Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 484

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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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484. Even so, nothing would really change.

The Daeheung Group Chairman’s Office was spacious and decorated with classical elegance.
Park Tae-hong sat at an antique-style solid wood desk, magnifying glasses perched on his nose as he read through a report.
As his eyesight had dimmed with age, he’d taken to wearing magnifying glasses whenever reviewing documents like this.

Knock, knock.

At the sound of the knock breaking the silence, Park Tae-hong spoke without lifting his head.

“Come in.”

Gil Seong-ho, his closest aide and Chief Secretary, opened the large wooden door and approached the desk, bowing deeply at the waist.
Through the lenses of his magnifying glasses, Park Tae-hong watched as Gil Seong-ho straightened up, then asked a question.

“What is it?”

Gil Seong-ho replied with a smile on his face.

“I’ve come to report something that’s come up.”

Park Tae-hong removed his glasses and set them on the desk, leaning back in his chair as he spoke.

“Tell me what it is.”

Gil Seong-ho then placed a magazine he’d been holding in one hand onto Park Tae-hong’s desk.
Park Tae-hong looked down at the magazine, his brow furrowing slightly before he lifted his gaze to look at Gil Seong-ho standing before him.

“What is this?”
“As you can see, it’s the American Time magazine that was just released this week.”
“I understand that, but why is there a photo of that Seok-won fellow on the cover?”

As Chairman Park Tae-hong had said, Seok-won’s upper body photograph, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, graced the cover of TIME magazine.
TIME, the American current affairs weekly, stood as one of the world’s largest and most influential publications, commanding respect across the globe.
Consequently, TIME’s cover always featured the week’s most pressing issue or prominent figure, delivering a powerful message to its readership.
Yet seeing his youngest son’s photograph emblazoned across such an internationally influential publication left him bewildered.
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, sensing the chairman’s questioning gaze, offered an explanation with a knowing smile.

“As you’re aware, Forbes, the American economic magazine, publishes its global billionaire rankings every March.”
“Indeed.”
“For six consecutive years through last year, Christopher Alexander, founder and chairman of Microsoft, held the top position. Though Forbes hasn’t officially released this year’s rankings yet, it appears highly likely that the order will shift.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong’s eyes widened as he grasped the implication, his voice sharp with urgency.

“Surely you’re not suggesting that my youngest has surpassed Christopher Alexander to claim first place?”
“Precisely. That’s why he’s featured on TIME’s cover.”

At Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho’s confirmation, Chairman Park Tae-hong exhaled involuntarily.

“Extraordinary.”

He lowered his gaze, studying his youngest son’s photograph on the magazine cover with renewed wonder.
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, observing his reaction, condensed the article’s contents into a concise explanation.

“The recent dot-com boom has driven internet-related companies to soar dramatically on American markets.”
“Quite so.”
“Among them, Yahoo, the internet portal, surged 584% this year alone, pushing its market capitalization beyond 23 billion dollars. Similarly, Amazon, the e-commerce company, has skyrocketed since its IPO last year, now valued at approximately 17 billion dollars.”

The staggering corporate valuations drew an exclamation from Chairman Park Tae-hong.

“Remarkable indeed.”

Then a thought flickered through his mind, causing him to pause.

“Wait. Amazon and Yahoo, you say…”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho smiled as he continued.

“Your youngest invested in both companies well before their public offerings. He personally holds 40% of Yahoo and 25% of Amazon.”
“How much is that worth altogether?”
“Combined, his stakes in both companies amount to approximately 13.45 billion dollars.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong straightened his upper body unconsciously, muttering as if startled.

“Wait a moment. So in Korean currency, that would be….”
“At today’s exchange rate, it’s 18.83 trillion won.”
“18 trillion? Is that really true?”
“Yes, sir.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong shook his head slowly, his expression growing hollow.

“I knew Seok-won was making serious money, but this? He’s playing in an entirely different league.”
“That’s not all, sir.”
“What do you mean?”

As Chairman Park Tae-hong lifted his gaze, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho continued.

“The Eldorado Fund, which the young master owns, holds stakes in several American companies including Enron Energy and Qualcomm. And it apparently includes a 10% stake in Microsoft as well.”
“He owns that much Microsoft stock?”

Chairman Park Tae-hong asked in great surprise.

“Yes, sir. I was also shocked when I read the article about this.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong, who had already leaned forward in his seat, asked with a serious gaze.

“What’s Microsoft’s market capitalization?”
“344.6 billion dollars. That’s 10% of 3.446 trillion dollars.”
“My goodness.”

As Chairman Park Tae-hong continued to emit exclamations, unable to find words, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho spoke.

“According to the Time magazine article, the total value of stocks held by the Eldorado Fund exceeds 100 billion dollars by a considerable margin.”
“Good heavens.”
“Including the fact that he owns 100% of the Eldorado Fund itself, Forbes and Time magazine estimate the young master’s total assets to be over 90 billion dollars.”
“90 billion dollars… That’s a number that defies comprehension.”

Seok-won’s uncalculated assets were far greater still, but even this alone was enough to astound Chairman Park Tae-hong.
A thought suddenly occurred to him, and Chairman Park Tae-hong spoke to Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho.

