An Investor Who Sees The Future

After our meal, we took our coffees and walked along the small path behind the company.

Although the temperature was low, the sunlight was strong, so it didn't feel that cold.

"It's nice here."

Warren Buffett said proudly.

"Of course. It's the best place in the world to live. That's why I don't leave."

Unlike others who leave for big cities after succeeding, he has always lived in the hometown where he was born and raised.

It's no exaggeration to say that Athens became world-famous thanks to Warren Buffett.

In May, when the shareholders' meeting is held, shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway stock from all over the world flock to this quiet small town.

When that time comes, the entire city is engulfed in a festive atmosphere.

At my words, he brightened up.

"Really?"

"Yes. I was planning to save money to buy B shares. A shares were too expensive."

"Then I will invite you to the next shareholders' meeting. I ask that you please come."

"If the Chairman calls, I will come running anytime. The opportunity to talk with the world's best investor is rare."

"Hahaha!"

Warren Buffett burst out laughing at my words. Seeing him laugh, he's just like the grandfather next door.

"The world's best investor? Haven't I been pushed aside by CEO Kang Jin-hoo now?"

I gave a wry smile.

"I was just lucky."

If it weren't for the future I could see, I wouldn't have even been able to follow in his footsteps. Oracle had brought me, who was an ordinary young man, all the way here.

"CEO Kang Jin-hoo has made impossible things a reality. You can be proud enough of the achievements you've made so far."

Warren Buffett has consistently made profits for over 60 years, but my investment career is not even 10 years long.

The market is a place where you can win today and not know what will happen tomorrow.

A gambler's ability is not determined at the moment of his biggest win. It's determined by how much is in his pocket when he gets up from the gambling table at the end.

An investor, too, will be properly evaluated for his achievements when he completely leaves the market.

We stopped walking and sat on a bench.

Anyone who has traded stocks knows that investors are under enormous stress every day. They suffer from stomach problems from working without even eating properly. Naturally, their lifespan is bound to be short.

But he was still in good health, even though he was over 90 years old. Come to think of it, this is more amazing than making a lot of money.

It means he has managed himself that thoroughly.

I took a sip of coffee and asked.

"Do you think a financial crisis will happen, Chairman?"

Despite the sudden question, he answered comfortably.

"That's a topic that comes up a lot these days. In a capitalist system, the economy repeats booms and busts, and in that process, financial crises occur periodically."

"When do you think it will happen?"

"Well. Predicting a financial crisis is similar to an Indian doing a rain dance."

It's a famous saying.

When an Indian does a rain dance, it always rains. Because they do the rain dance until it rains.

Those who claim a financial crisis is coming are similar. Professor Nouriel Roubini alone has been saying for about 5 years that a financial crisis will occur every year. In a recent New York Times op-ed, he diagnosed that the probability of a financial crisis occurring next year is significantly higher than the year before last, last year, and this year.

Just as it will rain someday even if a drought continues, a crisis will occur someday even if a boom continues. The problem is when.

A prediction that can't get the timing right has no particular meaning.

I changed the question.

"Is it possible for someone to cause a financial crisis?"

Warren Buffett's eyes widened. He must have noticed that I knew something and was feeling a sense of crisis.

But instead of asking about it, he answered calmly.

"As you know, the world doesn't run on conspiracies and plots alone."

"I see."

After a moment of silence, he added.

"But it is true that a huge force is weighing down the financial world. Come to think of it, it's not surprising."

Everyone wants to move the market in the direction they want. When they buy a stock, they want it to go up, and when they sell a stock, they want it to go down.

Some want a rise, some want a fall, and some want a collapse.

It's a common occurrence in the financial world for those who think alike to form a force and move in an organized manner.

Warren Buffett said, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"No one can create something out of nothing. People are not fools."

"I see."

You can't fool everyone with lies and deceit. You can shake the market for a moment, but you can't turn the direction of the market.

"But it is possible to make what is going to happen, happen. There is a saying. It is not a cup of water that makes the water in a glass overflow, but a single drop of water."

I mulled over his words.

If the glass is not full of water, a single drop of water has no meaning. But if the glass is full of water, you can bring about change with just a single drop of water.

If the shot had not been fired in Sarajevo, would World War I have happened? If Hitler had not been born, would World War II have happened?

They were just a single drop of water.

If Europe had been peaceful, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand would have just ended with the punishment of those involved, and Hitler would have lived and died as an unknown painter.

"So, is the glass full of water right now?"

Warren Buffett gave a wry smile.

"Well. Both the glass and the water are transparent, so they are not visible. No one knows how big the glass is or how much water is in it. It's only after the water overflows that everyone realizes. But it is true that the economy has reached its peak."

He probably knows it instinctively, having invested for so long.

Unlike others who invest aggressively, Warren Buffett has been hoarding cash recently. The cash held by Berkshire Hathaway has reached a record high of $150 billion.

"Price is like a walking dog. Sometimes it runs ahead, and sometimes it lags behind, but in the end, it always comes back to its master."

It's a famous story. It's very common for there to be a gap between price and value in the market. In fact, it's rare for them to match.

