The Greatest Conglomerate Ever With the American Lottery

93. Let’s do it!

I decided to contribute 500 billion won as a start-up fee, and then pay more when I saw the development situation and needed to keep it secret.

President Nam Jung-won and CEO Lee Sang-chul will jointly manage the funds.

I wondered if Mr. Lee would be the one to organize it because he was bright in the military, and Mr. Nam would be the one to audit the accounting.

“One, two, three, cut!”

Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!

The tape was cut with a fanfare.

A few days after the meeting at the Blue House, the Magok building was completed.

We barely missed the original completion date of April.

I asked them to pull back a bit, but they had a lot of problems.

It’s a good thing they built such a large building so quickly.

The Magok office building is 15 stories tall, with a building area of about 3,000 pyeong and a total floor area of 45,000 pyeong.

In my heart, I wanted to build it as high as 30 or 40 stories, but unfortunately, the height of the Magok district was limited due to the nearby Gimpo Airport.

So the maximum height was 15 stories, and all the surrounding buildings were the same.

“All companies related to the Purification Foundation and Karma Holdings can move in, right?”

“Of course. There are still about four floors left after all of the companies in the Karma Foundation and its affiliates move in.”

President Nam Jung-won replied that it was still spacious.

“It is, but it won’t be enough considering the future.”

“That’s why we only used 3,000 square meters of building area. Magok District has a 60% floor-to-ceiling ratio, so we could have built much larger than that, or built another building. In addition to the original 10,000 square meters, our land was abandoned by a company that bought a neighboring parcel, so we have over 13,000 square meters.”

True to his word, only a portion of the 13,000 square meters is used for buildings, and the rest is used for lawns, making it seem like the company’s offices are located in a vast park.

“We will continue to invest in Korea, so please take that into consideration and plan for a second building.”

“Seoul’s height restrictions were lifted last year, but there are still restrictions under the Airport Facilities Act. However, if it is lifted in the next few years, we will be able to build up to 30 floors, so we will consider the situation and make a plan.”

“Okay, that’s nice, by the way, but the view is art, isn’t it?”

“hahahahaha, isn’t it?”

The view from my room on the 15th floor was one of the best in Seoul.

In front of us was the 150,000 square meter Seoul Botanical Garden.

It’s almost like the Seoul Botanical Garden is a park attached to our building.

I guess money is good after all.

“Oh, and isn’t the Karma Investment building in the U.S. going to be completed soon?”

“It’s supposed to be completed in August. I told them to hurry up, but they’re a few months behind.”

“Why, Mr. Chairman. It’s quite a feat to build such a large building in such a short period of time, and that too in the United States.”

“hahahaha, that’s true, but—.”

I asked him to hurry up because I was afraid that the coronavirus outbreak would disrupt the construction, but it was unreasonable.

However, it was fortunate that the fair rate was over 80% before the pandemic, and the company did not lose money due to the rise in stock prices after the pandemic.

“Is the chairman busy with directors these days?”

“Hmph, yeah.”

In March, we moved to a new house in Seopangyo.

We moved while I was in the U.S., but it was still nice.

Most importantly, we had complete privacy.

I didn’t sell the old house, but left it alone.

Somi wanted it, so I thought I would register it for her later.

****

From nob le mt l. co m

June 5.

After a fierce competition, the Democratic presidential candidate was decided.

From nob le mt l. co m

Joe Biden, Obama’s Vice President, who had already been the de facto nominee in April when the other contenders dropped out of the race, became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party by winning enough delegates to secure his nomination.

The Democratic nominee is now set, and all that remains is the formality of being formally nominated at the party’s next convention, scheduled for August 18.

“Isn’t Joe Biden a little too old?”

“Well, yes and no. He was born in 1942, and if he’s elected this fall and takes office next year, he’ll be 80 years old, which would make him the oldest inaugurated president in U.S. history.”

“Huh—.”

I have too much experience, but this guy is too old.

For God’s sake, he’s going to start his presidency in his 80s.

Even in a world that talks about centenarians, 80 is the age when you don’t have to start coughing tomorrow.

Not to mention their guns are getting fuzzy.

I’d rather have Al Gore or Hillary Clinton running again, so what’s the big deal?

“My age is the reason I’ve had a hard time with the other Democratic candidates this time around, even though they don’t carry as much weight as they used to.”

“Jeffrey, I’m guessing that even if you win, you’re not going to get a second term, right?”

“Probably not.”

“You saw him once in mid-April, what do you think?”

From nob le mt l. co m

Jeffrey had met with Joe Biden in mid-April.

On my instructions, he had given a large donation to the Biden campaign.

“He corrected me, but he said he couldn’t lie about his age. I was a little nervous, to be honest.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I can feel it, but I can also sense a little bit of blinkeredness. I don’t know if it’s for emphasis, or if she’s really forgetting, but—.”

