The Tyrant Billionaire

Hardy had brought many people over initially to open up territory, but now that the situation in Las Vegas was stabilized, the fifty men from the Los City Company and the fifty from HD Security were enough to handle things here.

If there were bigger issues, Los Angeles was not far from Las Vegas a one hour flight or a four to five hour drive and reinforcements could quickly be dispatched to solve any problems.

After making these arrangements, Hardy flew to Los Angeles with Michael, Andy's team, and the security team to inspect the Los Angeles branch of the television factory, which had been under construction for more than half a year. Michael planned to check it out.

The TV factory is located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, covering a large area, with four production lines already in place and being installed. The person in charge told Michael that it would take about a month to install these four production lines, meaning they could start trial production in mid August, earlier than expected.

Trial production mainly tests the machinery, with a limited output. However, producing 200 units a day is still possible, surpassing the production capacity of the old factory in New York.

Hardy said with a smile, "We can continue to cooperate with banks using the installment payment direct sales method. We can contact several banks, like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, here in Los Angeles to include them in our business cooperation."

When Hardy first came up with this sales model, Michael was very impressed.

"Yes, I have already discussed this with several big banks in New York too, and they are willing to open branches and offer this service on the west coast, which will also help them gain more loan customers."

After visiting the TV factory, Hardy took Michael to the Barbie doll factory and Playboy magazine office, both of which were continuously profitable for Hardy.

Barbie dolls have now become synonymous with high end toys, with counters in every major city. The Barbie clothing contest attracted a lot of attention, and the factory received thousands of design drawings, some of which were excellent and suspected to be from professional designers.

Currently, the Barbie doll factory brings Hardy about $100,000 in monthly profit, with annual profits reaching millions.

As for Playboy magazine, it is even more of a money making machine. After several months of development, its sales have grown to 300,000 copies per issue, with half of the sales through mail orders, making the magazine's profit margin higher.

The magazine's monthly profit is about $400,000, translating to an annual profit of $5 million.

After Playboy magazine announced its quarterly financial report, many were shocked by its revenue, and its stock price soared. Playboy's stock price is now $15 per share, valuing the magazine at $50 million, with significant potential for appreciation.

Michael was amazed at this number. He and Hardy jointly invested millions to build a TV factory, now the largest in the U.S., with an annual output of 400,000 units. However, he estimated that if it were listed, its market value would only be several million.

The Corleone family, after decades of effort, including fixed assets and various stock investments, is worth just over $20 million.

Hardy actually created a magazine now worth $50 million. No wonder he told his father that the ceiling for illegal business is low, it's hard to make money, and it's dangerous. To elevate a family to a higher level, one must go legit.

The underworld can only serve as an auxiliary.

But legitimate business is not easy, and only a tiny fraction of entrepreneurs succeed. Building a business family requires exceptional ability and strategic vision.

Michael wasn't as confident in this aspect.

However, he felt that Hardy would surely succeed, though he didn't know why he thought so perhaps it was intuition.

Hardy warmly entertained Michael for a few days before Michael returned to New York. Hardy still had many things to do.

...

Hardy Hotel started advertising in major media.

All of a sudden, Hardy Hotel's ads appeared everywhere in the public's view.

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Financial News, and other newspapers detailed Hardy Grand Hotel, describing it as a paradise on earth where you can freely enjoy the fun of gambling.

Hardy Grand Hotel has the most luxurious casino, where you can get rich overnight if you're lucky.

It also has the most extravagant hotel, the most delicious food and wine, countless beauties, and various entertainment facilities.

The hotel is expected to open on October 10th, and there will be various discount policies at that time. No matter where you fly from to Las Vegas, you can exchange 10% of your ticket price for chips at the casino by showing your plane ticket.

Even if you fly from New York with a $200 ticket, you will get $20 worth of chips. Of course, these chips are non cash-able and must be bet and won to be exchanged for cash chips.

There are buses in Los Angeles that specifically transport people to the casino, with a fare of $7. If you go to the casino, you can exchange the same day's ticket for chips.

The casino also has various lottery activities, with draws every two hours. Just by betting $1, you have a chance to win the ultimate prize and win all the prize money bet by everyone.

A few days later, the latest issue of "Playboy" magazine was published, featuring five pages and dozens of photos introducing the Flamingo Casino, all in color. Hardy Grand Hotel's casino is magnificent, like a palace, much higher end than any casino people have seen before.

Television stations also started running ads.

Columbia Broadcasting System and NBC Television covered the entire United States. After World War II, 20 million American families already had televisions. Hardy knew that the TV industry would quickly rise and become the main form of entertainment.

So he invested in a TV factory. For the next few decades, televisions would definitely sell well. In the future, almost every household would have one or even multiple TVs, constantly being updated and replaced.