Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 191

191. 54th. Preparing for the End of the Century – The U.S. (1)

After sending the Standard Capital group away, the JPMorgan executives went straight up to the CEO’s office.

“Did you meet with Mrs. Lawrence and her husband?”

JPMorgan’s CEO, Harry Clarkson, asked from his desk. A hook-nosed executive, who had represented JPMorgan in negotiations with Standard, spoke up.

“Yes, Chairman. But… the loan terms are ambiguous.”

The hook-nosed executive politely handed over a file, and Harry opened it to review.

“Hmm… it’s certainly ambiguous.”

Providing the most popular IT stocks on the market as collateral meant that the loan term and the provision of additional loans were entirely possible. However, being able to liquidate the loan by forfeiting the pledged shares was a double-edged sword.

Watching Harry push up the middle of his gold-rimmed glasses, another executive calmly spoke.

“Unless we can exchange the shares for physical certificates to buy things, using the pledged shares to repay the loan is concerning. Aren’t we in the business of making money with money?”

Whether it’s loan interest, dividends, or capital gains from securities sales, the essence of the financial industry is playing with money. Harry knew that the option to liquidate the loan with collateral was risky because that money game requires cash.

“Are there any other conditions?”

“They said that if the loan isn’t approved within a week, they’ll go to Chase Manhattan or Goldman Sachs.”

“How dare they!”

At the executive’s response, Harry shouted and slammed his desk with both hands.

Just as Chase Manhattan hated JPMorgan, JPMorgan also despised Chase Manhattan. Naturally, Harry Clarkson, who led JPMorgan from the front, couldn’t help but be angry.

“But it’s definitely a big deal. Securing a major client like Standard Capital would narrow the gap with Chase Manhattan in all aspects, including performance and loan size. We can also win over the pro-merger faction within Chase Manhattan in future acquisitions.”

“That’s right, Chairman. Moreover, IT stocks are currently the biggest blue chips in the stock market. Money is pouring into all sorts of IT companies because of the Y2K problem [the fear that computer systems would fail at the start of the year 2000], and orders are flooding into semiconductor and computer-related companies.”

“Even if we receive the loan amount in shares, we can just dispose of them on the stock market. The liquidity in the stock market is enough to absorb it, and even if they don’t sell, we can liquidate them through our affiliate, Morgan Stanley.”

The words added by the other executives, starting with the hook-nosed executive, were all correct. If they started doing business with Standard, they could kick out the oil-smelling Rockefeller family after the merger with Chase Manhattan.

Above all, the collateral was IT stock. IT stock that no one could buy even if they wanted to!

Even if the total amount was $20 billion, given the size of the American economy where money was overflowing, Harry nodded, considering the strength of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan’s affiliate and a leading investment bank, and even the power of ‘Morgan House’ [JPMorgan’s historical family power] hidden deep in the shadows.

“Let me ask one more thing. When do you think IT stocks will plummet?”

“Excuse me?”

At Harry’s question, all the executives except the hook-nosed one couldn’t hide their bewildered expressions.

‘Would you rather we become fortune-telling gypsies?’

The answer rose to their throats, but the executives, who had received even more absurd questions while climbing to this position, ultimately replaced it with silence. Harry clicked his tongue at them.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… How can you call yourselves people who lead JPMorgan without even that much insight? Is there no one?”

The hook-nosed executive, who had been silent, spoke up.

“It will be when we dump the shares that Standard gives us onto the market.”

Harry laughed heartily at the executive’s confident answer.

“Hahaha! That’s the correct answer! The bear market [a market in which prices are falling] will begin when we, JPMorgan, dump the shares. We are the company that leads Wall Street, after all!”

After the meeting, Harry sent everyone back, leaving only the hook-nosed executive behind.

In the office where only the two of them remained, the hook-nosed executive plopped down on the sofa even without Harry’s permission. On the seat of honor, no less!

“Let’s talk while sitting, Harry.”

Harry got up from his seat and sat on the lower sofa at the hook-nosed executive’s call, whose attitude had suddenly changed.

“Claire Lawrence, that arrogant bitch. She took in a yellow-skinned monkey as her husband, and now she’s even bringing her pet monkeys to this sacred hall of the Morgan family…”

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

The hook-nosed executive waved his hand at Harry, who was asking for forgiveness.

“I’m not trying to blame you, Harry. I also enjoyed deceiving those guys, hehe.”

The hook-nosed executive’s name was Jackson Pierpont Morgan, and as the next head of the Morgan family, he was the person who would become the next leader of JPMorgan.

Because he had lived under a thoroughly disguised identity, none of the executives present knew Jackson’s real name. In the meantime, Jackson, intrigued by the fact that Standard, the rising star of Wall Street, had come to JPMorgan, attended the meeting himself and acted appropriately in front of the executives just now.

Still, that young monkey bothered Jackson. How dare he interfere in a business discussion between white people!

