[Chapter 378: Link's Latest Net Worth]
Two weeks after The Hollywood Reporter released the box office rankings, Forbes Magazine published its 1996 lists including the "Global Billionaires List," "America's 400 Wealthiest," and the "Celebrity Income List."
In the latest Forbes Global Billionaires List, Link's ranking showed a significant change compared to last year.
According to Forbes, his assets are divided into three parts: Glimmer Capital, Guess Pictures, and his personal income.
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Founded over three years ago, Glimmer Capital has invested primarily in projects within the internet, entertainment, real estate, and apparel industries in recent years.
The portfolio includes equity in both public and private companies.
Among the public companies, Link owned 4.05% of Microsoft, 2.85% of Cisco, 2.23% of Berkshire Hathaway, 3.2% of Disney, 5.12% of Netscape, and 12% of Apple.
Glimmer also held stakes in 16 private companies, including 15.2% of Guess Pictures, 18% of LTD Clothing Company (the parent company of Victoria's Secret), 95% of Marvel Entertainment, 15% of United Talent Agency (UTA), and 3.5% of Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Forbes valued Glimmer Capital at $6.6 billion, with Link owning 74.5% of it.
Microsoft shares were valued at approximately $2.5 billion.
Last year, Microsoft launched its next-generation operating system, Windows 95.
Within a year, Microsoft's stock jumped from $22 to $68, with its market capitalization quickly rising from over $30 billion to surpass $60 billion and fluctuating between $50 billion and $80 billion.
In February 1996, Microsoft had a market valuation of $62 billion, and Glimmer's 4.05% stake was worth about $2.51 billion.
Coming in second was Cisco Systems, Inc., with a current market valuation of $32.5 billion, up about 80% from the previous year's figures.
Glimmer held 2.85% of Cisco, which was valued at about $920 million in February.
Berkshire Hathaway, founded by investment guru Warren Buffett in 1956 and listed in 1988, ranked third.
Last year, the company heavily invested in stocks including Coca-Cola, American Express, and Disney, causing share prices to rise from $280,000 to $320,000 per share.
Link held about 15 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway, worth approximately $480 million.
In fourth place was Disney, which experienced a decline in market value from $13.5 billion to around $10 billion due to the influence of Guess Pictures.
According to Forbes statistics, Disney's market value in February of this year was $10.6 billion.
Glimmer's 3.2% stake in Disney was valued at around $340 million.
At number five was Netscape.
Netscape went public on August 9, 1995, with an initial price of $28 per share and a closing price of $58.25 on its first day, giving it a market cap of about $2.2 billion.
After the IPO, Netscape's stock price skyrocketed, with a market cap exceeding $5 billion by year-end and surpassing $6 billion at the beginning of this year, being touted as the "first internet stock."
Last year, Glimmer owned 15% of Netscape and began selling off 10% starting in December, bringing in around $1 billion in cash.
By February, Netscape's market cap reached about $6.2 billion, with the remaining 5% stake valued at approximately $320 million.
Apple ranked sixth.
Apple has been grappling with a serious crisis.
The Macintosh Performa series launched last year underperformed, and the Newton PDA saw a poor market response.
Their operating system (System 7) lagged behind Microsoft's Windows 95, resulting in a dramatic drop in PC market share to just 4%.
By the end of 1995, Apple's financial statement showed a loss of $816 million, leading to significant layoffs of nearly 30%.
In January 1996, Apple stock was trading at $5.50 per share, corresponding to a market valuation of $3.2 billion.
Glimmer owned 12.1% of Apple, worth approximately $384 million.
Given the rapid decline of Apple's stock, Forbes believed the value of these shares would quickly diminish, projecting that the value of Link's 12.1% stake in Apple would drop below that of Disney and Netscape, which is why it ranked in sixth place.
The total value of digitized holdings in public companies under Glimmer amounted to around $4.95 billion, while private company stakes held a total value of about $1.65 billion.
The highest value asset belongs to LTD Clothing Company.
LTD's brands include The Limited (women's apparel), Express, and Bath & Body Works.
