The Conglomerate Family Became A Villain [EN]: Chapter 192

192. Swelling World (1)

John Peer was an elite.

He had always been at the top of his class in middle school, high school, and even university, and this did not change after he joined JP Morgan. He outpaced his Ivy League peers and reached a key position in JP Morgan’s fund division in his mid-30s.

In short, he had enjoyed a smooth career.

‘Is he asking me to take a chance with him?’

Victoria Corporation was a company that garnered attention on Wall Street.

However, Victoria Fund was different. Victoria Fund was a company that had not yet proven anything.

“So, you’re saying you want to create Victoria Fund as an independent entity and operate it?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded in response.

“That’s right. If John joins Victoria Fund, I can offer you equity as well.”

John Peer frowned.

‘Receive equity in Victoria Fund and quit JP Morgan?’

At this point, it was an absurd idea.

“That’s a difficult proposition.”

Jung Hyun-woo moved his knife as he spoke.

“Once you hear the vision of Victoria Fund, you’ll be moved.”

John Peer tilted his head at his words.

“Are you saying there’s a vision I’m not aware of?”

Jung Hyun-woo asked him back.

“What do you think our vision is, John?”

John Peer answered, holding his knife and fork.

“Isn’t it to operate the fund based on the profits of Victoria Corporation?”

He remembered Sarah saying in the last earnings announcement that Victoria Fund would not deal with general investors.

“You can’t really call that a vision.”

John Peer lowered his voice and said,

“I’d like to hear the vision of Victoria Fund.”

Jung Hyun-woo could tell that he was curious about his story.

‘The stage is set.’

All that remained was how well he could package his idea.

“Victoria Fund will be making investments targeting the entire world.”

John Peer was unimpressed by his words.

“Isn’t Charlie already investing in Japan and Germany?”

“No. Right now, we’re only making indirect investments through securities firms and funds.”

“You’re saying you’re going to start investing directly?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded.

“That’s what Victoria Fund is for.”

“Direct investment… wouldn’t that be risky?”

“That’s why I need John.”

To start investing directly, a professional like John Peer was essential.

“Hmm, so that means I can take the commission that Charlie is paying to securities firms and funds.”

Jung Hyun-woo shook his head.

“That’s not what I mean.”

John Peer raised his eyebrows.

“What do you mean, that’s not what you mean?”

“Victoria Fund’s direct investment will be more extensive than before.”

“Extensive investment, are you saying you’re going to invest in Africa or South America?”

Jung Hyun-woo did not know the political situation in Africa or South America at this time.

‘Even if I did, I wouldn’t invest there.’

He shook his head and replied,

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what exactly are you planning?”

Jung Hyun-woo took a short breath and began to explain what he wanted to do.

“The investment that Victoria Fund is planning to make this time is…”

His explanation lasted about five minutes, during which John Peer kept frowning.

Jung Hyun-woo saw this and sighed inwardly.

‘Hoo… Does he not like my story?’

He thought it would be difficult to recruit John Peer.

‘If not John, I don’t even know who else to look for.’

Finally, John Peer spoke.

“So, you’re saying you’re going to sell American real estate to the Japanese and then use that money to invest in Japanese real estate again?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and replied,

“To put it briefly, that’s it.”

John Peer put his hands together and said,

“I agree that the devaluation of the dollar will make investment assets, including American real estate, attractive to foreigners.”

Jung Hyun-woo thought,

‘He agrees with the first part, but not the second part?’

Suddenly, the steak at the famous restaurant felt dry.

“John, what part do you disagree with?”

John Peer answered Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“Buying and selling real estate.”

Jung Hyun-woo clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Tsk, I knew it.’

He admitted that his business plan was crude.

‘Because I thought of it spontaneously on the plane back to Boston.’

Let’s just invest in Japan as we were doing, he couldn’t help but think.

John Peer said,

“Charlie, instead of directly selling the real estate purchased from Japanese and German investors, it would be better to broker it.”

John Peer was talking about brokerage, not real estate sales.

‘Hmm, is he saying we should become real estate agents?’

Jung Hyun-woo asked him,

“John, are you saying we should go into the agency business?”

John Peer put down his knife and spread out his right hand.

“Just an agency wouldn’t be fun. How about making it a little more complicated?”

A little more complicated.

Jung Hyun-woo frowned slightly.

“In what way?”

