New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 131

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

Chapter 131. Indulgence (5)

The next day, I traveled to Omaha with the Chairman.

Flight restrictions were still in place, so we had to travel by car.

It took a full 20 hours before we could finally arrive at Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha.

“We spent the entire Saturday just getting to Omaha.”

“At least it’s the weekend. If the market were open, we couldn’t have spent this much time in the car.”

Even though it was the weekend, Warren Buffett made time for us.

He was waiting at Berkshire Hathaway headquarters, which was surprisingly modest compared to its reputation, and he greeted Chairman Robertson warmly as if they had a long history together.

“How long has it been? It’s really good to see you like this.”

“Seeing you brings back old memories. Twenty years ago was quite fun.”

“What’s there to reminisce about the past? You’re still in your prime, aren’t you?”

“You can say that because you’re the Chairman. Others would say an old man is being greedy.”

“Are you saying that for me to hear? But who’s the person you brought with you?”

“This is Branch Manager Lee Jung-hoo, who’s responsible for Tiger Fund’s future.”

Chairman Warren Buffett extended his hand to me first.

I carefully took his hand while observing him.

The center of America’s financial world, and the financier Americans trust most.

Despite such reputation, his appearance was surprisingly modest, reminding me of a kind neighborhood grandfather.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Lee Jung-hoo, the Branch Manager of Tiger Fund Korea Branch. You can call me Mister Lee if you’re comfortable with that.”

“I heard Tiger Fund’s general manager is also Korean-American, so Chairman Robertson must have deep ties with Korea.”

“It just turned out that way. During the IT bubble collapse, Tiger Fund was able to survive thanks to the Branch Manager.”

The Chairman praised me highly.

Perhaps because of this, Chairman Warren Buffett looked at me with interest and nodded while offering us seats.

“Chairman Robertson is stingy with praise, so if he’s praising you this much, you must be a decent person. But what brings you to this distant place?”

“Literally to see you, Chairman. It took 20 hours by car.”

“I watched your press conference well. The hottest person on Wall Street right now invested a full day to come see me, so you must want something.”

It was something anyone could expect.

Especially those in the financial industry rarely waste time carelessly, so it was natural to think we came here after investing a day because we had a clear purpose.

“You said you watched the conference where I declared war against short-selling forces?”

“I watched it several times. I didn’t know you were so genuinely concerned about the market. Though you’ve always been someone who values value investment since the old days.”

“Isn’t it all thanks to you, Chairman? Hahaha.”

While we were praising each other, coffee was set on the table.

However, instead of coffee, cola occupied Chairman Warren Buffett’s spot.

“I don’t want to take up more of your time, so let me get to the point. What do you want from me?”

“I came to ask you to take on one axis in the war against short selling.”

“I heard you’re monopolizing government support. But the situation must still be quite difficult.”

“As you can see from the stock market, the bear market still hasn’t ended.”

Chairman Warren Buffett drank his cola.

Then he turned his head toward me.

“This investment isn’t Chairman Robertson’s style. Did you design it?”

“We all consulted together to make the plan.”

“That’s right. The Branch Manager designed it and I’m diligently playing the puppet role.”

Despite my efforts to be polite.

Chairman Robertson enthusiastically threw me under the bus.

“Then tell me once. What do you want me to do?”

“Currently, the sectors short-selling forces are concentrating on are aviation, travel, and insurance. Tiger Fund alone cannot defend all sectors.”

“You want to divide roles?”

“That’s right. We’d like you to take charge of insurance.”

The largest sector by far was insurance.

While aviation was facing a more serious crisis at the moment, what ultimately controlled the entire market was the insurance industry.

And Berkshire Hathaway’s core business was also insurance.

That’s why I was asking Chairman Warren Buffett to take charge of the insurance industry.

“Tiger Fund will handle aviation and travel, so you’re saying Berkshire Hathaway should take responsibility for saving insurance.”

“The terror damage claims amount to about 40 billion dollars. Many people fear that insurance companies might go bankrupt. To resolve that fear, Berkshire Hathaway must step forward.”

“Do you think insurance companies will collapse over just this? Even if they collapse, it’s just the companies that deserve to collapse doing so.”

Berkshire Hathaway would never collapse.

They held 35 billion dollars in cash alone.

I came to him because they held enough cash to handle the terror damage claims single-handedly.

“Of course, I don’t think Berkshire Hathaway will go bankrupt due to this incident. But to restore trust in the entire insurance industry, we need a center.”

“Is there a reason for me to stand at that center?”

“It’s also an opportunity for long-term value investment. If Berkshire Hathaway becomes the center of the insurance industry, you’ll be able to buy stocks of crashed insurance companies at bargain prices.”

Chairman Warren Buffett was a master of value investment.

Naturally, he would be expecting insurance company stocks that crashed due to terror to rebound.

That’s why he was quietly nodding and watching me.

“Do you see the US economy continuing to grow?”

“Without a doubt. I believe it will definitely grow in the long term.”

“Most people are selling stocks driven by fear, but that’s why you’re buying them instead?”

“Fear is merely a temporary phenomenon. Corporate value will eventually be reevaluated. It’s just that if short-selling forces destroy market confidence, the timing of reevaluation will be delayed.”

Was that a satisfactory answer?

Chairman Warren Buffett smiled while taking another sip of cola.

“You don’t seem like a simple speculator. Chairman Robertson raised his people properly.”

“That’s why I told you, didn’t I? He’s the person who will be responsible for Tiger Fund’s future.”