In 1994, Link invested $100 million in acquiring the lingerie brand Victoria's Secret, which launched the 'Angels' marketing campaign last year, boosting the brand's influence tremendously.
LTD's market value increased quickly, with current stock prices fluctuating between $20 and $30 per share, amounting to about $4.8 billion.
Link's 18% stake in LTD was valued at approximately $864 million.
In second place was the 15.2% stake in Guess Pictures, currently valued at around $425 million based on Wall Street estimates of the company's valuation at $2.8 billion.
The total value of Marvel Entertainment, UTA, CAA, and others amounted to about $350 million.
Overall, Glimmer's total assets were valued at around $6.6 billion, with Link holding a 74.5% stake amounting to about $4.9 billion.
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Link's second asset was Guess Pictures.
He personally held 33.3% of Guess Pictures, estimated to be worth about $930 million.
The third portion of Link's wealth included his total income from the previous year, approximately $350 million, which consisted of earnings from several film projects, box office shares from films like The Butterfly Effect and The Sixth Sense, book and script royalties, and screenplay payments.
Forbes did not have specific data but provided an estimate based on rumors.
In summary, Link's net worth was $6.2 billion, ranking 18th on Forbes' Global Billionaires List, an increase of $3 billion from the previous year, moving up over ninety spots.
However, Forbes believed Link's actual net worth was higher than reported.
First, his income from films was not very transparent; the box office revenue share arrangement with Guess Pictures was undisclosed, and the magazine had not received accurate data.
Second, the main shares within Glimmer had been restructured, making the equity murky.
Currently, the main shareholders of Glimmer were Link with 74.5%, Horizon Investments with 21.5%, and Rose Garden Investments holding about 1.8%.
Horizon Investments was registered in the Cayman Islands, acquiring its 21.5% stake through investments and share swaps, valued at over $1.5 billion.
At the same time, after Microsoft's surge in market value last year, Glimmer sold about 0.5% of its shares, gaining around $300 million in cash or stock.
Following the Netscape explosion in late last year and early this year, Glimmer sold off an additional 10% stake, netting approximately $600 million in cash or stock.
Additionally, Guess Pictures underwent a second round of financing, and Link sold about 20% of his shares, garnering around $400 million worth of share or stock.
Including dividends from more than a dozen companies, Link and Glimmer had a total cash holding exceeding $2.7 billion.
This cash was not only used for purchasing shares of Cisco, Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway but also included $1.5 billion transferred overseas, which Forbes had yet to investigate regarding the fund's flow.
If this amount was included, along with Link's numerous luxurious homes, private jets, and yachts, his net worth would far exceed $6.2 billion.
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On the America's 400 Wealthiest list, Link ranked 12th, below Bill Gates at $18.5 billion; Warren Buffett at $15 billion; the Walton family members, and three members of the Rockefeller family, as well as Paul Allen at $7.2 billion.
In the Forbes Celebrity Income list, Link topped the list with $350 million, surpassing all athletes, actors, and musicians.
Furthermore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Monica Bellucci, and Jodie Foster were also included, with the highest annual incomes reaching $30 million, while the lowest exceeded $3 million.
Moreover, the women in Link's family all held stakes in Rose Garden Investments.
Founded in April last year, the company now has a market valuation around $120 million, with Monica, Lily, and others holding at least 2% of the shares, making each of them a millionaire, and in a few years, they could become multimillionaires.
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Due to his rapid increase in wealth, the women in his family started visiting the sets more frequently after Forbes published the billionaire list.
In the past, they would visit one at a time when he was filming, but now they were coming in every few weeks.
Sometimes, they showed up all together, reasoning that they were there to help him deal with "physiological problems" and preventing him from being enticed by other women.
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After the release of the Forbes Billionaires List, familiar faces from his circles repeatedly called to congratulate him on his increased assets, some inquiring about his investment strategies and seeking good advice; others wanted to hand over their money to Glimmer for management to profit alongside him.
Besides people from the entertainment industry, many from the media and investment sectors, as well as several political figures, including President Bill Clinton and his wife, warmly invited him to visit the White House.
Link agreed, stating that he would go when he had the time.
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