Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 228

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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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228. Who knows? Perhaps David Dantic will become an even greater figure down the road.

At David Dantic’s request to receive payment as soon as possible, both parties met the very next afternoon and proceeded with the contract.
In the small conference room of the Plaza Hotel—adorned with a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling and decorated in opulent Baroque style—representatives from both sides sat facing each other across a long table.
Though Landon Shore and the fund’s counsel lawyers had already meticulously drafted the contract, Seok-won reviewed it once more before picking up his fountain pen and signing.
Once David Dantic, seated across from him, finished signing and they exchanged contracts, Landon Shore spoke.

“With this, the contract is now complete. Legal effect takes place from this very moment, and the acquisition payment of three hundred fifty million dollars will be transferred in full today without any deposit, as agreed, directly to the Dantic Company account.”

At the news that the sale proceeds would arrive in a lump sum, David Dantic could not hide the broad smile that spread across his face.
His ambitious mega-scale real estate development projects had failed one after another, and he had been facing considerable difficulties with the pressure of loan repayments.
Of course, considering the debt David Dantic carried, even three hundred fifty million dollars would melt away quickly, but it would still provide some breathing room.
Rising from his seat, David Dantic walked around the table, extended his hand, and spoke.

“Congratulations on becoming the new owner of the Plaza Hotel, one of New York’s jewels.”

Seok-won, rising as well, shook his hand with a smile.

“Thank you.”
“For me, it’s been a trophy symbolizing success—I would never have sold it if circumstances hadn’t been so difficult. But since things have come to this, I hope you’ll manage the hotel well going forward.”

David Dantic’s gaze swept around the room with a hint of regret in his expression.
As his eyes took in the chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the walls and floors decorated in brilliant colors, various emotions flickered across his face.

“Though you’ve sold the hotel, I’ll treat you as our highest VIP. Please visit anytime.”
“Much appreciated.”

David Dantic replied with a bittersweet expression.
Observing him, Seok-won suddenly asked as if remembering something.

“By the way, I’ve heard you quite enjoy golf.”
“Indeed. I get out on the course whenever I have time—I maintain a handicap of three and average seventy-five strokes.”

As the conversation turned to his favorite hobby, David Dantic shook off his somber mood and quickly brightened.
With that level of skill, he had every right to be proud—it was nearly professional caliber.

‘He’s probably the best golfer among all the U.S. presidents in history.’

Before becoming president, he had owned over ten massive golf courses and was renowned as an extraordinary golf enthusiast.

‘To make a good impression on Dantic, the Japanese Prime Minister even fell into a sand bunker and rolled around like a fool during a business golf outing. There’s nothing more to say.’

Seok-won paused briefly in thought, then spoke with a smile.

“Then you must know Richard Myles as well.”
“Ah, of course! A legend in golf who achieved a Career Grand Slam three times, winning all four major professional golf tournaments. How could I not know?”
“You certainly know your golf.”
“Ha ha. Anyone who plays golf knows Richard Myles. Though Tiger Stone overshadows him and he’s treated as second-best, no one can deny he’s one of the greatest professional golfers of the twentieth century.”

Dantic, now absorbed in his favorite topic, spoke with enthusiasm.
Seok-won inwardly congratulated himself on reading the situation correctly, then made his proposal as if innocent of any ulterior motive.

“Next weekend, I’m scheduled to play a round with Richard Myles at the Miami Golf Course. If you have time, why don’t you join us, Dantic?”
“Oh! Would that really be possible?”

Dantic’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“One of the members who was supposed to play with us had something come up unexpectedly, so there’s an open spot. If someone with your skill level joins us, I’d be delighted.”
“True. It’s no fun when there’s too much of a skill gap between players in a round. An opportunity to play with Richard Myles himself—I absolutely can’t miss this. I’ll definitely be there.”

Seeing Dantic take the bait perfectly, Seok-won suppressed an inward smile of satisfaction.

“Then I’ll see you next weekend.”
“Ha ha. Absolutely.”

Dantic nodded readily, his face full of smiles.
With the contract negotiations concluded smoothly, Seok-won parted ways with Dantic, left the conference room, and ascended to the penthouse upstairs.

As I unfastened my jacket buttons with one hand and settled onto the living room sofa, Landon Shore followed and sat down on my left, speaking.

“With the weekend in between, all procedures, including registration, should be completed by the end of next week.”
“Make sure everything is handled smoothly without any issues, Landon Shore.”
“Understood.”

I crossed one leg and asked to confirm.

“We’ve confirmed Richard Myles’ participation, correct?”
“Yes. We paid his management two hundred thousand dollars in exchange for clearing his schedule for the 13th.”
“Good work.”

Landon Shore glanced around cautiously before speaking up.

“But I have to wonder if it’s really necessary to go this far to build a relationship with Chairman Dantic.”

Seok-won smiled faintly at what seemed like a perfectly reasonable question.

“You think this is wasteful spending?”

Landon quickly waved both hands in protest.

“No, it’s just that I’m wondering if he’s really the type of person worth the boss going out of his way to cultivate a relationship with.”

David Dantic was the man who would achieve the miracle of gaining nationwide fame through television appearances and eventually entering the White House itself.
But that was a distant future story. For now, he was merely an unremarkable developer—a real estate developer with nothing particularly outstanding about him—so the skepticism was understandable.
By contrast, Seok-won was one of Wall Street’s most prominent heavyweight investors, possessing assets that couldn’t even be compared to Dantic’s.
Considering this, it made more sense for Chairman Dantic to be the one striving to build a relationship with him, not the other way around.

