America 1919

Chapter 700: 240. Morgan Ball

The banquet hall was resplendent with light, and at a glance, Donnie could confirm that he was the youngest person there!

Precisely because of this, when Donnie and Alice appeared in the banquet hall, they immediately became the center of attention.

There was no helping it, in a gathering where forty or fifty years old was considered young, Donnie and Alice were absolutely like fireflies in the dark night, shining brightly whether they wanted to or not!

Those who had not yet met Donnie showed a hint of confusion upon seeing him, but their bafflement was quickly dispelled by the friends beside them who knew of Donnie’s identity!

It turned out he was none other than Donnie Block, who had become famous throughout the United States in the past two years!

It was also at this time, accompanied by George Whitney, a middle-aged man dressed in the traditional Morgan attire appeared—a black suit, a black vest, a white shirt, a black tie, and a pocket watch hanging from the vest!@@novelbin@@

“Donnie, let me introduce you!”

George Whitney said to Donnie with a happy tone.

“This gentleman is the president of Morgan, Mr. Jack Morgan!”

Known as the creditor of the world, Jack Morgan had no arrogance on his face, wearing a kindly smile, he warmly said to Donnie, “Mr. Block, your arrival has injected fresh energy into our aged gathering!”

Although Jack Morgan appeared to be a good-natured man at that moment, and the media often criticized him for lacking his father J.P. Morgan’s immense, unremitting energy.

In fact, during wartime, he was even criticized as a puppet, a pale and powerless emulator of J.P. Morgan with slow actions.

But in reality, anyone who thought this way and started to underestimate Jack Morgan was truly playing the fool.

During World War I, Jack Morgan used his connections in the United Kingdom to strengthen Morgan’s relations with the Allies, and it wouldn’t have been possible for Morgan to become the creditor of the world during World War I without Jack Morgan’s maneuvers.

The real Jack Morgan simply didn’t like to be in the spotlight like his father did, but people always think that the one in the spotlight is the brightest!

“Mr. Morgan, you are too kind; I have always kept in mind the help that Morgan has given me before, and it was only because I knew Mr. Morgan was always busy that I hesitated to visit!”

Donnie highly valued his relationship with Morgan, especially regarding the future development of Hollywood.

The future Hollywood would be controlled by Jewish People, a fact Donnie had to consider, and to compete with that force, Donnie needed more outside support, and Morgan was the partner Donnie had chosen for cooperation!

Many said that the Morgan Family was also of Jewish descent, but in fact, that was just a marketing rumor from later generations. Not only was Morgan not Jewish, he harbored great animosity towards Jewish People, such as the firm rule within Morgan that no person of Jewish descent was allowed to be a partner.

This rule had led to attacks from Jewish People on Morgan multiple times, until the 60s or 70s when Morgan finally accepted its first partner of Jewish descent!

An annoyed expression appeared on Jack Morgan’s face, and he said, “Mr. Block, please don’t think that way. If I had known your thoughts, I should have invited you earlier. It seems I have made a mistake!”

After exchanging pleasantries, Jack Morgan called over another middle-aged man with white hair in his fifties and introduced him to Donnie, “Mr. Block, this is Tenashi Burt, the general manager of the American Steel Company. He was just telling me earlier that once you arrived, he definitely wanted to introduce you two!”

This was another impressive individual Donnie had not yet met but had heard of.

The predecessor of American Steel was the Carnegie Steel Company, founded by the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. After Morgan acquired Carnegie Steel, they also bought several iron ore mines from the Rockefeller Family, merged several steel companies, and then consolidated them into the American Steel.

During the time of Andrew Carnegie, Tenashi Burt had already worked for the Carnegie Steel Company, and his rise can be described as a battle to the top. Initially just a salesperson for Carnegie Steel, he then steadily moved up the ranks, now managing American Steel, which controls 65% of the American steel market on behalf of Morgan.

Wall Street even named him the strongest employee of the 1920s in the United States!

“Mr. Block, I should have visited you back at Surf Hotel. I never expected that we would meet for the first time only now; I hope you won’t hold it against me!”

Seeing the smile on Tenashi Burt’s face, Donnie knew why Jack Morgan valued him so highly—it was as though this man’s expression was cast from the same mold as Jack Morgan’s.

