New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 173

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 173. Celebration (3)

I clenched both hands tightly and savored the joy.

With Palantia’s decisive help, the US military had captured Saddam Hussein alive, and now I could realize all the plans I had designed.

“The operation was successful. Once the US Government officially announces Saddam Hussein’s capture, oil prices will plummet dramatically once again.”

“Then we can’t just sit still. We need to scale up even if we have to scrape together money we don’t have.”

I revised the target.

Until the official announcement, we bought up even more volume.

About 3 hours after receiving the call, the White House spokesperson finally held a press conference.

“A person believed to be Saddam Hussein has been captured in Iraq. Identity verification procedures are currently underway, and the US Government will continue operations for Iraq’s freedom and stability. Additional details will be announced as they are confirmed.”

The spokesperson used cautious language.

But the fact that the spokesperson held a press conference like this meant that Saddam Hussein had been captured.

“Branch Manager, oil prices have started plummeting!”

“How’s the stock situation?”

“Stock prices are fluctuating wildly too!”

Saddam Hussein’s capture.

As expected, it had an enormous impact on the market.

If the US military had succeeded in killing him according to their original plan, or if they had tried to capture him on their own without cooperating with Palantia and it had taken several months, there wouldn’t have been such market shock.

“Remember the target precisely. When oil prices drop to $25, we’ll begin liquidation!”

“Oil prices have already dropped $2 to $28. At this rate, they’ll hit $25 within tomorrow.”

“Just endure a few more days. There really isn’t much left now.”

The end of our long journey was near.

Was it because I thought it was ending that I felt regretful?

Song Sang-yeon wore a wistful expression.

“At this trend, oil prices could drop to the early $20s. How about waiting a bit longer before starting liquidation?”

“Let’s not be too greedy. To safely process all our volume, we need to start liquidation at $25. Honestly, even $25 is being greedy.”

Waiting any longer would be real greed.

When you’ve eaten enough to be full, you should get up from the table to avoid indigestion.

***

As Song Sang-yeon predicted, oil prices entered the $25 range the next day.

Simultaneously, the Korean Branch, Headquarters, and Asia Branch all began liquidation operations.

“Branch Manager, we’re selling in batches since we hold so much volume, but the price decline has slowed significantly.”

“So $25 was indeed the Maginot Line.”

“If we speed up any more from here, oil prices might actually rise.”

We had built positions large enough to move the market.

This made liquidation difficult, and if we took too long to liquidate, our returns would inevitably fall.

But there was one thing I could count on.

If someone with even greater market influence than us would just move, we could safely close our positions.

“Please connect me to the Chairman.”

I called the Chairman first to get an accurate read on the US situation.

The Chairman answered with a tired voice, as if Headquarters was also operating frantically.

[What’s the matter?]

“Has there been any separate contact from the White House?”

[No separate contact, but the White House’s movements seem unusual. There are rumors that the spokesperson will hold a press conference soon.]

“Can you find out the exact timing of the press conference?”

[I can’t know that much.]

I checked the White House situation through the Chairman.

Since this information wasn’t enough, I immediately contacted Peter Thiel as well.

“How is the situation developing?”

[We finished identity verification using all of Omnis’s functions. There’s over a 98% chance the person we captured is him.]

“With that level of confidence, it must be certain.”

[Absolutely.]

“Thank you. And you’ve worked hard.”

[Mister Lee did the hard work. I’ll come to Korea soon, so let’s meet face to face and have a drink.]

I confirmed additional information through Peter Thiel.

Combining the White House’s movements with the CIA’s movements, the press conference would definitely be held today.

“The White House will hold an additional press conference soon. The moment they officially acknowledge that the captured person is Saddam Hussein, oil prices will plummet again.”

“Then we can dump our volume at that time.”

“Exactly. There won’t be a better opportunity than this for a while. The next chance will probably come when Saddam Hussein stands trial. So clear as much volume as possible this time.”

We had to liquidate when the opportunity came.

It would take at least three months for Saddam Hussein to stand trial.

If we couldn’t clear our volume now, we’d have to carry the positions until then or accept losses and dump volume at lower returns.

“I’ll prepare to clear as much volume as possible as soon as the press conference begins.”

“For now, only release volume to a degree that won’t surprise the market.”

We waited for the right moment and moved quietly.

After about 3 hours like this.

Finally, the White House officially began to move.

“The press conference has started!”

“Now! Aggressively dump the volume.”

“The press conference hasn’t said anything yet – is this okay?”

“It’ll be too late if we move after the press conference ends. Dump it now.”

All the employees began dumping volume.

Meanwhile, the White House spokesperson began to speak.

[We officially confirm that the person captured in Iraq is former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

US forces captured Hussein alive through recent operations and are currently holding him securely.

Detailed information will be shared through future briefings.]

It was as expected.

The White House spokesperson officially announced Saddam Hussein’s capture.

All markets definitively accepted that the war was over.

“Selling volume is pouring out.”

“This is our chance. Clear the short positions as much as possible!”

The anxiety of war ended and stability arrived.

Investors expecting oil price declines began overflowing.

We could rapidly close our short positions and begin profit liquidation.

That said, it wasn’t a scale that could be cleared in just one day.

It took a full 4 trading days to completely clear everything from oil futures to options, spreads, swaps, commodity funds, and spot-linked derivatives.

