ONE

ONE

My name is Andre. Andre Johnson. Yes I’m African American. And like the stereotypes seem to submit I’m in the entertainment biz. I’m an entertainment mogul. There aren’t many that can call themselves that, domestic or worldwide. And I’m a multimillionaire. Over 400 million worth. Anything that you’ve read has probably come before my desk in my 25 years of being in business. That’s not to say there aren’t some hits and misses. Investments are always a tricky business.

You might be telling yourself, 400 million plus, wow that’s a lot, but nothing compared to billionaires.

And you would be right, until you learn how influence is about much more than money. Much much more.

In the old days, when we lived in villages and such, you could go to a town meeting or religious gathering and when the leader spoke, everyone followed him. If you didn’t like what he had to say (and it was usually a he) you would challenge him. If you won, you would become top dog. If you lost…well, you were a goner.

But these days things aren’t that easy. You get people challenging your authority and your competence. People you’ve never even met. People who probably couldn’t be in my shoes for more than 24 hours. And people listen to them.

Which is why this morning I was sitting outside Real Media Co. One of the youngest and biggest players in the field. A news corporation. And one that has successfully managed to keep news trendy and relevant. They’ve been able to merge traditional and contemporary media to create something truly fascinating.

On this visit, my wife Felicia was with me. She’s 40 but she looks 25. No plastic surgery. But I didn’t just marry her for that. She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. And for a man of my means, I’ve met some of the smartest people in the world. She’s also very intimidating. I need her to be. So that I can pretend to be the benevolent person people believe I am. We both have our roles and I respect that. However, sometimes it’s difficult to tell when she’s acting and when she’s being real. She plays mind games with everyone, even with me on occasion.

 

My name is Don Carleone. Head of organized crime and probably the most powerful man in my country. The president can’t hold a candle to my power. Drugs, prostitution, gambling, kidnapping. 80% of the time I know about it before it happens. Whether it was done by one of our men or a competitor.

I’ve had three wives. My first wife and I separated. She said I had changed. But I never have. Family is important to me. And it’s something I’ve taken to heart whilst doing business. People call me a crime lord, but what I am is a businessman. If aggression is all it takes to be a criminal then most businessmen are…oh wait, they are, criminals.

In fact everyone is. Everyone has committed at least one crime for which they can serve jail time. Everyone. I’ve studied economics and law. And although I’ve read a good deal of other literature, those two fields still fascinate me. Because they are two of the most abstract fields that have an immense effect on human behavior. And I don’t mean abstract in a good way. I mean abstract as in “all in your head, so far removed from reality” kind.

But they make the world move. The real purpose of the law isn’t to mete out justice. If it was everyone would be in jail. Jesus said, “Let him who’s without sin…” The real purpose of the law is very obvious. To prevent chaos and anarchy, to establish order. Every time a new order emerges, ‘criminal’ or otherwise, a new law arises with it. Without law, empires don’t last long.

So I see myself not as a criminal but just another means of enforcing the law. Unfortunately the west in their arrogance think they know best. But in these jungles, only a beast can fight another beast. A man doesn’t hunt an animal barehanded.

My second wife was killed. By one of my competitors. Needless to say, he’s dead. No one has dared to touch any of my family in such a reckless manner again.

My third wife is…complex. But I like my women complicated. It keeps things interesting. Besides, I want my sons and daughters to be sharp too. I don’t want to be one of those fathers with idiots for children. I won’t be a laughing stock.

She’s also very supportive and she isn’t easily fazed by anything she sees. But then again, not many women can walk up to a crime lord and challenge his ‘manhood’ in front of everyone else. And it’s not just because she’s a woman. I’ve had women killed for far less. And if a man did that, he would cease to be a man.

It’s why she did it.

 

My name is Amy. I don’t like to tell others the rest because it’s a mouthful, too hard for them to pronounce and almost painful to hear them distort your name. I’m Chinese. Came to the States, went to Harvard, graduated top of my class. Then went to work at Wall Street.

That’s where the stereotypes end.

They say stereotypes are popular because they are true. Some argue they aren’t. I’m 50/50. When they’re true they’re very true. And when they aren’t they’re way off. Not all Asians are smart, not all women are cunning, manipulative or pathetic and not all men are ‘macho’, stupid or emotionally inept. I’ve actually met men who’ve tapped into their feminine side and are very whole people. And yes, there are people who are living caricatures.

But what has stereotypes got to do with making money on Wall Street? Everything. From economic bubbles to valuations, stereotypes are your thing. Remember, computers do not make financial decisions, humans do. And it’s sometimes easier to follow stereotypes than well, data.

Everyone is looking for the next Facebook, the next Google. But everyone’s forgotten why they missed it the very first time. Facebook wasn’t the next Microsoft or IBM or high five. Google did something different from other existing search engines. But I don’t get paid to find that. I just get paid to make other people spend money. The more money people spend, the more I can make. Which is the essence of finance. It’s just money moving from one person to another.

It sounds like a giant pyramid scheme. And that’s why we’ve had the tech bust, the Great Depression and the Recession. And things are likely to continue this way.

Again, I really don’t care. If people want to spend money ignorantly, that’s their business. I just need to understand how to cash in.

Movies like the Wolf of Wall Street have made finance people seem like greedy sex crazed drug addicts. Right. Just like the Republican Party is supposed to be full of white racist, sexist elites. And that moved politics from being about substance, (policies), to personality attacks. I haven’t really read much philosophy but Aristotle’s critique of democracy comes to mind. The reason why democracy is so popular even though everyone agrees it doesn’t work is because they want a say even if they have nothing to contribute to what’s going on.

Thank God we don’t really live in a democracy. As much as we complain about what we have, democracy would be far worse.

In case you’re still curious as to what system we live in, it’s capitalism. Rule by Capital. And I work in one of its cathedrals.