And Tenashi Burt’s words also had a deeper meaning!

Atlantic City was in a period of rapid development, with new buildings springing up daily, which naturally led to a very high demand for steel. And then there was Donnie’s Surf Hotel, the Atlantic City Sports Arena, and now the Empire State Building, all of which had significant steel requirements.

And Donnie provided all his steel procurement to American Steel Company.

It could be said that although the two parties had not met, Donnie was already one of the crucial clients of American Steel at this stage!

“Mr. Burt, you and Mr. Morgan are so cordial it’s making me nervous!” Donnie joked.

Jack Morgan and Tenashi Burt were initially taken aback, then burst into loud laughter, with Jack Morgan adding, “Donnie, you’re truly as witty as George described!”

After some pleasantries, Jack Morgan began addressing Donnie differently.

However, in such a setting, it wasn’t possible for Jack Morgan to keep chatting with Donnie; after the niceties and becoming friends, Jack Morgan went off to attend to other guests.

At first, Tenashi Burt kept Donnie company for a while to build camaraderie, but he too excused himself when other friends arrived!

It was common for people at tonight’s ball to behave in this way; one moment a group would be chatting together, and the next, everyone had moved on to different circles.

After mingling with some guests, Donnie took a glass of wine and joined Alice in a corner of the banquet hall.

It wasn’t that Donnie was putting on airs by entering such circles, or intentionally avoiding the crowd, but rather, as a newcomer, he needed a quieter environment to process and remember his conversations with the many people he had just met, to see if he had inadvertently stumbled during any of them!

After reassessing and finding no issues, Donnie then started the second round of networking with Alice.

It had to be said, Morgan’s annual ball was of very high quality, with representatives from several American financial consortia in attendance. At the ball, Donnie even met Pierre DuPont, the head of the DuPont Family and current chairman of General Motors!

Also present was Henry Ford, the chairman of Ford Motor.

Donnie had brief exchanges with them, but these conversations didn’t lead to any kind of cooperation.

At the end of the evening, it was a young Rockefeller who came on behalf of the Rockefeller Family who spoke to Donnie about a matter of interest.

And it was an issue Donnie had been following: the Baku Oil Field.

“Donnie, you must be aware of the Baku Oil Field, aren’t you? What do you think, are you interested in a joint venture?”

The young Rockefeller discussed this with Donnie while sipping champagne.

Donnie looked at him quizzically and asked, “John, I’ve indeed heard friends mention the Baku Oil Field, but I have no friends in the Soviet Union. Besides, if the Rockefeller Family is keen on this project, I’m confident it will be a success. Why did you think of me?”

The young Rockefeller casually replied, “Certainly, we could undertake this on our own, but aren’t we friends? Friends should cooperate for mutual growth. Besides, your Pandora Oil Company still lacks an oil field of its own, which has always been a vulnerability. Securing the Baku Oil Field and then transferring it from overseas back to the domestic market, I think that would be very beneficial for your Pandora Oil Company, wouldn’t it?”

When pie falls from the sky, one must be careful!

This was a principle Donnie always believed in.

So why had they come out of nowhere to talk to him about the Baku Oil Field? What message had they received?

Or what was it that they wanted to do?

Unable to discern their true intention at the moment, Donnie could only decide to not agree just yet.

“John, this isn’t a trivial matter; it involves situations in the Soviet Union. I need to consider it carefully!”

The young Rockefeller didn’t think too much about it, merely expressing that Donnie could contact him at any time if he came to a decision!

After finishing the discussion with the young Rockefeller, the evening’s ball also came to an end.

Having bid farewell to a few friends with whom he had had enjoyable conversations, Donnie left the event early with Alice.

“What do you think the young Rockefeller wanted by bringing this up with you? To see if you would take action?”

Alice was also curious inside the car as she inquired of Donnie.

Donnie shook his head, “I can’t be sure yet, but what I can say for certain is that they aren’t simply looking to collaborate with us!”

As the oil fields currently being discovered were already divided up, the Baku Oil Field had become very important. In such circumstances, it was suspicious that Rockefeller didn’t want to take it on alone but instead sought to involve him in the venture. Donnie didn’t think the Rockefeller Family was that benevolent!