THE BILLIONAIRE
A PROHETIC STORY OF THE FUTURE WHICH IS NOT SO FAR OFF
The billionaire John Heitzman was dying on the forty-second floor of his office tower. The whole floor had been converted into his personal apartment. Two bedrooms, a work-out gym, a swimming pool, a dining room and two studies had comprised his refuge for the past three years. During this time he had not left his apartment even once. Not once had he taken the express lift down to where the core of his financial and industrial empire was in full operation. Not once had he gone up to the roof, where his personal helicopter was on standby; replete with a full crew awaiting his command.
Three times a week John Heitzman retreated to one of his studies to receive four of his closest associates. At these brief sessions, which lasted no more than forty minutes, he listened to their reports with some indifference, and occasionally issued brief instructions. The billionaire’s orders were never a subject for discussion – they were simply carried out swiftly and to the letter. The book value of the empire under his exclusive control kept increasing by an average 16.5% annually. Even over the past six months, when Heitzman ceased convening even his tri-weekly sessions altogether, the ledgers showed no decline in profits. The system he had created continued to run smoothly with no glitches.
Nobody knew the billionaire’s true financial worth. His name was hardly ever mentioned in the press. Heitzman held strict1ly to the rule: Money hates trouble.