The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 364



Only Krnovel

364. Advance or retreat (4)

After spending New Year’s Day 2013 in Korea.

I went to the United States to attend President Obama’s re-election inauguration ceremony.

Since there was still a week left until the inauguration ceremony, I planned to resolve a few issues in the meantime, and to do so, a CEO followed me to the United States.

“Mr. Kim! It’s even nicer to see you in America.”

“I always felt sorry for having CEO George come to Korea.”

The first person to visit was CEO George.

Since CEO George was leading the first financial tower project, he visited Quantum Fund as soon as he arrived in the United States.

“What is there to be sorry about? If I can make money, I should go to the North Pole, not Korea.”

“Are your preparations going well?”

“Most preparations have been completed. We have purchased a large amount of U.S. Treasury bonds and have completed preparations to short sell companies that will be most affected by rising interest rates.”

It was CEO George, the number one figure in this field.

He was a person who knew through experience where to target to make the most profit.

He was a person who had the ability to give a taste of sweetness to the financial tower financial companies that participated in this project.

“It looks like the U.S. Federal Reserve will make some moves soon. The moment the Federal Reserve Chairman announces his intention to reduce quantitative easing, the operation can begin.”

“Don’t worry. An operation of this scale can be done with your eyes closed. Honestly, compared to the operations we’ve done together so far, it’s like a child’s play.”

It was not a project to be implemented under CEO George’s name.

Of course, the U.S. financial market fluctuated due to the reduction in quantitative easing, making it possible to earn high profits.

However, that amount of profit was not enough to appease CEO George’s hunger.

“Before this operation ends, we will implement a new project. This time, it is a national project, so Representative George will definitely like it.”

“Could you at least give me a hint?”

“If CEO George wants it, I should tell him the whole project, not just hints.”

Representative George quickly closed the blinds.

And only after turning off the office lights did I listen.

“Tell me what your next project is.”

“The country we are targeting is Venezuela.”

Before returning, Venezuela’s image was one of ‘implosion.’

The country that literally collapsed explosively was Venezuela.

However, at this point, the country with the highest GDP was Venezuela.

“Are we going to target Venezuela? Venezuela has recorded the highest GDP in history for two consecutive years. Of course, it slowed down a bit last year, but it is still a country that is showing an economic growth rate of over 5%.”

“But our relationship with the United States is getting worse.”

“Hmm, Chavez succeeded in winning a fourth term in the Venezuelan presidential election last year. Who is Chavez? Isn’t he the person who criticized the US president as the devil? Now that such a person is in power again, there is no way the relationship with the US will improve. .”

Chavez’s popularity in Venezuela was overwhelming.

As expected, while he was in power, Venezuela’s GDP rose significantly every year.

There was no one who disliked a leader who enriched his pockets.

Chavez was so popular that whatever evil acts he committed, including dictatorship, corruption, and abuse of power, were tolerated.

“You may have heard the news, but the cancer came back last year. I had surgery in Cuba, but they say my life is limited.”

“He’s such an amazing person. Even though he’s terminally ill, do you really not want to let go of power?”

“It is very likely that Chavez will die within this year, and even if he does not, it is said that his health will deteriorate to the point that he will no longer be able to serve as president.”

“Where did you hear that news? Are you sure you have a close relationship with the hospital in Cuba?”

I answered with laughter.

Before returning, the news had been talking about Chavez’s death for several days, so of course I knew it well.

However, since I could not tell that story to Representative George, I let him misunderstand it as he pleased.

“If Chavez dies, his successor, Nicolas Madour, will likely take power as acting president.”

“Since he is on Chavez’s line, of course relations with the United States will remain as they are now. So how is the situation different from now?”

“The situation in Venezuela will not change, but the situation in the United States will change significantly.”

There were many flower pots in Representative George’s office.

I walked over to the largest flower pot and grabbed a handful of soil.

“The moment the shale gas revolution begins, Venezuela is doomed.”

“Do you think Venezuela will no longer make money from oil because of shale gas?”