Taking a breath and suppressing his anger, Jackson asked Harry.

“What do you think, Harry? The loan requested by Standard.”

“It’s a good deal. We haven’t had much fun in the American IT sector except for IBM because we’ve been focusing on yen-dollar speculation, Southeast Asian currency speculation, and Russian moratorium operations.”

“I also regret that point. We’ve been busy sucking the marrow out of the Japs, Southeast Asians, and Slavic commies, so we missed out on the food in our own base…”

Jackson, who was trailing off, clenched his fist on the armrest. He had been winning in all sorts of currency speculation, but there was no gold mine like the American stock market.

“I couldn’t step in because I was worried that our reputation would be tarnished by investing in shabby places, but it’s a relief that a bitch who’s been bewitched by monkeys is bringing us the shares on her own. Isn’t that right, Harry?”

“Of course. Even if Standard dumps the shares and goes short [betting on a stock’s decline], JPMorgan and Morgan House’s power can generate even greater profits.”

Jackson nodded at Harry’s words, who was acting like a tongue in his mouth.

“If Standard is making profits in a bear market as Harry says, they’ll be more than capable of using cheap tricks. But.”

Jackson, who had paused for a moment, chuckled.

“We can just crush those petty tricks with the power of our Morgan House. After crushing Standard, the next ones are the Rockefeller family, who don’t know gratitude, and the outdated Royce family.”

The Rockefeller family had grown their business with the Morgan family’s money, but fearing the Morgan family, they turned their backs on the Morgan family and joined hands with the Royce family. To make matters worse, they acquired Chase Manhattan and brought their oil-stained feet to Wall Street, so they were resentful bastards to Jackson.

“I’m going to wipe them all out. No one in this world can beat our Morgan family with money.”

Jackson smirked with a confident expression.

***

A week later.

A call came from JPMorgan.

“…I understand. I’m glad it’s a good deal.”

Claire smiled brightly after ending the short call.

“It’s done! JPMorgan will give us the loan!”

Hearing that the loan had been secured, I clenched my fist.

“JPMorgan is nothing special. Stupid bastards.”

“They’re not stupid, their reason is paralyzed by greed, hehe. Now! We have ammunition, what should we do first?”

At Sun Hae-chul’s question, I smiled and opened my mouth.

“Once the loan comes in, settle the existing loans and buy up to 10 percent of Chase Manhattan’s shares. Get additional loans as the collateral stock price rises.”

“If the stock price rises as Director Lee expects, there will be a lot of money left over even after using the additional loan to buy Chase Manhattan shares and pay off the loan interest. What are you going to do?”

As Park Tae-jin said, I was planning to use the money borrowed from JPMorgan to cover the interest payments to those guys. Nodding, I looked at the three of them and said.

“Let’s go to California. I’m going to meet with Masayoshi Son, Jerry Yang, and David Filo.”

To start preparing for the end of the century, we had to visit Yahoo first.

***

A few days later.

I went to California with Sun Hae-chul and Park Tae-jin. After giving the two of them a break, I rented a pizza place and met with Masayoshi Son, Jerry Yang, and David Filo.

“A company called Google proposed an acquisition, but we turned it down. It was founded in June this year…”

My ears perked up at the news Jerry was telling me. The Google I knew was founded in August 1998…

‘The butterfly effect, huh.’

It seemed that the IT boom had intensified as I pushed Yahoo. I nodded and took a sip of cola before asking.

“Why?”

“The search is too good, so I don’t think it will help our sales.”

As long as Yahoo makes money from banner ads, it’s beneficial for users to spend time on the homepage. But…

‘Is this it?’

I was a little disappointed in Jerry. With this great search engine created by Sergey and Larry, they could create a revenue model that would make the current sales look ridiculous, but they didn’t recognize its value…

I smiled bitterly inside and told them about what happened in Korea, spending some ice-breaking time with them after meeting them for the first time in a while.

‘Should I slowly tell them now?’

Thinking that I had eased the awkwardness to some extent, I revealed that I had taken out a loan from JPMorgan using Yahoo and Standard’s IT stocks as collateral.

“You pledged Yahoo shares to JPMorgan?”

Masayoshi Son, who was about to put pizza in his mouth, stopped his hand and shouted. He knew that I was the owner of Standard through my interactions with him, so it seemed even more unbelievable.

“Yes. The stock price will skyrocket from now on, so I’m going to prepare a new game.”

Unlike me, who answered calmly, Masayoshi Son, Jerry Yang, and David Filo’s expressions were not bright.

“Don’t tell me… are you completely giving up on Yahoo?”

“You should also release half of the shares you currently hold on the market. It would be better to sell them through Morgan Stanley if possible.”

‘Seeing the JPMorgan bastards’ eyes gleaming, they’re going to sweep up all three people’s shares through their affiliate, Morgan Stanley. These guys will be worthless stocks next year, so I have to take care of them to some extent.’

