New York 2006

Chapter 49 Fundraising Dinner
The Hyatt Regency in Chicago, where Penny Pritzker of the Pritzker family hosted a fundraising dinner for Daley today.

Luo Ji was also invited by William Daley to come to perform. He didn't want to come, but this time William Daley said that this was the biggest fundraising dinner before Mayor Daley's campaign. He couldn't shirk it, so he decided to do it. Come.

The Pritzker family is one of the famous wealthy families in the United States. Their assets include Hyatt Hotels, credit company Trans Union, tobacco company Conwood, and Marmont Group, with total assets exceeding tens of billions of dollars.

In recent years, their family has often been mentioned by the American media, because the Pritzker family has staged a real drama of wealthy families competing for property.

After the death of the previous generation leader Jay Pritzker, he appointed his son Thomas, cousin Nick and niece Penny Pritzker to become the leaders of the group and control the operation of the group.

As a result, the conflicts between these three people and more than a dozen other family members have become increasingly serious. Other family members feel that these three people have embezzled the family's money.

So other members of the family united to protest against the three-person team, hired Chicago's most famous lawyer, and threatened to take legal action.

Less than three years after Jay's death, the three finally turned into a legal battle in order to avoid family disputes.They signed a secret agreement with other brothers and sisters, agreeing that in the next 10 years, the three will continue to run the family business, but will gradually realize the family's equity through sales, listings, etc., and divide the family assets.

A year later, a member of the family was involved in a lawsuit. Subsequently, the agreement was exposed by the media, and the whole country entered a melon-taking mode.

Last year, the Pritzker family's tobacco company Conwood was sold to Reynolds for $35 billion.There is news that other properties are also being put on the market for sale, and then the family property will be divided according to the will.

When Luo Ji attended various elite gatherings during this period, he heard from others that there might be other problems with the family division agreement.

Penny Pritzker of the Pritzker family is trying her best to make friends with various powerful political figures, hoping to get support from them and get more benefits in this family inheritance division case.

"I also know that the door of heaven will not be opened for me, and there will no longer be unfaithful advice, but this is the era of my rule."

After the song was over and Luo Ji finished his performance, he was led to his seat by a 14-year-old white girl. Next to him was his grandmother Queenie.After she heard that she was going to attend Mayor Daley's banquet, she clamored to come.I want to see a different world.

"Is this the life of the elite? It's just like what's in the movies."

Grandma Queenie looked at the low-key and luxurious banquet hall. Men and women were dressed in exquisite dresses. From time to time, people came on stage to give speeches. They were exquisite and elegant. Some of them were big figures who usually appeared on TV. This made Grandma Queenie seem to have seen it. New world.

Luo Ji looked directly at his grandmother Queenie and said, "Which one is better, the life of a hippie or the life now?"

"Of course it's the hippie life." Grandma said firmly.

The little white girl said, "Logic, I'm right next to the hall. If you need anything, call me."

"OK, go ahead."

This 14-year-old white girl was arranged by her parents to be an intern with little Daley. Today, Daley sent her to take care of Luo Ji.People in the middle and upper classes in the United States like to arrange such an experience for their children to intern next to politicians, so that they can become interested in politics.

Many people may have heard that American politicians molested little girls and boys, and those victims were these underage interns.

This little girl’s grandfather works in the tax bureau, her parents work in the city government, and her brothers and sisters have also entered government departments.Their family is the family of affairs officers in the United States.

In the United States, for this group of service officers, many positions are not open to external recruitment. Applications are usually recommended internally. They also tend to recruit the children of service officers, which can be regarded as inheriting the father's legacy from generation to generation.

"Let's face it, we have a problem in Chicago. The name-calling and bickering from citizens keeps us from solving the real problems. I may not be the best speaker, but I know how to run government and how to bring people together …”

Immediately afterwards, Little Daley came on stage to give a speech. Celebrities from all walks of life in Chicago listened carefully. When they heard the wonderful points, everyone applauded tacitly.After Luo Ji listened, he felt as though little Daley had said a lot, but seemed to have said nothing at all.In short, it is full of high-level vocabulary and does not say how to implement specific policies next.

"Mayor Daley's speech was very exciting. I am honored to invite you all today, and I would like to thank Logic for his wonderful performance just now."

Luo Ji raised his head and nodded to everyone around him, and everyone around him also nodded to him tacitly.

"The following is the donation link. I hope everyone can support Mayor Daley to continue to serve as the next mayor of Chicago..."

The person speaking on the stage now is Penny Pritzker from the Pritzker family. She is quite particular and specially thanked herself.

