Hollywood Zenith



Samuel was in a good mood, chatting and laughing with his friends, completely avoiding fuming Mikhail. He had successfully cheated the arrogant Oligarch, making him bleed millions in the process. It was not a good thing to rejoice in another's misery, but Samuel wholeheartedly dwells into it in this instance!

Next, the auctioneer presented the 1931 Bugatti No. 41 'Royale,' many people were excited about it. But without the trouble of Mikhail, Samuel easily won the bid for ten million dollars.

  The Bugatti Type 41 Royale was easily one of the most expensive vehicles ever made. It was also one of the largest and most luxurious in its heyday.

For that price, Samuel received a chassis with the drive and grille. The Type 41 Royale had a wheelbase of over 169 inches and an overall length of over 236 inches. The first prototype of the vehicle was built in 1926, and it was even longer than the first production measurements.

All in all, it was a beast of a locomotive!

The next item was won by Istanbul; he was waiting for his long-awaited 1938 Delahaye 165 convertible. He spent twenty million dollars and breezed through the bidding war by upping the price to oblivion!

The car had a similar build to Samuel's, but the bright red color gave it a special flare compared to the black Bugatti.

After a few more items, the auction reached its climax. The article was slowly laid behind the curtain, and after the audience reached its peak, they unveiled the thing with a bang! Ferrari 250 GTO from the year 1962 had finally appeared!

The big shots who hadn't made the moves yet were all waiting for this Ferrari; only a total of thirty-nine models were produced, but the actual number that existed was unknown! Who said they couldn't be counted with your hands? No one knew! 

The crazy thing was that this model was evaluated as one of the best maintained with almost all of its original parts. Even now, the company had stopped making parts for this version, which meant they would have to go through hell to find new spare parts if one broke it.

Many collectors agreed that the estimated price for this Ferrari 250 GTO had already reached twenty-four million USD! But many collectors viewed it as priceless!

" Sami, Antonio and I went through the calculation. We can still put together ten million dollars if you lacked money. I know it might not be enough but don't forget to ask for our help and keep this number in mind." Istanbul said to him in a low voice.

They had seen him spend over ten million and knew he might lack funds for this item. The restlessness and vigor of the crowd were evident as they waited patiently for the bidding to start.

Samuel only nodded.

" Don't forget about me too! I have couple of millions that I can transfer but I hardly believe you will need it!" Darren chuckled.

" Sheesh, talk in low tone! We don't want them to know!" Antonio pointed toward Fridmansky.

" I am good. I don't believe I can't win a mere car?" Samuel said arrogantly.

" Everyone! Tonight's main item, this Ferrari 250 GTO is finally on the stage! I can see everyone's excited faces but let me first tell you the starting price, five million dollars! I know it's a dream car for every car collector of the world, I hope you can give it the similar exit price!"

The auctioneer kept hyping the crowd talking about the rare and glorious history of the item, but his babbling was cut short when someone doubled the starting price.

" 10 million dollars!" It showed how popular this item was.

Samuel stayed still for a time; it was not the right time to enter the bidding war. He was chatting with others but kept an eye out for the price changes.

Fridmansky, on the other hand, was busy finding out who Samuel was; his subordinates were clueless about him, so he contacted someone over the phone, giving them the description of Samuel. He was hoping to get his revenge for humiliation.

Mikhail knew if he didn't do anything, he would become a laughing stock in the capital market tomorrow, which he refused to accept.

Soon, he received a report, and when he heard about Samuel's background, he took a breath of cold air, hiss. It was terrifying!

It was often better than Istanbul and Antonio, with whom he played before. If he wanted to move against such a person, it would be a suicide move! Immediately he became sensible, not wanting to get involved with Samuel.

Samuel didn't know what was cooking behind the scene. His focus was on the stage. Even if the Russian Oligarch tried to make a move, he was sure of the result. His body would never be recovered, and his family would have to bury an empty coffin!

"20 million." At this time, the price of Ferrari had exceeded the twenty million mark. But this did not affect bidders' interest at all, and the offer kept rolling in.

" Samuel I have been thinking, are these people crazy? They keep bidding!" Darren said from the side. It was his first auction, and the fanaticism of the people irked him.

" Hahaha, that's normal. When one has enough money, they have to make it rain!" Antonio answered instead.

" Right, what good is money if you can't use it on your hobbies?" Istanbul said.

" I was not asking you, everyone knows how crazy you are!" Darren retorted. Hobbies? It was madness!

" Well, you haven't seen true madness. I am joining in soon!"

" hah, I rest my case." Darren knew that he was talking with idiots. He liked cars like any other person, but not so much that it would cost one a mansion worth of it!

The price was at twenty-eight million, which meant many people started to opt out, and the increases were narrow.　　

"28.6 million."

"28.7 million."

After all, the price was over the estimated one, and not many people thought spending thirty million on a car was viable!　

After a few more rounds of quotations, the price had passed the 30 million mark smoothly. There were only a handful of people who were in the race. Many of them were agents for famous car collectors or a museum; the item was that priceless!

The Belgian car collector who competed with Antonio for the Ferrari 250 GT was one of the main players in this competition.

"31.05 million." This was his latest bid. He increased the price by fifty thousand dollars.

  "32 million." Samuel raised his No. 6 bidding card and entered the competition strongly.

This shocked the original few competitors; today, the small group of Samuel and his friends were too dazzling.

Samuel's 10 million for the 1931 Bugatti No. 41 "Royale," Istanbul's 20 million for the 1938 Delahaye 165 convertible, and Antonio's 18 million dollars for the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder. They had already spent fifty million dollars in this auction!

No one expected them to enter this race when they first calculated the expenditure. Their only glimmer of hope was mercilessly shattered by Samuel's move! 

The investors who had been bidding for a long time became a little depressed.

"33 million." A local collector of the city took his shot. So what if his background was solid? For him, everything was empty talk if one didn't have the money to go along with it!

"34.5 million." The Belgian collector gritted his teeth and reported his final price. He had already lost the Spyder, so he couldn't go empty hand from this auction, or he would lose vast prestige!

"35 million." Samuel sat leisurely while raising his card again. He had set his mind on it, and nothing could stop him from acquiring this car today!

"36.5 million."

"37 million."

The agents were busy on the phone calling their customers and asking about their next move. It was going into dangerous territory even if their bosses were billionaires. 

"38.5 million." When Samuel quoted his final price, none could take him on. Mikhail was already flinching whenever their eyes met; he was ready to flee after the auction.

As for the agents and collectors, they already gave up knowing not even in a million years they could compete with a Rothschild!

The price also shocked Istanbul and Antonio; this was the time when they knew how prominent their new friend was. On the other hand, Darren was also concerned, but looking at Samuel's calm face, he knew this was not hurting him.

Not many could stay calm when bidding for so much money, but Samuel was different; his nobel temperament was fully displayed, making anyone else feel a little inferior involuntarily.

"38.5 million, going thrice! Sold! Congratulations the gentleman at No.6 for winning this priceless Ferrari 250 GTO! "

Nobody knew who started clapping, but people gave him a standing ovation. It was strange, but Samuel stood up and bowed slightly to show his appreciation.

When Samuel turned to look at Mikhail's face, he was gone! Mikhail only hoped that Samuel would forget about him; he couldn't risk taking any more damage to his visit to the States!

But fate worked in mysterious ways; they would meet in the future under different circumstances.