John Peer cleared his throat and replied,

“Hmm, hmm. We set up an investment company in Japan to raise investment funds there, and here we use those funds raised to buy real estate in New York or LA. Of course, real estate transactions must go through our real estate agency. And the profits from this transaction are reinvested in Japanese real estate or bank stocks.”

John Peer’s proposal was to set up an investment company in Japan and raise investment funds directly.

“Is that possible?”

Jung Hyun-woo thought that even if he knew about American real estate agencies, it would be difficult to raise investment funds directly in Japan.

‘Because I don’t even speak Japanese, let alone been to Japan.’

John Peer replied,

“I know someone.”

He knows someone.

Jung Hyun-woo unfolded his narrowed brow.

“Who is it?”

“A friend named Yu Tanaka. He works at JP Morgan’s Tokyo branch and is quite capable.”

The fact that he even named an acquaintance in Japan meant that he was taking this matter seriously.

“Will that friend really join us?”

“He’s quick with calculations. If we give him a generous salary, he’ll turn this way.”

Jung Hyun-woo lowered his voice so that others could not hear and asked,

“How much can we recruit John for?”

John Peer smiled at Jung Hyun-woo’s question.

“You’ll have to give me more than 10%.”

“10% of the equity?”

John Peer nodded and replied,

“That’s right.”

If Victoria Fund’s market capitalization reached $100 million, John Peer could pocket $10 million.

‘That’s about what it would take to quit the company.’

Jung Hyun-woo asked him,

“You’ll be getting a separate salary, right?”

“I need living expenses, after all.”

Jung Hyun-woo paused for a moment.

‘10% is a bit much.’

The equity he had given to Robert was 2%. 10% was a ratio that could only be received with considerable contribution.

After hesitating for a moment, he made a decision.

‘I have no choice.’

Jung Hyun-woo offered John Peer a condition.

“Okay. 10% equity and the same salary you were getting at JP Morgan, how about that?”

John Peer shook his head.

“Double my current salary. That’s the only way it’ll be worth moving companies.”

“Double your current salary?”

“Is that not possible?”

Jung Hyun-woo asked again,

“John, what’s your current salary?”

“$500,000.”

The median salary for the American middle class in 1985 was about $25,000. $500,000 was 20 times that amount.

“You’re saying a salary of $1 million.”

A salary of $1 million.

It was an amount that only NBA starters or Major League All-Stars could receive.

‘Even the general managers of Major League or NBA teams don’t get that much.’

However, considering the size of the funds that Victoria Fund would be managing, it was possible to pay that amount.

“Okay. But John, you have to take charge of scouting the Japanese side as well.”

John Peer nodded lightly at his words.

“Okay.”

He spent a lot of money, but he was able to recruit John Peer more easily than expected.

Jung Hyun-woo picked up his knife again and raised his voice.

“John, can I ask you one thing?”

John Peer shrugged and asked back,

“What do you want to ask?”

“Usually, when an offer like this comes in, don’t people ask for time to think about it?”

He was asking why he had made a decision right here and now without hesitation.

“Because I thought it was an attractive offer.”

“An attractive offer?”

John Peer replied in a soft voice,

“Do you remember when I first spoke with Charlie?”

“Hmm, was it because of the investment in Japan?”

“That’s right. At the time, I thought it was a reckless investment. But as time passed, I realized I was wrong.”

Jung Hyun-woo tilted his head and asked,

“Does that have anything to do with this?”

John Peer replied,

“If you have the same thoughts as others, you can only do as much as others. Isn’t that right?”

It wasn’t just because of the vision or conditions that Jung Hyun-woo presented that he had decided to join him.

‘The limit of what I can achieve at JP Morgan is probably here.’

John Peer had not forgotten Henri-Arnaud’s attitude and the atmosphere of JP Morgan’s top executives during the short selling incident. He didn’t think he was the kind of person who could belong in that group.

* * *

Sarah opened her eyes wide when she heard Jung Hyun-woo’s answer.

“Mr. Peer accepted the offer?”

Jung Hyun-woo nodded and replied,

“It wasn’t just accepting the offer. He even presented a more concrete business plan.”

It was the opposite of Sarah’s expectations.

‘Does Mr. Peer have an ambition that I didn’t realize?’

She frowned and asked,

“So, how much equity in the fund did you agree to give him?”

“10%.”

“That’s not a small amount.”

Sarah thought that if John Peer was going to be in charge of managing the fund, he should be given that much equity.

“I had no choice.”

“Because you’re taking someone from JP Morgan?”

“That’s also true, and we haven’t shown anything yet.”

