"So, how is the company doing now?" Huang He asked with a smile.
"The company is doing very well!" Little Swift's spirits lifted as he spoke, saying in a tone of presenting a treasure, "Apple's stock price has been in a state of steady increase. Due to the continuous hot sales of the iPod product in recent years, the stock price has surged from $5.5 to $12.2, an increase of nearly 140%. Because our investment company adheres to the policy of only investing in Apple, our fund's average rate of return has reached about 80%, ranking in the top 3 among all funds. Therefore, customers across America trust us very much. The company's performance is excellent, and its reputation is unparalleled in the entire United States!"
"How much capital does the company have now?" Huang He asked curiously.
"Currently, the company has approximately $8 billion in funds," Little Swift replied.
"$8 billion!" Leng Zhiwen and Leng Zhiruo on the side were simultaneously startled by the figure, their sandwiches dropping onto the table. Only Huang He, who had been closely monitoring the data of Western Mustang Investment Company, was already aware of this number.
"Brother-in-law, I remember when we left America, the entire Western Mustang Company had only sold $300 million worth of funds. Now it has $8 billion, an increase of nearly 30 times!" Leng Zhiruo said in shock. She truly hadn't expected that this seemingly casual move back then would become an investment company controlling a staggering $8 billion in such a short time.
While this $8 billion wasn't the company's own money but funds managed for clients, it was a substantial sum, enough to stir up the entire US stock market.
"So, how many shares of Apple do we currently hold?" Huang He continued to ask.
"Yes, as I have always followed your instruction to only buy Apple stocks, Boss, we now own 55% of Apple's shares!" Little Swift stated.
"Ah, 55%!" Although Huang He already knew this figure, hearing it again still felt somewhat surreal.
Apple, the future number one global technology company with a market capitalization exceeding $2 trillion, and Western Mustang Investment Company holding 55% of its shares. Did this mean Apple was essentially his own company?
Of course, Huang He's thoughts were perhaps a bit too optimistic.
Firstly, the money wasn't Huang He's; it belonged to investors, with Western Mustang Investment Company managing the funds. Therefore, the shares technically belonged to the investors, not to Huang He.
Furthermore, according to legal restrictions on investment companies, even with 55% of the shares, the investment company couldn't directly interfere with the company's management using such a massive block of shares.
Thus, it wasn't entirely impossible to intervene in certain matters, but it would be troublesome and potentially lead to repercussions. Most investment companies in America also did not interfere with management. This was why Jobs was willing to let Western Mustang hold over 55% of the shares, as investment companies were the best investors who wouldn't interfere with Jobs' operations.
"However, Boss, we actually have nearly $2 billion in funds that we can't use!" Little Swift then said, sounding troubled.
"What's going on?" Huang He asked, puzzled.
"It's like this. The vast majority of these 55% shares were acquired by me gradually from some major shareholders. But now, it's difficult to find any more major shareholders willing to sell Apple shares. The only way is to continue acquiring them from the stock market!"
"But I'm worried that if this $2 billion is all used to purchase Apple shares on the stock market at once, it will significantly reduce Apple's stock liquidity, which could have a fatal impact on Apple's investment value."
"So, all the talented individuals under me unanimously oppose me continuing to acquire them. They say it will ruin the entire company!" Little Swift explained.
"Hmm, your talented individuals are not wrong. We indeed cannot continue buying, unless we intend to privatize Apple," Huang He nodded.
"Don't be fooled by companies with market capitalizations often exceeding a trillion dollars in the stock market. A lot of this market value is actually inflated, mostly attributed by the stock market itself."
"And for the stock market, liquidity is extremely important. Liquidity refers to the number of stocks that can circulate in the market. If a company's majority of shares are held by large institutions or individuals, and they choose to hold their positions passively, it will greatly reduce the stock's liquidity, leading to uncontrollable stock price fluctuations."
"Therefore, normal investment companies do not choose to hold a large amount of a company's stock while also maintaining passive positions. Otherwise, once they decide to sell their shares, it could cause the entire stock price to collapse."
