stjorthotic Chapter 179 Getting Busier and Busier
Chapter 179 Getting Busier and Busier
Chapter 179 Getting Busier and Busier
After Henry Goldman left, only Larry and Mr. Porter, along with their lawyer, remained at the law firm.
Larry spent a total of $389,125 on the purchase of two properties and street-front shops, including the land and buildings.
But it was agreed with Mr. Porter beforehand that in this real estate project, Mr. Porter would own 25% and Larry would own 75%.
Therefore, Mr. Porter needs to contribute $97,281.
Mr. Porter promised to transfer the funds to Larry within a week, but Larry laughed and said, "Just transfer it to my stock account. Aren't you going to subscribe to GE stock later?"
It's clear that Mr. Potter is very excited this time.
Mr. Porter originally intended to make money with Larry, but he never expected that just mentioning it to Larry would have such an immediate and significant impact on his business.
This week, I was able to acquire such a large property that I never dared to dream of before for such a small amount of money. It feels like I'm living in a dream.
Larry laughed too, thinking it was no big deal. It was just a coincidence that he bought a property near the Waldorf Hotel. Besides, if Mr. Porter hadn't been overseeing it, he would have inevitably fallen into all sorts of traps set by Goldman and Astor III.
"Mr. Potter, without you, I might have had to pay an extra $5 to buy these houses."
Mr. Porter nodded, then slowly said, "However, real estate is not like a joint venture where ownership is mixed; the ownership should still be clarified."
Larry raised an eyebrow, thinking that made sense; when it comes to real estate, it's important to distinguish between "yours" and "mine."
When registering later, it will be clear which building belongs to whom, which will make it easier for everyone to handle things in the future.
"Mr. Potter, you can choose either of these two buildings or the street-facing property! It's alright, don't worry about making me unhappy, you can choose whichever one you like, it's just a matter of adjusting the amount." Larry said generously to Mr. Potter.
The lawyer standing nearby nodded emphatically and said approvingly, "If you two could further subdivide the property rights of each building, that would be even better! I'll process the new property ownership certificates for both of you tomorrow when I apply for them."
Mr. Potter nodded, picked up the contracts for the two properties and a row of shops facing the street, looked at them from left to right, and hesitated very much about which property to choose.
Larry thought Mr. Porter would choose the street-front shop because anyone with eyes could see that although the land below was not large, the street-front location and the special attributes of the shops would definitely make more money in the future!
However, even if Mr. Potter chose a storefront, Larry would still give it to him generously, because of their relationship.
To Larry's surprise, Mr. Porter ultimately chose one of the four-story buildings, the one whose ground floor shops were rented to a trading company.
"Why did you choose this building?" Larry asked curiously.
With an embarrassed smile, Mr. Potter replied, "By choosing this building, I can move my family to Fifth Avenue. Right now, my family and I are renting on the Upper East Side, where the rent is expensive and the space is cramped."
Larry instantly understood that Mr. Porter had his own plans. He wanted to move in as well, and then rent out the remaining three floors, so that he could make money as a landlord while also having a place to live on Fifth Avenue.
Mr. Potter probably didn't choose the French restaurant because he thought the shops on the ground floor, which were occupied by hotels, were too noisy.
"That's settled then, Mr. Potter, we'll split the land between the two four-story properties in half!" Larry said generously.
Mr. Porter turned to Larry, frowning, and said, "That won't do. I'm only contributing 25% of the funds; how can we split it 50/50? That would be too unfair to you!"
Larry said he wasn't at a disadvantage, because he still had shops!
However, Mr. Porter felt that he had already made a good profit by buying land with Larry, and he couldn't take advantage of Larry any further.
After much negotiation, the two finally decided that Mr. Porter would own one of the properties, and the vacant land would still be split equally between them. However, Mr. Porter would have to pay Larry $1.27 in compensation.
In this way, Mr. Porter would need to pay Larry a total of $11, which would be deposited directly into Larry's account at Paine Weber Securities.
After the two finished their discussion, they entrusted the registration to a lawyer, and the matter was considered successfully concluded.