This fund-raising dinner was held in her name, and it was her responsibility to invite the singers to perform. However, Luo Ji was brought here for free by William Daley, and she did not pay for it, so she thanked herself just now.

After all the formal sessions were over, everyone started looking for people to socialize with, hook up with, talk to, trade with, etc.Grandma Queenie attended this kind of party for the first time. She wore the high-end dress that Luo Ji bought for her. She completely lost the free and easy attitude of the hippies in the past. She followed Luo Ji cautiously, imitating the others in a strict manner.

From time to time, Luo Ji would introduce his grandmother Queenie to people he met and let them socialize privately.But it seemed difficult for grandma to adapt to such an environment, and she returned to her soon after.

"what happened?"

"It's okay, Fili, you are busy, I will accompany you."

"Ok."

Luo Ji looked around and found that the most popular person in the audience today was not Mayor Daley of Chicago, but the host of the banquet, Penny Pritzker. She is 46 years old this year. It is rumored that her assets are More than 20 billion meters.Luo Ji saw many handsome young men in their 20s approaching her to chat.

Luo Ji also wanted to go up and chat with her for a while, but there were too many people chatting with her, so Luo Ji could only take his grandmother Queenie to hang out in the banquet hall.

Luo Ji's popularity was quite high. From time to time, one or two people would come up to chat with him and ask for photos.Many second- and third-generation young people in Chicago think he is cool and are very willing to make friends with him.

During this time, Luo Ji also roughly understood the impression he gave to the outside world.He is willing to try new things and became popular on YouTube. He is a representative figure of YouTube. Especially after the shooting, many media reported his experience on a large scale. He is a representative of the American dream. He stepped out of the slums and became a singer step by step.

Many people have witnessed the rise of Luo Ji with their own eyes. He is extremely popular on the Internet, especially among the grassroots, and has great influence.Luo Ji is also a role model for many men. After hard work, he became his idol. He is also a tough guy. He was robbed and killed two people.

The public likes these characters of his, and Chicago politicians and wealthy people also like him very much. These big shots take the initiative to take photos with him.During this time, Luo Ji took photos with many senators, congressmen, high-level state government officials, and rich people in Chicago. Many of these photos made the news.

At this time, an old white man also came up to talk to him. Luo Ji knew him. He was a state representative from Illinois.

"Logic, is it convenient for you the day after tomorrow? There is a charity dinner in Highland Park and I would like to invite you to attend."

Luo Ji sighed: "Oh, what a coincidence. I happened to have something to do that day."

"OK then."

Luo Ji forced a smile and chatted with the old white man for a while, and finally sent him away after taking a photo with him.Luo Ji lowered his face and muttered, "Do you think I'm a fool?"

Grandma Queenie asked in confusion: "What did you just say?"

"Nothing to say."

During this time, William Daly took him to two or three elite gatherings. Luo Ji found that he was very popular. Many big shots treated him well and came to take photos with him.

After that, he received invitations to various gatherings from all walks of life in Chicago almost every day, including environmental organizations, private dinners, veteran militia organizations, charitable organizations, Democratic gatherings, Republican gatherings, various campaign events, etc.At that time, Luo Ji felt that he had really integrated into this group of elites in the United States.

After attending several parties, Luo Ji felt that they should be familiar with each other. He had also made a lot of money in the past two months from commercial performances, singles, advertisements, and videos. In addition to investing in his own music company, Luo Ji wanted to Try to find an investment direction for the remaining money you have.

So Luo Ji asked the important people he met during this period if they could help him get rich, but they all talked casually and didn't talk to him in depth at all.A few even looked at themselves with contempt.

Only then did Luo Ji realize that something was wrong. It turned out that many big shots had taken photos with him. They didn't like him at all. They just felt that his media influence was good and regarded him as a mascot.Many organizations that invited him came to him to ask for money, and some wanted him to perform for free.

These people didn't respect him at all. They just regarded him as a mascot and a scapegoat as a 16-year-old singer. This feeling of being despised really made him unhappy.

In the banquet hall where people were coming and going, Luo Ji actually felt a little lonely.He missed the days when he was promoting songs and traveling around the country. That kind of life felt fulfilling and real.Now this glamorous life is very illusory.

Luo Ji looked at the 20 billionaire Penny Pritzker who was being admired by the stars. In this era when women's status was generally lower than that of men, many men showed flattering smiles to please her.

Luo Ji remembered that when he and Blake held a party at school, everyone came to fawn over him.And Samiroji’s family compared to Fiona’s family.Although the scenes and statuses are different, the ideas and practices between people are very different.

When you master the resources, you will be taken seriously by others.

"Perhaps, this is what I should pursue most."

(End of this chapter)