"Here's what you do: go to Apple's headquarters and find Jobs..."
***
Exiting Little Swift's private room, Leng Zhiruo and Leng Zhiwen felt dizzy. They hadn't expected to witness the flow of a colossal sum of $3 billion in mere moments.
Back home, the largest sums they dealt with were only a few hundred million RMB at most. Indeed, America was a paradise for capital.
"Brother-in-law, can we go home now? I'm a bit tired," Leng Zhiwen said, feeling extremely exhausted.
"Wait a moment, we still have something to do!" Huang He smiled slightly and led the two to another private room next to the previous one.
"There's another private room!" Leng Zhiruo and Leng Zhiwen were stunned.
"Boss, long time no see!" To their surprise, another employee of Huang He was waiting in the private room. When Leng Zhiruo and Leng Zhiwen recognized her, they couldn't help but exclaim.
The speaker was a woman, but her appearance was truly tragic. Although she was entirely covered in black sheer clothing, her face was exposed.
However, her face was covered in various unimaginable scars, with raised flesh and skin indicating the immense pain and torture she had previously endured.
"Miss Versailles, hello!" Huang He shook her hand and asked with a smile, "How have you been these past few days?"
"Replying to you, Boss, for the past six months, following your orders, after my wounds healed, I resumed my studies and continued attending classes at school."
"On the other hand, I have actively participated in various social groups and have been involved in over 30 different social activities, including feminist marches, animal protection marches, anti-death penalty marches, anti-vaccine marches, and more. I have gained considerable renown in the entire civil rights struggle system in Boston!" Versailles said softly.
In fact, Versailles was being modest. She was more than just "considerably renowned"; she was practically a household name.
Under Huang He's arrangement, many media outlets in America began to publicize Versailles' story. When so many tragic events were concentrated on a single person, the news value was immense. Versailles had caused quite a stir in America at the time, receiving over a million dollars in donations from various sectors of society.
Versailles then donated all of the over a million dollars to a lesbian protection organization and publicly declared herself a homosexual, further amplifying her fame.
However, in the face of this sudden fame, Versailles humbly stated that she preferred to return to university to contribute more to society.
As a result, Harvard University naturally extended an invitation to Versailles.
This might sound unbelievable, as how could a top American institution like Harvard easily invite a student with average grades who hadn't passed the entrance exam?
In reality, this was quite normal in America. Universities have considerable autonomy and also hold special admission slots to invite students they believe have made significant contributions to society and can further educational goals.
Women like Versailles were naturally the best candidates. In fact, more than 20 universities had extended invitations to Versailles at the time, but she ultimately chose Harvard University's sociology program, which the university considered a great honor.
However, after enrolling, Versailles did not focus on her sociology studies. In fact, attending classes for three days a month would be considered high attendance for her.
Yet, the university dared not criticize Versailles, because while she wasn't attending classes for sociology, she was attending "classes" in the real world.
Within less than four months of her enrollment, she had participated in over 30 social activities and joined more than 20 social groups. All these activities and groups were organizations representing so-called disadvantaged groups.
Versailles was also very clever; none of the activities she participated in directly protested the government. They were all protests against various binary oppositions.
For example, fighting against heterosexuals, fighting against meat-eaters, fighting against men, and so on. The result, naturally, was increasing fame and widespread encouragement, praise, and accolades from the government.
To put it bluntly, Versailles was now a highly respected public figure in America, with all the right "buffs" fully stacked.
"Boss, are you sure you're asking me to do these things not to get me into politics?" Versailles shrugged her shoulders and said, "Both major parties in America have invited me to join them more than once, promising that if I represent them in an election, I can at least secure a position as a state senator."
"There's no rush for that. Whether it's a state senator, a congressman, or even the President, it's all a matter of elections. So your goal remains unchanged: engage in business!"
"I think you can announce tomorrow that you've discovered that protests can't save Americans, so you're going into business to save Americans!" Huang He said with a smile.