Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 123

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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123. This is such a lucrative business to simply leave alone.

Inside the elegantly appointed Luxury Hotel Fitness Center.
Seok-won occupied one of the state-of-the-art treadmills lined along the windows, running with vigor as morning sunlight poured through the expansive glass panes.
Sweat dripped steadily from his forehead while his firm thighs and back muscles moved dynamically with each stride.
Already thirty minutes into his full-speed run, his breathing had grown ragged, yet Seok-won continued without pause, earphones still plugged in.

“Huff, ha…”

After running for considerably longer, I slowed the treadmill’s pace and began walking leisurely while checking my heart rate on the watch around my wrist.

“If I had a smartwatch, I wouldn’t need to check manually like this. What a shame.”

I muttered while fluttering my sweat-soaked shirt.
But this was an era when even smartphones hadn’t been released yet, let alone smartwatches—they were still impossibly far away.
I pulled the cord to remove the earphones from my ears, then picked up the Walkman I’d left in front of the treadmill and stopped the music that had been playing.
Though it had become considerably smaller, the palm-sized Walkman still looked endlessly large and heavy to my eyes.

“Come to think of it, it’s about time MP3 players appeared.”

MP3 didn’t carry any special meaning—it was named by taking the first letters of MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), a multimedia standardization organization, and the “3” from the third division responsible for audio, thus creating “MP3.”

“When you think about it, no one at this point in time could have imagined that MP3, named with such seemingly careless effort, would become the center of the music industry and the digital revolution in the future.”

What was even more remarkable was that the place that first commercialized such MP3 players was none other than Korea.

“Looking at it this way, despite having such a small landmass, it’s strange how Korea is a place where remarkable geniuses keep emerging.”

The unfortunate part was that even when such geniuses or outstanding venture companies emerged, they were rarely nurtured properly and withered away in the process.
MP3 players were no exception—they were the first to be commercialized, pioneered the market, and dominated the world, but only briefly.
Before long, followers who pursued relentlessly caught up, and the market was completely surrendered before success could even be properly enjoyed.

“Considering the competitor was none other than Apple, it was a one-sided battle from the start.”

Even rotten fish was still fish—despite repeated failures and significant decline, Apple remained the established giant of Silicon Valley.
In contrast, Korea’s MP3 player companies that had to compete against them were unable to escape their status as small and medium enterprises, so competition itself was never truly possible.
Nevertheless, they didn’t lose one-sidedly but fought fairly and put up a respectable fight, yet it was deeply regrettable to have opened the explosively growing MP3 player market first only to lose it.

“Now that I think about it, this is an incredibly lucrative business to just leave alone.”

The MP3 player market was raking in enormous profits—so much so that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the iPod was what resurrected Apple when it was gasping its last breath.
I stepped off the treadmill, contemplating how to dip my spoon into this golden honeypot.
As I wiped the sweat from my forehead and face with the towel draped over the handrail, my phone rang.

[Boss, it’s me.]

At the familiar voice of Landon Shore, I asked with a puzzled expression.

“What brings you to call at this hour?”
[I’m calling to report that we’ve finished settling all the Barings Bank bonds.]

Recalling that I’d entrusted the handling of the Barings Bank bonds entirely to Landon Shore and Andrew, I sat down on the bench and replied.

“Your voice sounds bright—the results must be good.”
[Honestly, boss, you laid all the groundwork for us. If we couldn’t even collect properly after that, we’d have to give up our positions.]

The Barings Bank crisis, which had sent shockwaves through global financial markets over the past few days, ultimately ended in bankruptcy when the British government and the Bank of England refused to provide a bailout.
Though I already knew the outcome, a bitter smile played at my lips.

“What was the profit margin?”
[We came out with a clean 70%.]

At that, I replied with a slightly surprised expression.

“That’s better than expected.”
[The panic selling was significant when word spread that a bailout would be difficult.]

Since Barings Bank’s bankruptcy could have meant losing every penny depending on circumstances, investors indiscriminately dumped all the bonds they held.
Landon Shore and Andrew had scooped up the Barings Bank bonds at rock-bottom prices as they plummeted to junk bond levels, generating substantial profits before liquidating their positions.

“It couldn’t have been easy waiting for them to hit bottom. You both showed good patience.”

At that, Landon Shore jumped in as if he’d been waiting for the chance.

[Don’t even mention it. For the past few days, Andrew and I have been living on hamburgers while staring at bond prices.]

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I imagined Landon Shore sitting at his office desk, wolfing down hamburgers and cola while staring intently at the bond prices on his computer monitor with bloodshot eyes.

“You get a generous bonus in return for your hard work.”
[Well, that makes me look forward to it even more. Anyway, getting back to the main point—after deducting principal and expenses, we’ve generated a total of 310 million dollars.]

Upon hearing the figure, I let out a short whistle.

“I’ll have to make sure to give you a generous bonus.”
[Ha ha, I won’t refuse if you insist.]

As Landon Shore answered with easy confidence, I broke into a light laugh as well.

“There’s also what we earned in Mexico, so you can look forward to this bonus.”
[Actually, I was about to mention that—we’ve finished liquidating all our positions that we had bet on Mexico.]
“Is that so? I was curious about that, so this is perfect timing.”
[We made 2.25 times on the peso short and 50% profit on Mexican government bonds.]
“Even accounting for Barings Bank going all the way to bankruptcy, the fact that Mexican bonds halved is a steeper decline than I anticipated.”
[While the country is in the midst of a currency crisis, the labor movement is staging massive strikes in opposition to the restructuring announced by the government. That immediately triggered a flood of panic selling, which sent prices plummeting.]

