For the tech industry, the first major event of 1995 was the update of the IE browser. On January 1st, New Year's Day, Eaglet's core internet software, IE Browser, was updated globally in compliance with the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust settlement. The update removed the default setting that locked Eaglet's portal as the homepage, replacing it with an open mode, effectively signaling Eaglet's relinquishment of its monopoly over internet access points.
Many tech companies that had struggled to thrive due to Eaglet's control over the internet traffic gateway were ecstatic, eagerly preparing to embrace the new era.
Within Eaglet, the decision to abandon the company's strongest moat led to a mix of concern and disappointment, but the team had to brace themselves for the challenges ahead.
This concession even had a noticeable impact on the ongoing IPO.
While the portal was just one part of Eaglet's vast product matrix, many believed that the company's dominance in internet access had been a key driver behind the explosive growth of its various products over the past few years. Consequently, investors began to question whether Eaglet could maintain its rapid growth without its control over internet access.
Only a select few within the Westeros system understood that this compromise was actually part of a strategic shift for Eaglet.
The key lay in the new default homepage: the 'Google' search engine.
Abandoning portal dominance and opening up search access actually marked Eaglet's strategic transition from a content-focused company to a platform-focused one.
Simon had long instilled in Bezos and others the idea that the scale of online information was growing exponentially. No single company could meet the diverse needs of a massive user base for information. Thus, Eaglet's ultimate goal was not to produce content but to create a platform that could integrate content.
In the early days of the internet, portals were, in essence, platforms as well. However, due to the severe shortage of online content during the industry's infancy, portal websites had to focus more on producing content while managing their platforms.
Thanks to the relentless efforts of the Westeros system over the past few years to foster and accelerate the industry, online information resources were now abundant. The time was right to usher in the Internet 2.0 era.
The search engine platform Google, the social networking platform Facebook, and the e-commerce platform Amazon would be the cornerstones of Eaglet's internet business in the Internet 2.0 era. Of course, to mislead competitors and buy time for these three platforms to develop, Eaglet would continue to publicly emphasize the importance of its portal business.
As numerous media outlets analyzed the long-term impact of this event on the tech industry, the 'Information Age' marketing campaign, which concluded on December 31, 1994, and the industry data related to the tech sector, became the focus of media and public attention at the start of the new year.
Eaglet's portal launched a news special on January 1st.
As of December 31, 1994, preliminary statistics indicated that the number of internet users in the U.S. had reached 78 million, a 69% increase for the year, while the total number of netizens had surged to 140 million, representing a staggering 86% growth. Consequently, the internet penetration rate in the U.S. had risen to 53%, far ahead of other countries.
A significant portion of this growth—20% of the core data—was attributed to the 'Information Age' marketing campaign in the last two months of 1994.
In the hardware sector, U.S. PC shipments reached 28 million units in 1994, with 9 million of those shipped during the last two months of the massive marketing push. Thanks to the rapid growth in the final months of the year, the number of PCs in use in the U.S. officially surpassed 100 million.
Globally, as countries ramped up their information industry efforts, the number of internet users worldwide, including in the U.S., reached 130 million in 1994, while the number of netizens grew to 230 million, with year-over-year growth rates of 78% and 109%, respectively.
In addition to these extensive industry statistics, Eaglet also released data on the growth of its various businesses—portal websites, email, social networking, e-commerce, video games, outsourcing platforms, and more. Each with impressive growth rates, these figures underscored the rapid arrival of a new era.
As of early 1995, the world's population stood at 5.7 billion.
Eaglet projected that while the explosive growth of U.S. internet users might slow down, globally, the current 230 million netizens accounted for just 4% of the world's population. Everything was just beginning. Starting in 1995, Eaglet would significantly ramp up its international expansion efforts.
Beyond Eaglet, other tech giants involved in the 'Information Age' marketing campaign over the past two months—America Online (AOL), Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and Compaq—also announced their own successes.