The two first handed over their respective property lease contracts, then looked at each other and smiled.
.
On Monday, March 28, Larry returned to the Boston branch of Paine Weber Securities.
There are two main things I'm here for today. One is to pick up the title deed that the lawyer brought, and the other is that New England Railroad's stock is going public today, and Larry needs to see how his stock is performing.
Mr. Dunbar has been running around with Larry these past few days, but most of the time he's been idle and has a very low profile.
As before, Mr. Dunbar entered the sales office and sat down on a small chair near the entrance, gesturing to Larry,
"You go about your business, I'll wait for you here."
Larry smiled at him, turned around, and walked into Mr. Potter's office.
Now, everyone in the New York branch is very familiar with Larry, knows he's a favorite of General Manager Porter, and treats him with great courtesy.
"Good morning, Mr. Potter!" Larry greeted him with a smile as he entered the room.
Mr. Potter smiled, picked up a telegram from the table, held it up in the air, and said, "Your telegram, from Washington, D.C."
Larry was taken aback, thinking that this must be Kennedy's telegram, and that they must have made some decision.
Larry picked up the telegram and frowned slightly, because although the telegram was indeed from Kennedy, it instructed him to go to Washington.
The specific message reads: "I have important business to discuss in person. If it is convenient for you, please come to Washington, D.C. at the end of this month. Please call me back if you agree."
Larry spread the telegram out on his hand, muttering to himself, "Why do I still need to go to Washington? Do they have other ideas about the bubble tea shop?"
However, it would be best to sit down with them as well. Larry thought it would be nice to go to Washington, since he didn't have anything else to do anyway.
Larry called over a young clerk and drafted a simple telegram stating that he would be taking the train to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 30th.
The young man hurriedly took the telegram and went to send it.
Mr. Potter narrowed his eyes and smiled, saying, "What, the New York business isn't over yet, and now we have to go to Washington?"
Larry gave a wry smile. "There's nothing I can do. Sigh, I'm getting busier and busier."
Mr. Potter didn't press further, instead changing the subject, "Oh, by the way, the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad Corporation shares are going public today. Have you decided yet? Will you sell them, or mortgage them?"
Larry's face turned serious, and he said, "Then let's do as you said, and use it as collateral. I don't need the money right now..."
Mr. Porter nodded, picked up the phone, and said, "Wait a moment, I'll ask the major banks in New York which one has a higher loan-to-value ratio."
At this point, Larry suddenly remembered that when he was discussing the mortgage with Mr. Porter the previous week, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
It was as if a subconscious thought that had been buried in my mind for a long time had suddenly become clear to me after Mr. Potter said that.
Unfortunately, the thought flashed through my mind and then disappeared. Now I'm not sure what that subconscious thought was.
Larry sat on the sofa to the side, casually taking out a $20 Double Eagle gold coin and playing with it in his hand.
These days, when Larry has nothing to do and is thinking, he has a habit of taking out a gold coin and playing with it in his hand. It's like when he was a student in his previous life, he would twirl a pen. This subconscious play helps him concentrate.
What exactly was that inspiration of mine? Why did I feel happy when I heard the word "mortgage"?
Larry let the gold coins flow through his hands, his mind searching for that inspiration buried deep within his thoughts.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. The telegraph operator stood by the door and said to Larry,
"Mr. Livingston! Your telegram."
Larry raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that Senator Kennedy's telegram reply was quick enough!
Larry walked over a few steps, took the telegram, and instinctively asked, "Is it from Washington?"
"No! It's from Boston!" the young man replied.
"Oh...ah?! Another telegram from Boston?" Larry was full of surprise, and then stared intently at the telegram.
The telegram did indeed originate from Boston, and it was personally sent by Mr. Wallace.
"Mr. Potter and Livingston, if you see Livingston, please have him call me immediately and let me know if anything comes up!"
Larry frowned, wondering what was going on today. One thing after another, was there some problem in Boston again? The convenience store or the bubble tea shop?