I picked up a water bottle and took a drink before speaking.

“If strikes actually occur and Mexico’s political situation descends into chaos, they might not be able to receive the American and International Monetary Fund bailout that was so hard-won. The market’s fear is bound to intensify.”
[Exactly. If that happens, Mexico’s economy will have no hope left.]

The Mexican bailout was one that the White House had unilaterally pushed through despite opposition from the opposition party.
If Mexico’s internal situation remained unstable and chaos continued, skepticism would undoubtedly intensify—it was as clear as day.

[The Mexican government seems to understand that too. This afternoon—or rather, last night in Korean time. Anyway, President Cedillo came out personally and announced a new economic policy that included strict monetary management, cuts in public spending, and increases in prices and taxes.]
“I saw the report on Bloomberg News too.”

During my university years in the United States, I had made it a habit to read several Korean and American newspapers every day, and even after returning home, I routinely checked the Bloomberg terminal installed in my house each morning to review all the major economic news from around the world that had occurred overnight.

[President Cedillo’s unwavering commitment to continuing austerity measures seems to have reassured investors. Since the announcement, the government bonds and peso that were plummeting have hit bottom and are rebounding.]
“That’s fortunate for Mexico.”
[If we had sold even slightly later, our profit margin would have been reduced. Since the rebound occurred after we had completely liquidated our positions, it’s fortunate for us as well.]
“That’s true.”
[Every time, seeing how you time your trades so perfectly—it’s nothing short of remarkable.]
“Ha ha, you’re too kind.”
[Seriously, it’s like you’ve seen the future and know exactly when to buy and sell. Of course, that’s only possible in science fiction novels.]

Landon Shore had thrown out the joke in admiration of my uncanny ability to time things perfectly, but the real me—who had actually returned after seeing the future—felt a pang of guilt in my heart.

“That can’t possibly be true.”
[Of course it is! That’s how remarkable it is.]
“Ha ha….”

I let out a slightly awkward laugh and smoothly changed the subject.

“So how much profit did we make after closing out the Mexico position?”
[Don’t be shocked. After deducting principal and expenses, it comes to 37.9 billion dollars.]

It was a staggeringly enormous sum—the kind that made your jaw drop.
Even I, who rarely showed surprise at ordinary matters and maintained composure, felt my heart pounding heavily and found myself swallowing hard.
It was such a tremendous amount that most people would have let out a cheer the moment they heard the number.
But as someone who had experienced every conceivable market condition—even aerial combat, so to speak—before my regression, I quickly regained my composure like a true Yeouido heavyweight.

“37.9 billion dollars… It’s hard to even imagine a figure that large.”

That was my honest sentiment.
Landon Shore then spoke with barely contained excitement.

[I couldn’t believe it either, so I had Andrew and me verify it several times. The number of zeros in that account was absolutely mesmerizing.]
“That’s right. This is all the magic that leverage created.”
[It’s not entirely due to leverage, of course. While leverage—being able to bet several times the capital we had—was certainly decisive in inflating our profits, if you hadn’t made bold bets with such conviction, we wouldn’t have achieved this result!]

Landon Shore continued, as if responding to my objection.

[If it were me, I would have liquidated the position the moment the United States and the International Monetary Fund announced their bailout support. If I had, we wouldn’t have made even half of what we earned this time.]
“That’s embarrassingly high praise. I think I really need to fill up the bonus envelopes generously.”
[Really? If the envelope got thicker every time I gave praise, I could talk all day long!]

I laughed heartily at Landon Shore’s playful remark.

“If I listen any more, I’ll float right up to the sky. More importantly, let’s use the profits that came in to pay off the building mortgage first.”

When I purchased the Manhattan Wall New York Plaza Building, where the Eldorado Fund was headquartered, for 300 million dollars, I had paid 100 million upfront and agreed to pay the remaining 200 million in February of this year, five months later.
However, while simultaneously pursuing multiple investments, I needed to maintain a certain amount of cash reserves for contingencies, so I had taken out a mortgage loan using the building as collateral.

[I’ll take care of it right away and settle everything cleanly.]
“You’ve worked hard all this time, so take tomorrow off and rest well.”
[So you’re saying rest for one day, then work intensely again starting the next day.]

When Landon Shore let out a deep sigh and whined, I finally threw up my hands in surrender.

“Fine, fine. Once we wrap up the Japan situation, I’ll give all the Investment Fund staff bonuses and a week-long vacation. Get some proper rest then.”
[Haha! Understood.]

After hanging up, I shook my head at how Landon Shore was gradually becoming more cunning than before.
But I didn’t dislike the change.
I pressed my chin against my hand with a serious expression, thinking of the assets that had now swelled to hundreds of billions of dollars.

“As the scale of money I’m moving grows, I’ll face jealousy and obstruction from other quarters.”

Wall Street was a place where rumors spread fast, so within days, even if the exact figures remained unknown, word would spread that the Eldorado Fund had reaped enormous profits in Mexico.
Wall Street was where people engaged in cutthroat competition to squeeze out every last dollar of profit, so it was as clear as day that jealousy and envy would pour down the moment anyone heard that one entity had made serious money.
But rather than fear or worry, I felt a strange thrill at becoming a target of obstruction for Wall Street titans and major investment funds whose names everyone knew.

“I’m looking forward to what comes next.”

I drew a confident smile across my lips.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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