Chapter 715: Invest in the Stock God Again
Chapter 715: Invest in the Stock God Again
"Okay, Mr. Yang." Lin Youqing agreed.
He also knew about Buffett, who was a very popular investment expert on Wall Street in the United States recently. He had more than 1 million US dollars in funds in his hands. He could be said to be one of the new elites in the American business community. He had also cooperated with Yang Wendong several times before.
The next day, Yang Wendong met Buffett next to the rooftop swimming pool of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and said with a smile, "Warren, you don't look well."
"Haha, it's not bad, but it's not great either." Buffett shook his head and said, "You know the recent market situation, and I've lost a lot of money, including the funds you left with me."
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "No one can predict the oil crisis, not even the European and American governments. They have more resources at their disposal, but they also suffered a big setback, right?"
Some capable businessmen or economists can still foresee in advance a region’s stock market crash, economic crisis, real estate crisis or even other problems. For example, many people predicted the economic crises in 1929, 1987 and 2008 and used leverage to profit from them.
But if the Middle East, thousands of miles away, suddenly imposes an oil embargo, even ten stock gods combined would not be able to predict such a thing.
Buffett's investment loss this time was indeed an unprovoked disaster. He had only invested 500 million US dollars in him in the early stage. This amount was purely for fun, so it didn't matter if he lost a little.
Buffett said, "But your funds in Hong Kong are fine. Eric, did you predict the oil crisis?"
"How is that possible? I just thought that the price of oil might go up a little bit. You also know that the Middle Eastern countries had price negotiations with the Seven Sisters of Oil a few years ago. I thought that the United States' loss to the Vietnamese monkey would definitely affect the Middle East policy, but I didn't expect it to be so big." Yang Wendong explained with a smile: "Besides, the local stock market crash broke out in Hong Kong first, so I withdrew my investment first, and then I avoided the oil crisis by the way. It was luck."
Buffett might not be able to find out about his investments in the United States, but he certainly could not hide his large-scale stockpiling of plastics in Hong Kong. Not to mention Buffett, some people in Hong Kong also believed that Yang Wendong had predicted the oil crisis early, but on second thought, that was impossible and could only be explained as good luck.
Buffett nodded and said, "I see. But then again, luck is also part of strength. Rockefeller's success was also partly due to luck."
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Compared to him, we are still far behind."
"It's indeed far from it, but my goal is Rockefeller's wealth. It's just that I'm not good at industry, so I can only do finance." Buffett added: "This oil crisis has given Berkshire's factory some opportunities, but the overall market is getting worse and worse. I don't think it will last long."
Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Warren, it is almost impossible to continue to operate the textile industry in the United States. It is better to move the factory to Hong Kong, and then you can operate the terminal retail stores with peace of mind. This is the most perfect model."
In the early years, Yang Wendong suggested that Buffett, who insisted on operating Berkshire, should develop a terminal brand in the United States. Buffett finally agreed, and thus established a terminal brand, also called Berkshire. With the financial resources of several shareholders, it was easily opened in many major cities in the United States, and it was considered a mid-to-high-end brand.
From an operational perspective, the Berkshire terminal store is still okay, but it has been running for too short a time, and the demand for orders is still very low, far from meeting the production capacity of the Berkshire factory. In recent years, the company has been supporting the factory at a loss, which has also aroused opposition from many shareholders and stock investors. If Yang Wendong did not know Buffett's future abilities, he would probably have stood up in this situation.
Buffett nodded and said, "Well, it seems that this is the only way. However, the global economy is still in a gloomy situation. When this matter is over, I will go to Hong Kong to take a look and then discuss with you."
"Okay, you're welcome anytime." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
Buffett asked again: "Eric, is this why you came to me this time?"
"No, I want to invest in your fund again." Yang Wendong said: "Now that the global stock market is crashing, it is actually a good time to buy at the bottom."
Although Buffett is now a major shareholder of Berkshire, he does not fully control Berkshire, so his main investments are still through his own funds;
However, he has also invested in some companies through Berkshire and plans to hold them for a long time or use resources to support them. This can be regarded as allowing Yang Wendong to achieve his goal.
Buffett laughed and said, "I lost almost $2000 million before. Do you still trust me now?"
"Of course, the oil crisis was an accident." Yang Wendong said affirmatively: "But we Chinese have a saying that there must be greater opportunities in crises. As long as we can seize the opportunity, we will definitely get higher returns."