If the price gets ahead of the value, that's a bubble. And bubbles always burst eventually.

"The time to buy good companies cheap has passed. Now, even bad companies are being sold at high prices. Even if they don't make a profit, if they just present an idea, investors come with their money. How many of them will be proper companies?"

I achieved success in that way.

But that was because I saw the future, and I also supported it with huge capital. If I hadn't been able to secure investment funds through Brexit, the CarOS of today would not exist.

Many of the startups that received similar investments have gone bankrupt or are still not making a profit. They are just barely surviving by selling bonds and stocks to investors.

"If a crisis comes, many companies will collapse."

"It's natural for insolvent companies to collapse. But a financial crisis shakes even healthy companies. For some, it will be an opportunity to buy good companies cheap."

Warren Buffett is famous for making a huge amount of money after the financial crisis.

At the time, the end of the recession was not in sight, and there was even talk that the global financial system would collapse. When everyone was screaming in fear, Warren Buffett invested all the money he had and bought assets.

Now, everyone knows the result, so they regret not buying then, hitting the ground. But if such a situation comes again, how many people would be able to throw everything in?

"There's no need to worry too much. Since the birth of capitalism, we have gone through numerous crises, but we have always overcome them and grown again. It was like that last time, and it will be the same next time."

"I see."

After finishing his story, he asked me.

"Was my story helpful?"

I nodded.

"Yes. It was very helpful."

***

I headed to Wall Street to visit the Golden Gate headquarters.

The most important thing in the market is information. With information, it's even possible to turn stones into gold.

The higher up you are, the faster you can get accurate information. Looking at the Korean stock market alone, foreigners move first, then institutions move. And individuals always get on the last train.

Financial capitals have long been connected in a complex network, forming a huge cartel.

Golden Gate, J.P. Morgan, BofA, Wells Fargo, Citi, Capital One, Redstone, KKR, Lone Star, Starwood Capital, and so on.

Who is at the top of it all?

I could be called a heretic born outside the cartel. This was possible because I was the first to get information that no one else knew through Oracle.

Wall Street still looked like a line of gray buildings.

It is said that Manhattan was bought from the Indians by the Dutch in the early 17th century for $24. Who would have imagined back then that this place would become the center of global finance?

It's the place where the most money changes hands relative to its area and population.

As I was about to check into the hotel, someone approached me.

"It's been a while."

Not too tall, not too short, long blonde hair reaching down to her waist, a small face, snow-white skin, a lustrous forehead, large eyes and a sharp nose, and eyes that shone like jewels.

She seemed to say what perfect looks were. Her looks were so unrealistic that she seemed to be living in a different world all by herself.

I remembered her name.

"Grace Rothschild."

She smiled and asked me.

"Do you have time for a cup of tea?"

***

The place she guided me to was an elegantly decorated teahouse.

Perhaps she had made arrangements in advance, as there were no other customers besides us.

"Did you come all the way here just to meet me?"

At my words, she shook her head.

"Of course not. I've been here for a fortnight. I heard your private jet was coming, so I just came to find you."

She was on Wall Street even before the US benchmark interest rate hike?

Grace took off the gloves on her hands and lifted the teacup with an elegant motion.

The teacup was a bone china with a gorgeous pattern and a gold rim. Both tea and porcelain came from China, but at some point, they became a part of British aristocratic culture.

"There are two types of people who come to Wall Street. Either to invest, or to receive investment. Which one are you?"

"Which one do I look like?"

She said jokingly, sipping her tea.

"If you need money, let me know."

"Are you going to give me a loan from the Rothschild bank?"

"If you want."

I leaned back.

"How much can I borrow?"

"That depends on the person. Wouldn't an unlimited loan be possible for you?"

She's going to give a loan as long as the bank's lending capacity allows, not based on the borrower's credit? If that person doesn't pay back the money on time, the bank goes bankrupt.

Of course, such a loan is impossible.

"Is that possible?"

"There was only one person. Someone to whom the Rothschild bank allowed an unlimited loan."

"Who was it?"

She said in a small voice, as if telling a secret that should never be revealed.

"The Count of Monte Cristo."

"Haha."

A hollow laugh escaped me.

In the novel, the Count of Monte Cristo has unlimited transactions with several banks.

One of them is Rothschild. Among them was the historic Barings Bank, but that bank went bankrupt in 1995 due to Nick Leeson.

There are countless conspiracy theories surrounding the Rothschild family. The same goes for the novels and movies in which they appear. The important fact is that they exist perfectly well in reality.

Come to think of it, it's a funny thing.

A family that was mentioned as a great fortune even in a 19th-century novel is still pulling the strings of global finance.

South Korea is called the Republic of Seosung.

The power of the Seosung Group extends across all sectors, including politics, business, law, academia, and the media, and they wittingly or unwittingly serve the interests of the Seosung Group.

These people, who have only been chaebol for a few decades, are pulling the strings of Korean society.

So what about the Rothschilds? They have reigned as the world's top financial family for over 250 years.

I can't even begin to guess how many assets they have around the world, how many followers they have, or how huge a force they possess.

Would it be to the extent that they could move the world's capital?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!