These positive reports were immediately reflected in the first trading day of the U.S. stock market in 1995.
On January 2, a Monday, the first trading day of the new year, the Nasdaq Index surged 2.7% by the afternoon close, reaching 1,938 points, just shy of the 2,000-point milestone.
With the Westeros system's three tech giants and the U.S. Department of Justice reaching a high-profile antitrust settlement, Cisco, which had seen its stock price fluctuate in late 1994, continued its upward trend.
On January 2, buoyed by a string of positive news, Cisco's stock price rose 3.5%, closing with a market capitalization of $156.3 billion, making it the world's most valuable publicly traded company.
Following closely behind was America Online (AOL).
According to preliminary data, despite fierce competition from telecom giants like AT&T and numerous small ISP providers, AOL added 15.1 million new users in the U.S. in 1994, bringing its domestic user base to 47.7 million, a year-over-year growth rate of 46%, and securing a dominant 61% market share, far ahead of AT&T's 19%.
And it wasn't just about the U.S.; AOL's international growth was equally impressive.
In key markets such as the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Italy, and Russia, despite pressure from local telecom operators, AOL managed to gain 3.7 million new users, bringing its total international user base to 5.1 million.
With 52 million internet users worldwide, AOL's global market share was nearing 10%.
Thanks to its efforts, AOL had also secured ISP licenses in Germany and formed joint ventures with telecom operators in Japan and South Korea, setting the stage for explosive international growth.
Today's AOL was no longer the company that had lost its way and eventually crumbled, as Simon remembered. It had become a truly global top-tier internet service provider.
On January 2, 1995, AOL's stock price surged 2.9%, closing with a market capitalization of $139.2 billion.
Once the leader in market value among the Westeros system's three tech giants during their antitrust investigations, Daenerys Entertainment ranked third. On January 2, its stock price on the New York Stock Exchange rose slightly by 0.7%, closing with a market capitalization of $132.6 billion.
Although the growth was modest, Daenerys Entertainment's overall stock price had been on an upward trajectory since its IPO on July 1, last year, maintaining a terrifying market value of over $100 billion, far outpacing its Hollywood competitors.
Having launched broad testing of its Windows 95 system at the end of last year, Microsoft saw its market value increase rapidly due to the strong reception of the new system and the rapid decline of its direct competitor, Apple. In mid-December, it officially became another $100 billion market cap company.
On January 2, Microsoft's stock price rose 1.9%, closing with a market capitalization of $115.3 billion, placing it fourth.
Old industrial giant General Electric ranked fifth, with a market capitalization also surpassing $100 billion, making it the only traditional industrial group in the top five.
On January 2, General Electric's stock price rose 0.9%, closing with a market capitalization of $106.1 billion.
Compared to the dazzling new companies, General Electric's $100 billion market value was seen by many as the last glory of the American industrial age.
Following these five market leaders were a series of other tech companies, including Intel, SUN, and Oracle, whose market values continued to dwarf those of traditional industrial giants.
When Daenerys Entertainment became the first $100 billion market cap company in U.S. history after its IPO in July last year, many financial media outlets predicted that $100 billion was the ceiling for a company's market value and that Daenerys Entertainment's market value would significantly decline in the second half of the year.
But in just half a year, the U.S. stock market had produced five $100 billion market cap giants.
Cisco's staggering $156.3 billion market value had raised the perceived ceiling to another level. Now, $200 billion seemed just a matter of time.
As the financial world marveled at the soaring market values of tech stocks, another issue was hard to ignore.
Of the five $100 billion market cap companies, the Westeros system clearly owned four.
Although Gates had expressed dissatisfaction with the media's frequent inclusion of Microsoft in the Westeros system, there was no denying that Simon's nearly 20% stake in Microsoft made him the company's second-largest shareholder, surpassing Paul Allen, who had been gradually
reducing his holdings.