However, it's much more convenient to call Mr. Wallace from here, since we're from the same company.
Larry walked back to the sales office, waved to Mr. Potter, and said softly, "Mr. Wallace asked me to return his call..."
Mr. Potter nodded, said a few words to the person on the other end of the phone, hung up, and gave up his seat.
Larry dialed the Boston branch...
"Hello, this is William Wallace!" came Mr. Wallace's voice from the phone.
"Mr. Wallace, this is Larry. What can I do for you?" Larry asked quickly.
"Oh, Larry, you're pretty quick! You've already fought back..." Mr. Wallace chuckled, then said, "Your parents have contacted the company through someone. They say you haven't been home in a long time, and they want you to go back on the first weekend of April!"
When Larry made the call, he was actually on edge, afraid that Mr. Wallace would say something bad.
When the other person answered the phone, they laughed and said that Larry was already half relieved; then they said that his parents wanted him to go back home, and he was completely relieved. Larry then started playing with the gold coins again...
"Oh, okay. It's my fault, I haven't been back in a long time. Okay, I'll go back as soon as I'm done with my work," Larry replied with a smile.
"Oh, right, Larry, early April is also the time when GE begins its IPO subscription. Remember to have Mr. Porter convert the bonds into stocks!" Mr. Wallace added.
"Okay!" Larry agreed, the Double Eagle Coin bouncing high in his hand before falling back into his palm.
After hanging up the phone, Larry looked up and met Mr. Porter's gaze. The latter frowned and said, "I remember. This is important business. How could I forget? Besides, how often have you seen me neglect official duties?"
Larry chuckled and then fell silent.
"Oh, right, National City Bank in New York just said their loan-to-value ratio is also 75%, they can't go any higher..." Mr. Porter said, his eyes unconsciously fixed on the gold coins fluttering in Larry's hand, and casually added, "...Yeah, they said the loan-to-value ratio for gold coins is actually higher, up to 78%!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Larry paused, suddenly feeling that a faint thought that had been buried in his mind had suddenly sprouted...
Gold coins! Pledge! Pledge! Gold coins!
Larry suddenly realized what that inspiration in his head really was!
Collateralized coins! Yes, collateralized coins!
Ever since Larry met Jay Gould at the steakhouse that day, he bought a biography of him and reads it whenever he has free time on weekends.
It mentioned the following:
In 1869, Jay Gould, along with another prominent financier, Daniel Drew, and their partner James Fix, attempted to control the gold market.
Jay Gould used tactics such as bribing politicians and bankers to collect gold while simultaneously using the officials they bribed to lobby then-President Grant, saying that gold should flow freely without any interference.
Once they had amassed a large amount of gold, they suddenly spread the news that the government would not intervene in the rise of gold prices and would be buying up large quantities of gold in the market. This caused the price of gold in New York to jump from $120 to $160 by the end of the year.
It wasn't until panic broke out in the market that President Grant realized the gravity of the situation and ordered the Treasury to inject gold into the market to prevent a financial panic.
There is still no definite information about how much money Jay Gould made in the market using this method.
But that amount is at least eight figures!
Actually, this year is very similar to that year. Larry has been paying close attention to the continuous flow of gold from the United States to Europe. In addition, Larry has always felt that the gold and silver bimetallic standard will bring disaster to the United States. Moreover, the money in the market is getting tighter and tighter, which means one thing: deflation!
I used to think I had no way to exploit the loophole of the gold and silver bimetallic standard for speculation...
But things are different now. First, I have money, and I also have a large sum of gold, which gives me initial capital.
In addition, Mr. Porter's casual mention of "collateral" also gave Larry an idea: that leverage could be repeated by using collateral!
You can accumulate as much gold as possible before market panic sets in!
Thinking this, Larry smiled and said to Mr. Potter, "Don't ask the other banks yet, I'll go check the prices on the New England Railroad first!"
As he spoke, Larry clutched the $20 Double Eagle gold coin tightly in one hand and hurriedly ran out of Mr. Porter's office.
(End of this chapter)