"Um … Are you serious, Krau?" Even though he had already walked under the sun umbrella and was sitting on a chair drinking coffee, Adriaan still felt a little dizzy. "We really took away 14 billion dollars from the Soviet Union?"
"You didn't hear it wrong, and I didn't say anything wrong," Claude picked up the cup and flicked it gently. "And we don't have to pay taxes."
"Damn, this is …" Adriaan took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Although he knew that this was an excellent opportunity to make money, he never thought it would reach this point. Claude shocked him again, just like the oil futures last time.
"The slice of cake that we got is only considered average. It's even a little smaller than my father's. Needless to say, those fellows on Wall Street have been preparing for a long time. The wealth that the Red Empire has accumulated for 60 years has been easily pocketed by them." When Claude reached the end of his sentence, his tone became a little emotional.
Adriaan understood his feelings. After all, just a few years ago, the polar bear was still a daunting behemoth. But now, it was so weak that anyone could come up and take a piece of the cake. Compared to reminiscing about the history of the two countries, he was more interested in how Claude got the number 14 billion. And from his tone, it seemed that there was still room for growth.
"Can you tell me exactly how you did it?" Adriaan asked. "I believe it must have taken a lot of effort."
"It's very simple, very simple, so simple that you can't believe it." Claude laughed heartily. He put down his cup and thought for a while before speaking again, "I started making arrangements after I talked to you last year. First, I bribed some of the bureaucrats. Then, I opened about 30 banks in Russian cities. Then, I raised the interest rate to 20% or even 30% depending on the situation. Of course, I had to save for a certain period of time. Then, I continued to promote and encourage the Russians to deposit their money in our banks. Finally, and most importantly, every time a ruble is deposited, it will be immediately converted to US dollars."
Adriaan took a deep breath. He had roughly understood Claude's strategy. Claude wanted to convert Rubles into USD. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Rubles were still very strong. However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economy deteriorated, and the value of the Ruble plummeted. In the end, billions of Rubles could be paid off with just a few thousand or even a few million USD.
"Wait, Krau, could it be that the 14 billion USD was obtained by absorbing funds from ordinary people?" Adriaan asked as he thought of something.
"Of course not, almost half of them. It's not like we're the only ones targeting the funds of ordinary people." Claude knew what he meant. "The other half comes from the Russian government. Large-scale conversion of US dollars must go through the Russian central bank, so it's necessary to build a good relationship with them. Of course, there's no need to say how. So when the bank accumulates a certain amount of funds, I will use the funds as collateral to get a loan of the same amount of Rubles, and then convert the Rubles back to USD. As long as the repayment period is over 3 years, it doesn't matter how much interest it is. "
"I understand!" Adriaan took a deep breath again. It was too simple.
Sure enough, manipulating the value of the currency was the most profitable business in the world. No wonder those tycoons wanted to enter the Federal Reserve. The situation of the Soviet Union could only be compared to Germany after World War I. However, the losses of the Soviet Union were far greater than Germany at that time. An astonishing amount of wealth was simply evaporated or flowed into other people's pockets.
Of course, there was only one such opportunity. Fortunately, Adriaan and Claude firmly grasped it.
"I didn't expect this. No wonder you're not interested in the 10% profit from the British Pound." Adriaan said emotionally.
"There are many opportunities to make money. Unless it's absolutely necessary, there's no need to take risks." Claude shrugged. "But you're right, Eide. If we work together, we'll be successful."
"If that's the case, how about you treat us tonight?" Adriaan said half-jokingly.
"Although you've already lost two dinners … no problem." Claude rubbed his chin and answered with a grin.
"What a calculative guy!" Adriaan shook his head and took a sip of his coffee.
It was meaningless to think about manipulating the value of the currency or the losses of the Soviet Union. The former was not something he could be involved in. Even without the latter, he would still lose most of his wealth. Therefore, now that he had grasped this opportunity and earned such a large sum of money, all of his previous ideas and ideas could be realized.
However, although 14 billion USD sounded very impressive, once he started spending it, it might not be enough. Especially the things that Adriaan was calculating in his mind.
"Okay, let's continue. This game is not over yet!" Claude said as he was about to grab the cue stick.