“Everyone has worked hard. It’s finally over.”

“You’ve worked hard too, Branch Manager.”

“Is the final return calculation finished?”

“I’ll report to you now.”

Song Sang-yeon’s voice was hoarse from not sleeping a wink.

He had to manage not only US markets but European and Asian markets too, so there was no time to rest.

I wanted to let him rest soon with his bloodshot eyes, but we had to put the final period on the return calculation.

“For oil, we built short positions totaling $50 billion with $10 billion at 5x leverage, achieving a 171% return. Profits also reached $17.1 billion.”

“Such returns were possible thanks to everyone working hard.”

“And for energy and defense stocks, we achieved a total 40% return through 2x leverage, with $4 billion in profits. For the long positions in hotel, tourism, and airline stocks, we achieved $1.5 billion in profits.”

An investment with a total injection of $30 billion.

The combined return rate for all stocks reached approximately 75%, achieving tremendous profits of $22.6 billion.

“So total funds became $73.4 billion.”

“Even after deducting all interest costs and fees, we expect profits exceeding $70 billion.”

Related costs alone were $3.4 billion.

Interest costs, broker fees, hedging costs, currency hedging and operational risk costs included.

Thanks to us, many institutions including prime brokers ended up making tremendous profits.

“Now don’t think about anything and go home to rest well. I’ll arrange for this week to be paid vacation. And when you return after your break, there will be a success bonus party waiting for you to look forward to.”

“Wooooah!”

This was the first time I’d heard such a weak cheer.

The employees didn’t even have the energy to shout, and it wouldn’t be strange at all if they collapsed right now.

The employees were practically crawling as they packed their things and left the office, and the General Manager and I watched them fondly.

“Branch Manager, you worked hard too.”

“You worked hard as well, General Manager. Are you returning to the United States now?”

“I should head back now too. I plan to confidently hold the New Year meeting when I return.”

“The New Year meeting will finally be held in the second quarter.”

“Even though it’s a few months late, our managed funds have more than doubled, so who’s going to complain?”

The General Manager spoke with a bright smile.

Thanks to this investment, Tiger Fund now held managed funds well over 100 billion dollars.

It was the largest amount in Tiger Fund’s history, and managed funds that overwhelmed other funds.

“It seems we’ve secured enough funds to carry out the next operation.”

“More than enough – it’s overflowing. Thanks to this profit, more clients will entrust their money to our fund. Even if we just sit still, at least tens of billions of dollars will come rolling in.”

“The more funds we secure, the better. When the real estate bubble bursts, even our current funds might not be enough.”

The real estate collapse scenario had to be continuously rewritten.

The bubble was forming at a faster pace than initially expected.

“Don’t worry about not having enough money to check our cards. Ah! And I’d like to finalize the performance bonus discussion now.”

“The amount will be quite large this time.”

“That’s why I want to ask for your understanding. The performance bonus I can offer is 1 billion dollars in cash and 10% equity in Tiger Fund.”

1 billion dollars.

At the current exchange rate, it was over 1.2 trillion won.

On top of that, receiving 10% equity in Tiger Fund made it a tremendous performance bonus.

But the General Manager couldn’t lift his head as if he felt sorry.

“That amount is sufficient.”

“Actually, what does the amount matter? If we continue like this, someday Tiger Fund will entirely belong to the Branch Manager.”

The Tiger Fund equity I already held amounted to 25%.

I had received small amounts of equity with each investment, and this time I was getting an additional 10% all at once.

At this rate, securing a majority stake within a few years wasn’t impossible.

That’s why I didn’t have much attachment to performance bonuses.

Of course, I wasn’t particularly coveting the position of Tiger Fund’s owner.

I was sufficiently satisfied even now.

But ultimately, to complete the picture I was drawing.

I kept thinking that someday I would have to stand in that position.

“I don’t have such ambitions yet.”

“Even without ambition, it seems like it will happen someday. Well, let’s think about future matters later. For now, let’s celebrate first.”

It was modest for a 70 billion dollar profit celebration party.

Crack! We shared a can of beer each and wet our throats.

“Now it finally feels real that the situation is over.”

“More than that, how do you feel? You’re receiving over 1 trillion won in annual salary just from bonuses alone. No one in Korea receives as high a salary as the Branch Manager. Even looking at the entire world, you’d be counted on one hand.”

“Having a 1 trillion won salary doesn’t seem to have changed much.”

1 trillion won annual salary.

It was just a number.

But the General Manager understood it differently.

“As expected, the Branch Manager thinks big. A 1 trillion won salary isn’t enough for you? You’re not aiming for a 1 trillion dollar salary, are you?”

“1 trillion dollars would be over 1,200 trillion won. It’s impossible to receive that much as a salary.”

“Of course it’s a joke. But if you became the owner of Tiger Fund, it wouldn’t be a completely impossible story. Of course, receiving 1,200 trillion won in cash would be difficult, but if you convert the entire fund’s asset value into theoretical profit, it’s also a possible number.”

The General Manager was making jokes sound like serious talk.

But thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Tiger Fund was growing by more than double each year.

If we gained several times the profit from the real estate bubble.

The fund’s scale exceeding several trillion dollars wouldn’t be impossible at all.

Of course, since it was an impossible figure for now.

I didn’t think about anything and just gulped down beer while savoring the victory.

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