Chapter 138: Inventory of Stark Industries

Around the Christmas holiday, when lovers and families should be gathering, Stark Tower in New York City was anything but calm. The accounting, tax, and legal departments were ablaze with light; all employees were still working overtime.

Heads of operations and managers from Stark-owned enterprises across the country had also brought company financial records, gathering in New York to respond to the group's earth-shattering upheaval.

Stream after stream of streamlined reports and detailed financial figures flowed into the chairman's office on the top floor.

As the heir to Stark Industries, Tony Stark had not left this room for three days. With bloodshot eyes, he was herded into the bathroom to clean himself up. If he didn't wash now, he would start to rot...

Fighting alongside him were Obadiah Stane, Howard Stark's most trusted and long-term business partner, and Edwin Jarvis, the Stark family butler.

Both had families and other work, so they could not hide in the chairman's office and refuse to step out like Tony. They had just returned to the company from their respective homes to assist the young master.

Having finally driven the young master, who had come down with some inexplicable frenzy, off to take a bath, Obadiah, the bald man organizing the reports, spoke first: "Did Tony take the wrong medicine? He couldn't be found at the funeral; I thought he had run away again like before."

"Even if we managed to persuade him back, we would have to keep persuading him for a year or half a year before he would reluctantly agree to inherit the group. Who would have thought he is now more energetic than any of us. Is he really not on the wrong medicine? Or has someone replaced him..."

Edwin, tidying up the chaotic office environment, said: "Young Master Tony has simply seen things clearly; that is very good. Although the deadline for paying the estate tax is nine months, it is actually very urgent. The sooner he gets into the swing of things, the more leeway we will have."

"That is true. But with such a rush now, I am actually worried he might impulsively do something irrational."

"Obadiah, what do you think I would do that is irrational? Shut down every department of Stark Industries?" Tony, having quickly rinsed himself off, walked out wearing clean clothes.

Obadiah showed no embarrassment at being caught speaking behind someone's back; he spoke bluntly: "Tony, you must understand one thing: according to US law, whether you want to shut down Stark Industries or do anything else, you must first pay the estate tax in full before you possess complete legal authority."

"If you suddenly lose your mind, smash Stark Industries, and cannot pay the estate tax, then you won't be fulfilling your wish to start from scratch; instead, you will have to start from debt."

"I actually intended to do exactly that." Tony's simple sentence made the two old servants of the Stark family tremble with anxiety. "—But it should be quite different from what you think."

Obadiah, feeling as though he had just ridden a roller coaster, felt his heart wasn't quite up to it. Suppressing the urge to faint, he said: "Tony, you should explain in detail. Don't scare your old uncle to death."

Picking up a few sheets of handwritten drafts from the table, Tony gestured with his eyes toward the guest sofa and said: "Obadiah, sit. If you fall ill now, it will be very troublesome for me. Jarvis, whiskey, if you please."

"Very well." Jarvis walked to the small bar and asked: "Does Mr. Stane need one as well?"

"Yes, I'll have a glass too."

Tony sat on the sofa, staring at the things he had written in his hands, and said: "Jarvis, pour yourself a glass too. Then sit down together; I have some matters on which I want to hear your thoughts."

"Very well, young master." The old servant placed three glasses on a silver tray, finished pouring the wine, and carried them along with the bottle to the low table.

Only then did Tony begin to speak: "The situation of Stark Industries, I believe you understand better than I do. Although we have shareholders, we are not listed or quoted, and our shares do not circulate in the primary or secondary markets. I suppose this is the main reason that gang of ghosts on Wall Street is so closely watching us."

Obadiah said: "Yes, I advised Howard on this matter. Although we have the support of the military, in the United States, trying to monopolize a business will not end well."

"Stop, stop, stop, I have plans for this matter." Interrupting his old uncle's unfinished words, Tony knew that if he let him ramble on, it would probably take three days and three nights to finish.

Tony said: "The point I want to make is that fortunately, we did not enter the stock market, so our equity structure is relatively simple. Stark Industries should actually be called the Stark Group; you all also own a significant number of shares in certain companies."

"However, there are two foundations involved: one is the New York City Veterans Foundation, and the other is the Stark Education and Culture Promotion Foundation. What are these two foundations for?"

"In many companies, these two foundations hold a relatively high percentage of shares. The latter is present in almost all companies under the group, while the former is found in those companies with particularly good financial reports."

Edwin Jarvis replied: "Young master, the Stark Education and Culture Promotion Foundation was established by the late master to emulate the practices of the Jews and avoid huge estate taxes."

"You have always been the registered head of this foundation. However, there are certain limits on transferring assets each year. Although the late master kept doing it, a large amount of property was still registered under his own name."

"Then what is the story with the New York City Veterans Foundation? What is its relationship with the Veterans Association?"

The latter is an official US organization, while the former is a front for the Strategic Homeland Defense, Attack, and Logistics Bureau. Jarvis could not state this part explicitly because it was a confidential matter.

After thinking for a moment, he could only say: "The Veterans Foundation is different from the Veterans Association; it is a privately established organization. The head has always been Ms. Peggy Carter, who is regarded as the widow of Captain America. Recently, she has also been looking for a successor and plans to retire."

"Ah, it's the old auntie." Tony shivered; she was another woman he couldn't mess with.

However, thinking of the old man's camaraderie with those people, whatever he did was not surprising. There might even be a shadow of the military behind it, so Tony did not intend to pursue the equity in this part; obtaining their support was enough.

Tony said: "So, based on the results of these days of overtime work and the audited amount, I still have to contribute thirty-four billion dollars to the US government, ignoring the fractions. Is this amount correct? It is several times more than the entire group's liquid funds combined."

Obadiah, however, felt somewhat gleeful and said: "This is because we do not need to publish financial reports, so the outside world cannot be sure of Stark Industries' situation. Otherwise, according to what those newspapers say, the estate tax amount you have to pay would be an astronomical figure of over a hundred billion dollars."

(End of this chapter)