“Think of it as a kind of investment.”

Landon’s expression grew even more confused at Seok-won’s words.
Seok-won interlaced his fingers over his knees and gazed at him with a meaningful smile.

“Who knows? Chairman Dantic might become an enormous figure later, and the relationship we build now could prove invaluable.”
“I don’t know. From what I can see, the odds of that happening seem very low.”

Landon replied with skepticism.
Since he, like anyone else, couldn’t know the future, Seok-won didn’t bother trying to convince him and changed the subject instead.

“Anyway, you’ve finished acquiring the Enron Energy stake?”

Landon nodded slightly at the question.

“Yes. As you instructed, we secured a 10% stake in Enron Energy for one hundred twenty million dollars.”
“What was the average purchase price?”
“13.11 dollars.”

When Seok-won learned that Eldorado had acquired Enron Energy shares at a bargain price—shares that would skyrocket dramatically alongside Cisco during the dot-com bubble era—his face broke into an expression of unmistakable satisfaction.

“During this market crash, Enron Energy’s stock price fell significantly as well, which allowed us to lower our average purchase price considerably.”
“That’s excellent. The cheaper we can buy, the better.”

Seok-won leaned back in his chair, settling into a more relaxed posture.

“We won’t sell the Enron Energy shares along with Cisco—we’ll hold them long-term for several years. Make sure you manage them separately with that understanding.”
“Understood. However, Enron Energy has proposed offering us a board seat. How should we handle that?”

Seok-won’s brow furrowed slightly as he responded.

“Didn’t I make it clear that this is purely an investment and we have no intention of interfering in management?”

When Eldorado Fund began aggressively accumulating shares, Enron Energy—startled by the sudden move—had reached out first to determine our intentions.
That’s why Seok-won had instructed Landon Shore to clearly communicate that the stock purchases were purely for investment purposes and that we only planned to secure a 10% stake.

“Naturally, since we’ve become the second-largest shareholder, they must be anxious. It seems they’re trying to create a friendly relationship by offering us a board seat before making any demands.”

Though I had made it explicitly clear that I had no interest in management control, from Enron Energy’s perspective, Eldorado Fund’s sudden acquisition of the second-largest shareholder position was undeniably unsettling.

“In other words, they’re getting nervous and trying to appease us with candy before we stab them in the back.”
“Something like that, but if we participate in the board, we can gain insight into the company’s internal operations, which wouldn’t be disadvantageous for us either.”
“That’s exactly why we can’t do it.”
“Pardon?”

Landon Shore blinked, his face marked with confusion as he stared at me.
In just a few years, Enron Energy would become the company responsible for America’s largest and most catastrophic accounting fraud scandal, putting the final nail in the coffin of the dot-com bubble collapse.
The executives of Enron Energy, who perpetrated accounting fraud totaling 1.5 billion dollars and inflicted enormous damage and shock on the American economy and Wall Street, all faced trial and received sentences exceeding 24 years in prison.
If Eldorado Fund had a seat on the board of such a company, it was crystal clear that when the scandal erupted later, the fallout would inevitably touch us as well.
Moreover, if we sold our shares before the accounting fraud was exposed and reaped substantial profits, suspicion would inevitably fall upon us even more heavily.

‘Who am I trying to destroy by joining that board?’

I couldn’t afford to take actions that could land me in a courtroom if something went wrong.
Seok-won’s expression hardened as he decisively rejected the proposal.

“The Enron Energy shares were purchased purely as an investment, so we’ll decline the board participation proposal. And let me be clear once more—never interfere in their management. Just receive the standard reports and leave them alone.”

It was a strange instruction whose intent no one could understand, no matter who heard it.
Landon Shore inwardly tilted his head in confusion, but since 120 million dollars was such a negligible portion of the Eldorado Fund’s portfolio that it barely registered, he let the matter drop without pressing further.

“…Yes. I understand.”

Seok-won cleared his throat softly and glanced around the Penthouse before speaking.

“And from now on, don’t accept any reservations for this Penthouse I’m currently staying in. I’d like to have it available for my exclusive use.”

It was a natural instruction, since one of the original purposes in acquiring the Plaza Hotel had been to secure a residence for Seok-won during his stays in New York.

“By the way, did General Manager MacGregor accept the proposal?”
“I was just about to tell you. When I asked General Manager MacGregor, he said he has such deep affection for the Plaza Hotel that if given the opportunity to continue working here, he would do his best.”
“He started as a bellhop and has worked here for over twenty years, so he’s the perfect person to run the hotel better than anyone else. That worked out well.”
“That’s true. If General Manager MacGregor had rejected the proposal, we would have had to find someone else, but it wouldn’t have been easy to locate someone of his caliber. And when I looked into it separately, the employees working at the hotel had very positive evaluations of him as well.”
“That would be the case.”

Seok-won nodded slightly, recalling the demeanor MacGregor had displayed every time I had stayed in the Penthouse until now.

“Then let’s entrust the operation of the Plaza Hotel entirely to General Manager MacGregor as proposed.”
“Yes.”

Since neither Seok-won nor Landon Shore knew anything about hotel operations, it was far better to entrust everything to a professional manager rather than clumsily interfere.

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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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