In the ancient days of Chinese civilization, every climate disaster was an opportunity for numerous large landowners to annex land, which led to numerous tragedies and even dynasty changes;
In modern times, buying at the bottom during every economic crisis or real estate crisis is the beginning of a turnaround in fortune. The four major families in Hong Kong in the past successfully took advantage of multiple economic crises to successfully acquire a large amount of land at low prices, thereby making a lot of money in the subsequent bull market and successfully surpassing British capital;
The same is true in the United States. It is said that many people also bought the bottom during the crisis in 1929, but they only killed themselves.
"There are greater opportunities in a crisis, that's a good saying." Buffett said with a smile, "But I don't dare to do it now, because I'm not sure when the oil crisis will end. The risk is too great." Yang Wendong suddenly said, "Warren, you've also read the news. European and American countries are already negotiating with Middle Eastern countries. Plus, Middle Eastern countries are not united. I don't think it will take long."
"So you want to buy at the bottom now?" Buffett naturally understood what Yang Wendong meant.
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Yes, but I am not very familiar with the US stock market, so I hope to work with you. Not only will I give you funds, but I will also mobilize funds to participate in the investment. What do you think?"
The huge profits obtained from the stocks of oil field enterprises were intended for Best Buy and KFC, but even if these two industries expanded rapidly, they needed to be carried out gradually, so this large amount of funds could not be kept in American banks to earn interest.
As for the US stock market, he still knew that he could invest in several companies in the 80s, such as Coca-Cola and General Electric, but he was not sure about the 70s. Although some future giant companies were born in the 70s, they are now small and micro enterprises. It doesn't cost much to invest and they can't absorb much capital.
Therefore, following Buffett's direction of investment is the best model.
Buffett thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I am indeed optimistic about some companies. One of them is an oil exploration company. It has good technology, but the market was relatively small before. Under the current circumstances, I think the US government will encourage large-scale searches for new oil fields in the country. Its stock will definitely rise in the long run in the future."
"Haha, this direction is indeed good." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Then how much money can I invest?"
Buffett thought for a moment and said, "First, you give me $1500 million and join my fund. If we invest together later, we can negotiate individually based on different projects."
"Okay, I will give you the funds within a week." Yang Wendong agreed readily.
If you invest in Buffett's fund and there are no surprises, you can reap an average annual increase of more than 20%. This return may not seem very high, but as long as the time is long enough, the exponential growth is also terrifying, not less than the increase in housing prices in Hong Kong.
And for the sake of foreign exchange capital diversification, he also needs to disperse funds to multiple places around the world. For funds in the United States, such a rate of return is already very good. Similar funds in Europe will definitely have a much lower rate of return.
"OK." Buffett paused, then said, "Eric, there's something else I need to talk to you about. You should know that I used Berkshire Hathaway to acquire See's Candies in 72, right?"
"I know. I voted in favor of you on this matter in Hong Kong." Yang Wendong nodded and said.
He is also a major shareholder of Berkshire, but under normal circumstances he will approve of Buffett's actions, but he will also know every step of the way, and if there is any opportunity, he can also participate a little;
In 1972, Buffett took a fancy to See's Candies and acquired full control of the company for US$2500 million. When Yang Wendong learned about this, he did not ask many questions. After all, Berkshire had already acquired 100%, so he could not participate in anything.
Buffett said: "I calculated that the production cost of See's Candies in the United States is too high, and the labor union is always causing trouble. In addition, we have previous experience of cooperation with Berkshire in Hong Kong. I want to move the production of See's Candies to Hong Kong as well."
"That's certainly not a problem." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
Except for a few high-end manufacturing industries, or manufacturing industries with extremely high transportation costs and targeting local products, manufacturing capital will basically flow from high to low like water.
The decline of the U.S. manufacturing industry and its future discontinuation are also inevitable.
Buffett shook his head and said, "No, I don't plan to participate in manufacturing anymore. I want to gradually subcontract part of this business to you. How about that?"
"Transfer it to me?" Yang Wendong thought for a moment and then asked, "What does part mean?"
Buffett laughed and said, "I can't rely entirely on just one supplier, can I?"
"That's right, that's no problem." Yang Wendong nodded in agreement.
PS: Ask for monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)