 million US dollars, but in three to four years, it could surge to over 6 billion US dollars, nearly tenfold.

Acquiring Lionsgate or obtaining some of its stocks at this stage would be a highly profitable investment.