I was able to make money thanks to these three people. So I wanted them to taste the fruits of their investment as well.

After a moment of contemplation, Masayoshi Son nodded.

“I understand. As soon as I get back, no! I should go to New York to have a block deal meeting [a private sale of a large number of shares] with Morgan Stanley. Johnny’s investment sense is like God’s.”

As Yahoo’s two major sponsors decided to sell their shares, Jerry and David also nodded with firm expressions.

“We’ll release them too, Johnny.”

“You thought well, Jerry, David. I’ll introduce you to good investment opportunities later. Ah! I’ll let Mr. Son know too, hehe.”

Once I’ve formed a relationship, I was planning to stay with these three people for a long time. When I invest first and get some results.

***

After finishing the meeting with the Yahoo trio, I headed straight to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino.

“Steve!”

“Johnny!”

We hugged and shook hands after seeing each other’s faces for the first time in a while.

“What’s going on? Without even contacting me.”

“I wanted to congratulate you on returning to Apple, but I was busy with work, so I’m only here now, haha.”

Jobs made a spectacular return to Apple earlier this year, announcing Apple’s revival with Tim Cook, a leading manager, and Jonathan Ive, the best designer, as his two wings, and even releasing the iMac G3.

“It’s okay. I heard from Claire that you were busy with work in Korea.”

“That’s right. Actually, our family is…”

I thought I should slowly tell Jobs as well, so I told him that I was the fourth generation of the Haedong Group and the current status of the Haedong Group, and Jobs’ mouth dropped open.

“Johnny, your investment skills are hereditary?”

“It’s not like that, Steve. Is the iMac G3 selling well?”

“Oh my, scary. I’m getting goosebumps because the major shareholder is asking? Hehe.”

Jobs joked, but the shares that Standard had invested in Next were converted into Apple shares when they merged with Apple. Since then, Standard has been steadily buying shares and has already secured about 11 percent of the shares.

“Don’t exaggerate, Steve. I know you’re doing well, hehe.”

Jobs nodded, looking at me. With a satisfied expression.

“That’s right. It’s going very well. Thanks to Jonathan and Tim, the design and price are all well-made, haha.”

Jonathan Ive was a genius in design, and Tim Cook was a genius in cost management, so Jobs answered with a hearty laugh. Seeing Jobs, who was more confident than before, made me feel good.

“Then we should make additional investments.”

“Additional investment?”

“Apple, which you returned to, will do well, so I have to invest with confidence. Should I buy existing shares or acquire new shares?”

Jobs’ eyes widened at my suggestion.

“Acquire new shares?”

“If you want. Ah! There are conditions for acquiring new shares.”

“What is it?”

“Priority for display and semiconductor supply and priority for assembly subcontracting. I’ll propose a reasonable supply price. In consultation with Tim Cook.”

Jobs took his hand off his chin for a moment and opened his mouth after hearing the conditions I mentioned.

“It’s not an easy decision?”

“It’s difficult for us right now too. We need to prepare to satisfy you.”

GK Display, which was spun off from GK Electronics as a subsidiary, merged with Taehyun Electronics’ display business after receiving a 1 trillion won investment from me. I heard that it would take more than a year to sort out the internal affairs, and in addition to this, Taehyun Electronics will be put up for sale only after the IT bubble bursts.

Not only that, but to trade with the picky Steve, both parts must have both quality and price, so we have to promise at least 2 or 3 years later.

Jobs opened his mouth after much deliberation.

“Call. I’ll give you 30 percent, so invest $2.5 billion. Transfer the voting rights to me.”

If I accept this offer, Jobs will take care of the voting rights, and I will secure Apple’s stake and parts trading partners. But I wanted to take care of one more thing.

“Apart from that, I want us to acquire Apple’s ARM shares.”

“ARM?”

Jobs tilted his head, wondering if it was an unexpected sale.

“ARM’s technology is not very meaningful. We were going to dispose of it on the London Stock Exchange soon, but would that be okay?”

Although everyone doesn’t know it, ARM at this time was being treated like an abandoned child by Acorn Computers, Apple, and VLSI Technology, who were early investors. Seeing Jobs speaking with a suspicious expression, I could be 100 percent sure.

“That’s even better. If we buy those shares at a high price, it will help Apple make up for the $1 billion deficit it saw last year. I’ll buy it for $300 million. Call?”

It’s really fun to show off with other people’s money. Isn’t it about throwing away all the stocks that will become waste paper and scattering the crisp cash brought from JPMorgan?

“Call. Let’s call Sun right now and make a contract, hehe.”

Seeing Jobs smiling as he answered without even taking a breath, it seemed that he was really thinking of disposing of ARM.

‘Now I can secure other trading partners.’

Now that I’ve opened up a deal with Apple, I need to secure two more excellent trading partners. I smiled, shaking Jobs’ hand.