Sarah sighed briefly.

“Hoo… Charlie really does everything he wants to do.”

She had a helpless expression on her face.

“The remaining equity in Victoria Fund will be owned by Victoria Corporation.”

“What about Charlie?”

“Victoria Fund is a fund for Victoria Corporation, after all.”

Sarah had not expected that Jung Hyun-woo’s equity would be excluded.

“Wouldn’t it be better to take some of it?”

She thought that indirect control through Victoria Corporation was good, but considering the future, he should own equity in Victoria Fund.

“No. I want to keep it clean this time.”

Sarah thought for a moment and then said,

“No. It’s better to take equity anyway.”

“I should invest, and Charlie should invest too.”

Jung Hyun-woo couldn’t help but pause at the idea that both of them should invest.

“If we invest, it’ll just look like we set up Victoria Fund for our own benefit.”

Sarah raised her finger and said,

“That may be true, but people will think that we’re serious about managing the fund if we invest.”

She was saying that both of them needed to invest in order to give the market confidence.

“Sarah, we could end up with our money tied up in the fund.”

Unlike Victoria Corporation, Victoria Fund had no plans to go public.

This meant that even if they had equity in Victoria Fund, they would not be able to cash it out when they wanted to.

“It’s okay. We’ve already made enough money.”

Sarah and Jung Hyun-woo.

The two had one thing in common.

That was that they didn’t enjoy spending money.

They didn’t buy luxury goods or collect expensive items. Their lives were not much different from the ordinary employees of Victoria Corporation.

“Sarah…”

Sarah lowered her finger and drew a triangle.

“We agreed to give Mr. Peer 10%, right? Then the remaining equity is 90%, and me, Charlie, and Victoria Corporation can each take 30%.”

The ratio she set was 1:3:3:3.

“We’d have to put in a considerable amount of investment to go with that equity ratio.”

“Let’s put in $1 billion each.”

An investment of $1 billion.

It wasn’t a big burden for Jung Hyun-woo, but it was a considerable burden for Sarah.

“Aren’t we going too strong?”

“Victoria Corporation is investing about that much.”

Of course, to create an investment of $1 billion in the name of Victoria Corporation, they would have to take out all the investment funds in Vanguard Fund as well.

“Peter won’t like that.”

Sarah tapped the table with her finger and said,

“JP Morgan and Citibank won’t like it either.”

In order for Sarah and Jung Hyun-woo to create $1 billion, they had to take money out of the banks she mentioned.

“Either way, we’re bound to be hated.”

Sarah nodded and took his words.

“We can’t please everyone.”

Jung Hyun-woo agreed with her words.

‘We can’t please everyone. That’s right. Even if it’s not a zero-sum game, it’s rare for everyone to be happy.’

At the same time.

John Peer was talking to Henri-Arnaud, the head of JP Morgan Investment Bank.

“John, what are you talking about?”

Hendri-Arnaud was looking at John Peer with an incredulous expression.

“I received a good offer from Mr. Jung.”

Hendri-Arnaud frowned and asked,

“So you’re saying you’re going to quit the company?”

John Peer put strength in his voice and replied,

“I didn’t think it was an opportunity that came often.”

“How can you compare our JP Morgan to Charlie Jung’s company?”

“Considering the size of the company, JP Morgan is the obvious choice. But I couldn’t help but think about the future.”

He was saying that Victoria Corporation was ahead in terms of potential.

“How high do you think you can climb even if you join Charlie Jung’s company?”

“Wouldn’t it be higher than here?”

Hendri-Arnaud raised his eyebrows at John Peer’s question.

“John, do you think we’ve neglected you?”

In fact, JP Morgan was paying him a high salary of $500,000.

John Peer shook his head.

“I don’t think I’ve been neglected. It’s just that Mr. Jung’s offer was too good.”

Hendri-Arnaud couldn’t help but be flustered when someone he thought of as his right-hand man suddenly said he was going to resign.

“Think about it again.”

“I’ve made up my mind.”

“John.”

“I don’t think I can do it if it’s not now.”

Hendri-Arnaud sighed deeply.

“John… Will you think about it for one more day for me?”

John Peer realized that there were many emotions mixed in Hendri-Arnaud’s voice.

“Okay. Then I’ll tell you again tomorrow.”

He thought he could spend a day for Hendri-Arnaud.

‘But the result will not change.’

JP Morgan was a conservative company and did not prepare special events for departing employees.

He knew this very well.