99. Isn’t there someone richer than me?
“Well, it is what it is, and you know it. Don’t make a big deal out of it later. That’s why I’m letting you know, not because we’re trying to get Japan to approve something.”
“How long are you going to keep it a secret?”
Mr. Abe sounded frustrated at the mention of U.S. approval.
“As long as possible.”
“Is that possible? It will cost an astronomical amount of money to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine, and isn’t South Korea subject to budgetary review by the National Assembly?”
“If you don’t spend the country’s budget, there’s no reason for parliamentary scrutiny.”
“What? What does that mean—. Ah! Seo, what is it, Chairman Kang?”
“——.”
Abe asked with an incredulous look on his face, but I didn’t answer him there.
“Why are you doing this? I know from what I’ve heard that Mr. Kang is spending a lot of money on good causes. But isn’t defense a bit too much? I’ve never heard of the world’s richest people doing this before.”
“As I said before, it’s partly accidental and partly what I’ve always thought. Besides, defense is for the stability of my country. A strong country is a deterrent to war, and China’s behavior lately has been alarming.”
“China?”
“Yes, China. I’m sure you’re well aware, Mr. Prime Minister, that China’s hegemony has been overdone lately.”
“Of course. Ever since Hu Jintao came to power, I think Northeast Asia has been turning into a powder keg, so we’ve been paying close attention to Japan’s balance of payments.”
At the mention of China, Abe sheds his previous cowed demeanor and reasserts himself.
“I’m just a sergeant, but I know that if China hits Taiwan, we, South Korea, are in danger. There’s no way China would leave Korea alone if the U.S. military moved in, and then our country would become a war zone again. I think we need nuclear-powered submarines to prepare for that, and to make sure China doesn’t look down on us even a little bit.”
“I see.”
“And, as I said before, I hate the prime minister.”
“You can read more about him here: ——.”
“But I hate him and I hate China even more, and I think we, South Korea and Japan, need to join hands against China, which I hate even more. That’s why I wanted to take this opportunity to clear up as many uncomfortable issues in Japan-South Korea relations as possible.”
“I agree. I hate Korea, but I hate China even more. No, I don’t think it’s a matter of liking or disliking, but I think it’s indispensable for the defense of liberal democracy and the rule of law in both countries.”
“That’s the only thing you and the prime minister agree on today. Japan and South Korea will never be allies, but we should remain friends, so please take care of the things I mentioned earlier.”
Damn it, but the threat from China was too great to keep bickering with Japan.
We, the Republic of Korea, could not stand up to them alone.
“I see, so when will the vaccine be—.”
“As you know, we can’t reveal that we’ve made an open deal over the vaccine, can we? First, our government will take the high road and say that we will supply the vaccine unconditionally to neighboring Japan. Then, the Japanese side will reciprocate and announce that they will normalize relations between Japan and Korea.”
“That will save face for the Japanese government. Thank you for your consideration.”
“The vaccine will be supplied as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.”
Should we call it a victorious China?
In the end, under the banner of the People’s Republic of China, Japan and South Korea put aside their differences and became friends.
After a brief meeting with Abe, I went straight to South Korea.
***]
“You got more than you bargained for.”
I immediately told the president about my meeting with Abe, and he was very pleased.
“Well, it is Japan that is urgent.”
“No, it’s not that, and it’s a great achievement that we’ve stopped Japan from tackling our judiciary, especially on the issue of conscription.”
“It’s not like we’ve solved the root problem.”
“hahahaha, let’s take it one step at a time, but thank you. This is what governments are supposed to do, and they just don’t do it.”
“You’re welcome—.”
“Then we’ll just have to announce that we’re supplying the vaccine to Japan.”
“Yeah, I don’t think we need to drag it out and create variables.”
“I see.”
We’ve already left out the vaccine we’re going to provide to Japan.
“Mr. Chairman, but you didn’t mention the price of the vaccine in your discussions with Abe?”
President Nam asked about the price of the vaccine.
“Why do we need to talk to Abe about that? We can just take what we want to take.”
“Is that okay?”
“Why not? Right now, it’s important to get the vaccine, not the price, right?”
“Hmph! Okay, then I’ll let you add a modest profit margin.”
“Sure.”
In principle, the price of our Karma vaccine is based on the economic situation of the host country.
Plus or minus the relationship, such as the country’s participation in the Korean War.
So, even within the same G7 countries, countries like the U.S., U.K., France, Canada, and Australia were supplied at the $5 level, more than half the price of Germany or Italy.
However, developed countries like Germany and Italy, which had more money and didn’t fight in the Korean War, would pay $10.
Still, these are Western countries that have traditionally been our allies since World War II.
According to Vice President Min Myung-ki, if the drug had been developed by an American or European multinational pharmaceutical company, it would have cost at least $20.
And oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia?
Of course they get more.
Middle Eastern countries take $15 no matter what.
Still, they took it without complaint.
However, on the other hand, countries that participated in the Korean War even though they didn’t have the money provided the vaccine at a very low price.
In particular, the Philippines and Ethiopia gave them at or below cost, almost free.
Colombia and Thailand were a little better, charging more and getting about the cost price.
So how much would Japan get?
“Just get the same as the Saudis.”
“Hmph! Okay.”
I’ll take $15.
***.
I took care of the vaccine and stuff, and then I came back to the States.
The first thing I did upon arrival was to move into our new Karma Investments building.
“Jimmy, you did a great job.”
“hahahahaha, I was pulling air, and now it’s done.”
“Well, that’s a big deal, and I’ll give you a generous bonus, so you and George’s mom can live in peace.”
“Thanks, hehehe!”
Our office in the US was bigger than the one in Magog, but since we were an elite, atomized investment firm, there was plenty of room.
So we let Jeffrey move in, and we moved Henry’s Aegis headquarters in as well.
It’s still incredibly spacious, but we left a few floors empty because we’re still growing.
For later.
On October 14, Tesla’s stock price continued to rise, topping $450 per share.
“hahahahaha, our stake in Tesla just surpassed $160 billion!”
“hahahahaha! Go, go, go!”
Go, go, go.
Until the glow of the beads fades.
“And AMD finally broke above $80, closing at $84!”
“hahahahaha!”
“And Nvidia went over $140!”
“Kahahahahaha!”
“hahahaha!”
At this point, AMD is worth $130 billion and Nvidia is worth nearly $120 billion.
Our big three stocks combined are worth over $400 billion.
Add in e-commerce stocks like Pinduoduo and Shopify, and the money management team’s intermediate-term holdings, and it’s well over $500 billion!
My fortune is worth over $500 billion dollars!
“You’re on your way to a place no man has ever been! Not even Rockefeller! Where even Carnegie didn’t reach!”
“hahahahaha!”
Samuel Williamson, an economist who runs measuringworth.com, which specializes in measuring relative value in space and time, made an interesting observation last year in 2019.
In the early 20th century, legendary oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller was worth $1.5 billion at the time, which translates to roughly $26 billion in today’s dollars.
However, according to Williamson, such a simple comparison can be misleading.
He says it’s more reasonable to look at it as a percentage of the U.S. GDP at the time.
So Rockefeller’s 1.6% of the U.S. GDP would be roughly $331 billion in today’s dollars, and Carnegie’s $321 billion.
In other words, before I came along, Rockefeller and Carnegie would still be the world’s richest people in history.
But not anymore.
Because I’ve just shattered their records.
“But I’m still hungry.”
“Isn’t that right, boss?”
“Because there are people who are richer than me, right?”
“What? Who do you mean?”
“Muhammad bin Salman!”
“Ah, the oilman!”
That’s right, the guy I haven’t surpassed, even though I’m worth $500 billion, is Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
This guy’s estimated wealth is over a trillion dollars!
Honestly, the Saudis and other Middle Eastern royal families are a bit of a scam.
They make a fortune digging up oil and selling it.
That’s why they don’t even make the official richest list.
If you put them on the list, it defeats the purpose of having a legitimate ranking in the first place.
Still, I wanted to at least surpass them.
I want to prove that investing can take you beyond the oil patch.
Of course, the prayer beads definitely helped.
“I heard Crown Prince Bin Salman’s fortune is estimated at a trillion dollars?”
“Well, there may be more, but that was the estimate last year.”
“So bin Salman is your next target?”
“For now!”
“hahahahaha! Okay, let’s make sure we cross the trillion dollar mark next year!”
“Let’s do it!”
“hahahahaha!”
“hahahahaha!”
Then, a few days later.
My brother Jeffrey, who has an office on the 19th floor, a floor below me, came up.
“Hey, do you have a minute?”
“Yeah, as you can see. What’s going on?”
“Well, not so much what’s going on, but Joe Biden wants to see you.”
“Huh? Joe Biden, the presidential candidate?”
“Yeah, he wants to see you in private sometime soon.”
“Why?”
What the hell is wrong with you these days?
I try to keep my life as walled off from the political world as possible, but why does this keep happening?
“Why? He’s curious about his biggest supporter.”
“Oh, I shouldn’t have to wonder.”
“Well, we’ve given Biden nearly a billion dollars so far, and we know you’re the real owner of a lot of that money.”
“So?”
“So what? Even if you’re a permanent resident, you’re still essentially being financed by a foreigner, so it’s a little creepy.”
“Ha—.”
“Well, you need to meet him and allay his fears, and you need to save face for later.”
“Okay.”
And so, after Trump, I met with Joe Biden.