“I understand. Then let’s do this. I’ll announce capital reinforcement for reinsurance companies. About 10 billion dollars should get a market reaction. And I’ll announce acquisition of insurance stock shares. That would be about 2 billion dollars. Are you satisfied with this?”

A total investment of 12 billion dollars.

Looking at the entire market scale, it might not be such a large amount.

But it had different meaning because it was money coming from none other than Chairman Warren Buffett’s pocket.

Warren Buffett invested.

This alone would cause trust to skyrocket.

Not only would market confidence recover, but aviation and travel stocks could also rebound in a chain reaction.

“Thank you so much. If you step forward, Chairman, the public’s trust in the market will become even stronger.”

“It’s also for Berkshire’s sake, so there’s no need to be grateful. Rather, I have something I want to ask you. It’s a question completely unrelated to this matter, but would that be okay?”

“Any question is fine.”

Is he thirsty again?

Warren Buffett picked up the cola can again.

But this time, instead of drinking, he held the cola can toward me.

“I’ve made Coca-Cola stock my lifetime holding. It’s a stock I’ll never sell until I die. Do you have such companies too?”

“…I created such companies, and I acquired them.”

“Oh ho, what companies are they?”

“Nexpin, the company I belong to, Rollbook, the company I created, and Daehyun Semiconductor, which I acquired this time. I plan to keep these for life.”

After hearing my answer, Chairman Warren Buffett briefly looked into the companies I mentioned.

Since they were all companies under Tiger Fund, he could find information about them without difficulty, and after checking all the information, he smiled.

“They’re all IT-related companies. And there’s even semiconductors. Do you think these companies will last a lifetime?”

“I don’t know about a lifetime, but I think they’re companies that will grow for at least 30 years.”

“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll make it so.”

“Even if I don’t make it so, the world will flow that way. I’m just moving along with that flow.”

Nexpin, Rollbook, and semiconductors too.

These were companies that would shine brighter in the future than now.

“Hmm, I’m curious about the future you envision. I’ll be able to tell by watching you from now on.”

“Thank you for saying you’ll watch over me. I’ll also support you from afar, Chairman.”

“There’s no need to support from afar. Let’s see each other’s faces often. I’ll contact you soon.”

“Just contact me anytime, and I’ll come running.”

“Now go ahead and leave. You’re all busy people, aren’t you? I also need to prepare for the insurance company announcement.”

Is this why the American people trust Chairman Warren Buffett?

We hadn’t written a single contract, but I didn’t have the slightest doubt that the Chairman would break his promise.

“Please contact us when you come to Wall Street. The Branch Manager and General Manager will gather to give you a grand reception.”

“It won’t take that long.”

With that conversation, we stepped outside.

The 20-hour drive to Omaha had been worth it.

Right at this moment, the prelude to a stock price rebound was beginning.

***

Fortunately, flight restrictions were lifted from Monday dawn.

We no longer needed to waste over 20 hours in a car, and we could take a plane straight back to Wall Street.

“I’m going in first to rest, so handle things well on your own.”

“You’ve worked hard, Chairman! Please go in first.”

“I’ll just sleep for a few days, so don’t look for me.”

The Chairman left first, and the General Manager and I kept a close eye on market conditions.

Starting today, various measures would be implemented in earnest, and Chairman Warren Buffett’s announcement was also scheduled.

“Shouldn’t we deploy all remaining funds before the measures are implemented?”

“It’ll take quite some time for a reaction. And for a dramatic rebound, concentrated buying is better. We won’t give the short selling forces time to cover their shorts.”

Today was the decisive moment.

It felt a bit early since less than a month had passed since the 9/11 attacks.

But if all measures were implemented in just one day today, we could resolve market anxiety all at once.

“The White House is making the first move.”

“It looks like they’re going to announce support for aviation companies.”

On the news, the White House spokesperson began announcing support measures.

It was exactly what we had heard from Chairman Robertson.

$15 billion in support.

Federal government guaranteed loans.

Even liability limits for damage compensation lawsuits.

As the three-part package was announced, the market began reacting immediately.

“The decline has clearly diminished.”

“Since the government stepped in with direct support, they have no choice but to hesitate. We should start moving too. It’s convenient since we can focus on aviation.”

We began gradually releasing the remaining $60 billion.

Thanks to Chairman Warren Buffett, we only needed to focus on the aviation and travel industries, and buying just a portion of smaller travel stocks was sufficient.

“It seems the market forces haven’t given up yet.”

“Even though flight restrictions were lifted and support measures announced, there are still forces that haven’t pulled out.”

Red and blue lights alternated as stock prices fluctuated up and down.

The forces were trying to drag down stock prices by any means, but they couldn’t easily break through the thick buy walls we had built.

In this situation, the second measure was implemented.

This time it was the Federal Reserve’s turn.

[The Federal Reserve is taking emergency action.

We will cut the federal funds rate by 0.5 percentage points to promote financial market stability and support economic recovery.]

A new measure announced in just 2 hours.

The market forces were still pouring out selling pressure, but the number of those following us in building buy walls kept increasing.

They appeared to be mostly individual investors due to their small scale, but even they were reliable allies to us.

“Now we just need one final blow and it’ll be over.”

“Once Chairman Warren Buffett appears, it’s finished.”

Two hours before market close, Berkshire Hathaway finally released their official position.

And it wasn’t just a simple press release distribution.

Chairman Warren Buffett personally stood before reporters and began calmly reading through the prepared statement.

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