“…”

Is America’s fortunes tilting?

What the hell is wrong with Trump?

“He’s not a terrible person to be president, as long as he stays sane.”

“Well, there’s no choice now, is there? Trump’s approval ratings are up because of the vaccine, so—.”

Trump’s approval rating, which was at rock bottom, has gone up a lot.

Because of the damn vaccine.

I’m guilty, so I should support Biden more.

After Biden was virtually confirmed as the Democratic presidential nominee, I asked the beads for their choice after a long time, and they also predicted Biden.

This is probably the result of me supporting Biden hard, so I have no choice but to support him hard.

“Well, I’ll give you as much money as you need, so it won’t be obvious.”

“Are you sure there’s no limit?”

“Don’t worry, just bring it. I’ve already told John, just make sure you don’t get in trouble.”

“Hmph, okay.”

Donald, let me show you the power of money.

You brought this on yourself, so don’t blame me later.

In the meantime, Tesla’s stock price had begun a frightening climb.

From nob le mt l. co m

July 10th.

“Boss! Tesla stock is over $300 at the close today! hahahahaha!”

“hahahahaha, that’s unbelievable! How much do we own?”

“Over $100 billion! hahahahaha!”

“Wow!”

The average price we paid for our 28% stake in Tesla was around $40.

That’s almost eight times as much as we paid for our 28% stake.

Tesla alone is worth over $100 billion!

Kahahahahaha!

“Our big three are all doing well. Nvidia is at $105, $105, with a final average purchase price of $35! Our stake in Nvidia is valued at $80 billion! AMD, which we own 60% of, closed today at $55! With a market cap of $89.2 billion, our stake alone is over $53 billion. 230 billion dollars in our big three stocks alone! Kahahahahaha!”

“Kahahahahaha!”

“Kahahahahaha!”

From nob le mt l. co m

John and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

A whopping $230 billion in just three stocks – Tesla, Nvidia, and AMD.

Today’s benchmark exchange rate for the Korean won to the dollar is 1,200 won.

In Korean won, that’s 276 trillion!

And that’s not all?

Since last year, four e-commerce stocks that I started buying because I thought they would benefit from the coronavirus shutdown have seen remarkable growth.

Pinduo, which we bought at $30, is now worth $85, and Shopify, which we bought at $25, is now worth over $100.

Our holdings are valued at $15 billion for Pinduo and $6 billion for Sofify.

In addition, Wayfair and ETSY have been doing well, so these four stocks alone are worth over $30 billion.

Add to that a few small holdings and the stocks and funds managed by the intermediate-term money management team, and you’re looking at about $50 billion.

Therefore, my total wealth is now over $300 billion.

Not including my small fortune in Korea.

I made a billion dollars from the Powerball and multiplied it by 300 times in five years.

God! Buddha! Prayer beads!

Thank you!

I will spend it well!

Kahahahahaha!

“John!”

“Yes, boss!”

“Did we really spend five years creating a miracle?”

“hahahahaha! That’s right, it’s a scam, a scam!”

“hahahahaha! John’s a big part of it, you’ve been so good to me.”

“No, boss, you’re the one who saved me from being a junkie, and I’m the one who’s grateful.”

“Then let’s just thank each other, hahahahaha!”

“hahahahaha!”

“You’re really going to have something to look forward to at the end of the year.”

“Oh, really?”

“When have I ever disappointed you?”

“hahahahaha! You’ve always exceeded my expectations, so I’ll look forward to it.”

I was so grateful to John.

No matter how much I invested with the power of the beads, I couldn’t have accomplished half of what I have without him.

I only had to give him big boundaries, and he controlled them like a ghost.

And yet, he always showed me absolute loyalty and never took credit for anything.

Perhaps his time at the bottom as a junkie had taught him something.

The drive to achieve was still there, but I never saw any lust in his eyes.

That’s what he’d say when they were drinking.

He said he wasn’t greedy for money anymore.

All he wants is to live like this with his family.

Still, you have to give, right?

I’m going to be really generous at the end of the year.

Not just for John, but for all of us.

It’s my business philosophy that if you’re stingy with the people who handle your money, it’s going to come back to bite you.

I’m not going to be stingy with my money.

Especially when they’re early on.

“So what do you think you’re going to do?”

“What does John think?”

“I think it’s going to continue to go up for a while. I’d like us to keep holding for now, but?”

“Well, let’s keep going, shall we? Let’s see where we end up! Even if we get screwed and go down a hundred to one, it won’t stop us from making a living for the rest of our lives, right?”

“hahahahaha, that’s right!”

“Go!”

Go, even if you can’t eat.

Then, July 15th.

The long-awaited news came from Seoul.

“Mr. Chairman, the vaccine development has been successfully completed!”

“Ohhhhh!”

Coronavirus, let’s fight!