While some people were still reeling from the shock of Simon's $300 billion personal fortune as reported by *Forbes* last year, according to the Westeros company's publicly disclosed holdings and the closing prices on January 2, just Cisco, AOL, Eaglet, and Microsoft alone had brought Simon a total wealth of $294.7 billion.
Just shy of $300 billion by the smallest margin.
Yet, beyond these four companies, the Westeros system still held Eaglet, which many analysts valued at over $100 billion even before its IPO, as well as Circe Capital, which had an increasing influence on Wall Street, and Melisandre, which was continually expanding in the fashion industry. Then there was Nokia, now the world's largest mobile phone giant; Verizon, a wholly-owned regional telecom giant; BHP Group, Australia's leading mining giant; and significant stakes in other tech powerhouses like Intel, SUN, and Oracle, all billion-dollar companies. Plus, there were countless more emerging startups like ThinkCable and Aria, which could rise to prominence at any moment.
So, what is the total value of all these?
After the events of 1994, North American media were cautious in their commentary on the Westeros system. Nonetheless, on the morning of January 3, some couldn't resist expressing their amazement in the press that Simon Westeros had amassed an unimaginable fortune.
Simon was not one to delay in addressing mounting pressures.
On Wednesday morning, the Simon and Janet Westeros Foundation announced that Simon would inject another $3 billion into the foundation to fund the establishment of specialized computer classrooms in underprivileged areas across the U.S. and to train teachers, ensuring that young people from low-income families had access to the latest technological tools.
As for the source of these funds, Simon planned to raise them by selling a small portion of his AOL shares.
However, this detail was not made public.
Because, as expected, it would inevitably be criticized as a mere tax dodge.
Even with the charity initiative publicized, many voices of discontent still emerged. Simon simply had his family's PR team quietly monitor the situation. If it was just grumbling, that was one thing; if it persisted, Simon wouldn't hesitate to push back.
Additionally, Simon commissioned the *New York Times* to write an article speculating on the ultimate fate of Simon's vast personal fortune in the distant future.
The conclusion was that because his wealth was so enormous, it would be impossible to manage it through a foundation like the Rockefellers or the Fords. Therefore, more than half of his assets would inevitably return to society, becoming the collective wealth of the American public.
Meanwhile, the *Los Angeles Times* published an analysis suggesting that in relation to revenue, the market values of companies like Cisco, AOL, Daenerys Entertainment, and Microsoft were significantly inflated.
Bubbles always burst eventually.
Since the bulk of Simon's wealth was tied up in these overvalued stocks, his net worth was far less than the public believed.
When the bubble burst, Simon Westeros's fortune might not even be worth $200 billion.
With these two newspapers leading the way, and with some guidance from the Westeros family's PR team, the narratives that Simon's wealth would eventually return to society and that his net worth was grossly exaggerated began to spread.
The "glass-half-full" mindset was a universal human trait.
It's not exclusive to any culture.
For instance, when Walmart founder Sam Walton first topped *Forbes*'s billionaire list, swarms of reporters flocked to his hometown, only to be disappointed to find an old man driving a beat-up pickup and wearing cheap clothes. Many scoffed that he didn't look anything like America's richest man.
After getting involved in these circles, Simon learned more about the truth.
Sam Walton's private life was far from the modest image portrayed in the media, much like how Zuckerberg, despite being lauded for his "humble" lifestyle with his Honda Fit, actually had a garage full of limited-edition cars, and wore $2,000 wool sweaters.
Similarly, Simon's current strategy was to provide the public with a comforting narrative.
Simon Westeros's wealth is unsustainable. Simon Westeros's wealth is grossly overestimated.
Ultimately, when people believed that Simon's wealth wasn't as outrageous as they had imagined, their emotions would naturally calm down.
The subsequent media response proved that this PR strategy was highly effective.
The $3 billion charity initiative was also implemented without any cuts, with plans to connect the newly established computer classrooms to the internet across the United States.
It wasn't too generous. In addition, Simon planned to install a batch of popular EA video games on these computers used for education.
After all, the best way to learn is to have fun.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]