"Wait, Krau, I remember you said before that things over there are not over yet, right?" Adriaan suddenly asked. "So how much can we get in the end?"
Claude raised his eyebrows and sat back down. "It seems that we can't play today."
"If you want, I'll find some time to play golf with you for a day and let you laugh at me as much as you want. How about that?" Adriaan spread his hands, then looked at Claude with a smile, "I need this answer."
"Okay, okay!" Claude sighed, but he did not show impatience. "According to the current situation, we can eventually earn 15 billion. Of course, this is just an estimate. The actual situation should fluctuate around this number."
"Then, for the time being, let's keep this number." Adriaan thought about it carefully again, then asked seriously, "Krau, what do you think is the possibility of us successfully acquiring ABC?"
"You mean, acquiring ABC?" Claude, who poured himself a cup of coffee, raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, that's right. As a media company, we need a television network that covers the country. I can't think of a more suitable TV station than ABC." Adriaan said and made a gesture to calm down. "I know what you want to say, Krau, but look at several well-known broadcasters. NBC is under Universal, CBS is absorbed by Sony, FOX is owned by News Corporation, and ABC will be acquired by others sooner or later. I am sure that it will happen in the next two years. We must be ahead of others. "
After a pause, he continued, "As for the long-term loss of ABC, believe me, Krau, if we can take over, I have enough confidence to bring it back to life!"
"Ha, you're that confident?" Claude patted his face lightly with his hand without expressing his opinion.
"Of course, don't forget what I do now. I just need a few good TV series and variety shows." Adriaan crossed his arms and raised his chin, which made him look a little proud.
Claude put down the cup in his hand, put his hands together, and looked at Adriaan for a few minutes. "Well, let me think … Although I can't make more analysis now, I can tell you for sure, Eide, 15 billion is definitely not enough."
"We can finance it." Adriaan said calmly, "JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, they will all be interested. Godfather and my uncle can help."
"It's still not enough. I believe my father and Mr. Anderson will help, but business is business, and the funds will not exceed 3 billion. If we want to acquire ABC, we need at least 20 billion!" Claude shook his head and said.
"Do we need that much?" Adriaan frowned.
"Although ABC has been operating at a loss, after all, it is a big company with a strong foundation and history. It still has a high status in the eyes of the public. If we want to acquire it, it is impossible without spending a lot of money." Claude explained simply.
"So, is there any other way?" Adriaan's frown deepened. The excitement of obtaining a huge amount of wealth in the Soviet Union had completely calmed down. Even with such a large amount of money in hand, it was still far from enough to do some things. How could he not be depressed, even if he knew this in his heart?
"Don't tell me you are at your wit's end, buddy." Adriaan looked at his best friend.
"Well, there is another way." Claude thought for a few minutes before speaking again, "But it is troublesome to operate, and it may also affect our reputation."
"Let's hear it." Adriaan made a gesture.
"It's very simple. Use ABC as collateral to get a loan from the bank."
"Use ABC as collateral? You mean use something that doesn't belong to us as collateral to get a loan from the bank? "
"Yes, you heard it right. From a business perspective, it can be done." Claude nodded, "The biggest advantage of this is that if the acquisition is successful, the debt of the loan will be borne by all the shareholders of ABC, not just us. But this is troublesome. First of all, you must prepare enough detailed materials for the bank to evaluate. Those smart guys will never want to see you declare bankruptcy after paying the money. To be frank, with the current operation of ABC, I don't think any bank will take such a risk. Secondly, if we still suffer losses after the acquisition, and finally lead to bankruptcy or resale, the shareholders of ABC will inevitably complain about us because of the loan, which will affect our reputation. "
Adriaan's fingers tapped on the small table, and he looked at the distant scenery for a while before turning his gaze back, "In the end, the most important thing is how to revitalize ABC after taking over. This is actually not difficult. Remember what I told you before, Krau? As long as there is a good operation team, I have a great chance to bring ABC back to life. So I think this method is credible. As long as you can convince the bank that we can save ABC and get the funds, then the rest will not be a problem. "
"You are really confident, Eide!" Claude laughed, "I know that you can always achieve some unexpected successes. I also believe that since you said so, there must be a way to make ABC profitable – although I do the actual work. But, I have to tell you, Eide, the premise of our discussion is that no one will compete with us! "
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