“What was the net worth of Kwak Dong-hun, the Saseong Group chairman who appeared on last year’s Forbes billionaire list?”
“I believe it was 4.3 billion dollars.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong’s lips curled upward slightly as he heard the answer.

“So our Seok-won is far wealthier than Chairman Kwak of the Saseong Group, who supposedly has the most money in Korea.”
“Indeed. Not only domestically, but the youngest president is now the wealthiest person in the entire world. There’s nothing more to say.”
“Hahaha!”

Chairman Park Tae-hong burst into delighted laughter that seemed to shake the room.

“You’re absolutely right. My son is the world’s richest man—I still can’t believe it!”

He then picked up the Time magazine lying before him and gazed at the cover with a proud smile.

“The boy photographs remarkably well. I wonder who he takes after. He’s better-looking than most actors, wouldn’t you say?”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho quickly offered his agreement.

“Indeed, sir. He looks exactly like you did when you were young.”
“Haha. You think so too?”

A satisfied expression bloomed across Chairman Park Tae-hong’s face.

“Not long ago, he acquired four subsidiaries of the Hansan Group all at once and shocked everyone. Now he’s earned the title of the world’s wealthiest man. Hehe, he truly embodies the saying that the student surpasses the master.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded his head, beaming with pride.

* * *

At the same moment.
Seok-won reclined against the rear seat of a Mercedes-Benz sedan, speaking on his mobile phone with John Porter, the branch director in Japan.

[We’ve reached an agreement to add an additional 50% management premium and acquire all of the Sumitomo Chemical owner’s shares.]

Seok-won’s expression grew satisfied as he heard the news he’d been waiting for.

“I understand he came on quite stubbornly, refusing to hand over management rights. You did well.”
[Haha. It was certainly troublesome as you said, but once even his trusted primary bank turned its back on him, he had no other choice.]
“Equity battles can only be attempted when there’s at least some chance of winning. That must have been his thinking.”
[We’ve already secured over 36% through in-house purchases and block deals, and the moment the primary bank holding 15% sided with us, we crossed the majority threshold. At that point, fighting would have been futile—the outcome was already decided.]

If he was going to lose anyway, he decided to settle for a management rights premium instead.
It was clear without explanation that Porter had expended considerable effort behind the scenes to create such circumstances.
The crucial role in persuading the primary bank—the one that had been instrumental in bringing the owner family to heel—was entirely due to Porter’s diligent groundwork and persuasion.

‘Of course, the decisive factor must have been promising to purchase his holdings at a 30% premium, just like the owner’s stake.’

For a bank already starved for cash due to non-performing loan issues, it would have been an offer impossible to refuse.
From the Sumitomo Chemical owner’s perspective, it must have felt like being stabbed in the back by the very axe he trusted. But the bank itself was in urgent straits and had no luxury for such considerations.

“What’s the next step?”
[Once we complete the acquisition of the owner’s stake, we’ll convene an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to replace management, simultaneously pass a resolution for voluntary delisting, and announce a public share buyback.]

I wanted to delist from the stock market and secure 100% ownership of both Ajinomoto and Sumitomo Chemical—my two target companies—bringing them completely under my control.

“We won’t run short on funds, will we?”

Porter answered with confident assurance.

[We’ve made substantial profits from the Nikkei and yen short bets this time, so we still have considerable reserves.]
“That’s fortunate then.”
[And Ajinomoto should be wrapped up soon as well.]
“Good news. I’ve already laid groundwork beforehand, but if anyone decides to make trouble, it becomes a hassle. Let’s distribute funds more generously to the Japanese Government and the Liberal Democratic Party.”
[Understood.]

Porter spoke as if to say he had it handled.

[And I’ll place the shares of both companies under Frey, as you instructed.]
“Do that.”

Frey was a holding company I’d established in the Cayman Islands.
If I or the Eldorado Fund held them directly, the Japanese Government would find it problematic, so I decided to place them under Frey, which remained hidden from public view.
It was essentially hiding one’s eyes and pretending ignorance, but this way the tax burden was lighter—nothing wrong with that.

[By the way, I saw the article in Time magazine. Congratulations on becoming the world’s richest person.]

At the slightly amused tone, Seok-won chuckled softly, the phone still pressed to his ear.

“I’m not particularly keen on bragging about it, but thank you regardless.”
[I must say, I’m quite disappointed in Time magazine’s investigative capabilities if they only pegged your assets at ninety billion dollars.]
“If they’d nailed the exact figure, that would mean they’d dissected our entire portfolio in meticulous detail. Wouldn’t that be the real problem?”
[Ah, you make a fair point.]
“Rankings of the world’s richest people are nothing but gossip fodder. I don’t lose sleep over such things.”
[Perhaps you don’t, but the general public certainly does. I suspect you’ll soon become so famous that there won’t be a soul on Earth unfamiliar with your name.]
“Fame doesn’t change anything for me.”

Seok-won replied with an indifferent expression.

“More importantly, let’s focus on wrapping up the projects currently underway.”
[Understood, sir.]

After ending the call, Seok-won turned his head to gaze out the window as apartment complexes lining the Han River streamed past in succession.

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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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