“Venezuela’s oil is of poor quality. It is comparable to shale gas. So, from the United States’ perspective, there is no reason to keep an eye on Venezuela, right?”

2013 was the starting point.

The shale gas revolution and the fall of Venezuela.

The United States has no reason to be drawn to Venezuela due to shale gas.

So, it became possible to impose sanctions on Venezuela’s economy for various reasons, and as a result, Venezuela’s economy was set to shrink by one-third within a few years.

“Well, Venezuela did cross the line. Still, they had no choice but to overlook it because of oil. But does Venezuela’s economy have to collapse all at once? No matter how much shale gas is produced, it is not enough.”

“Of course, Venezuela will not collapse if the United States imposes sanctions alone. But what will happen if it implements a policy of increasing oil production in the Middle East?”

“Do you mean moving to the Middle East? Hmm, then Venezuela will have no escape.”

It was Representative George, who knew full well that I had close ties to Saudi Arabia.

So he accepted my words without much doubt, but he still had a few questions.

“But is there any reason for the Middle East to attack Venezuela?”

“There is a saying in Korea that when a whale fights, a shrimp explodes. The Middle East will increase oil production to keep in check the shale gas of the United States, not Venezuela.”

“It’s a story about strict Venezuela’s back breaking. It’s a story with a lot of potential, but we’ll have to watch the international situation a little more.”

There was no need to move right now.

Since there was still more than a year left, it was enough to just think of a plan in my head whenever I had time.

“It is enough to understand shale gas production and movements in the Middle East before making a move. All we have to do is have fun with the US quantitative easing project and wait.”

“If Venezuela completely collapses, we could make a lot of money. We could make a lot of money just by shorting the oil companies that invested in Venezuela. And we could make a profit by attacking Venezuela’s currency.”

It was CEO George who was already starting to plan in his head.

A smile was slowly spreading across his lips.

“The timing can be brought forward. The more shale gas production increases, the faster the timing gets.”

“That’s why you invested an astronomical amount of money in shale gas. As expected, there was a reason for all your actions.”

Quantum Fund had a separate team dedicated to investigating me.

It was a dedicated team that investigated and analyzed what investments I was making and what businesses Taewo Group was interested in.

I thought it was really useless.

I couldn’t say anything because I had made several successful investments based on the results of my research and analysis.

“There is still time left for the Venezuela project. First, we need to focus on the quantitative easing project. I have decided to have a private meeting with President Obama at the inauguration ceremony, so I will read the atmosphere regarding quantitative easing then.”

“I will be waiting for you with the attitude of a baby bird waiting for food.”

CEO George, who is about the age of my grandfather, is a baby bird.

I almost frowned without realizing it, but I still couldn’t swear at the person leading the project, so I did my best to smile and say goodbye.

* * *

next day.

The person I found this time was Musk.

Although Musk is busy developing electric cars and rockets.

When I came to the factory in person, they dropped everything they were doing and welcomed me.

“Are you here? It’s even nicer to meet you here in America.”

“CEO Musk visited Korea last time, so I have to come to the U.S. this time. Judging by his good expression, I guess the work is going well.”

“Electric vehicles and rockets are progressing well, but reuse projects are not easy. It will take at least two to three more years of research before we can see plausible results.”

Rocket propellant reuse.

This was, of course, not an easy task as it would change the history of the rocket industry.

It was also a project that everyone expected to fail.

“We were the first private company to successfully launch a rocket, so the reuse project will definitely be successful. If you run out of research funds, just let us know at any time. We will support you as much as you want.”

“Thanks to Mr. Kim, I feel very reassured. Everyone told me I would fail, but their opinions don’t matter to me at all. Just be Mr. Kim and you’ll be fine!”

The only supporter.

I already knew that Musk would succeed with the rocket propellant reuse project.

That’s why, unlike others, I was able to support him wholeheartedly.

“For a rocket reuse project to be successful, wouldn’t it ultimately be necessary to launch a lot of rockets?”

“That’s true. Many companies commission satellite launches, but that alone is not enough. That’s why I’m planning to launch more satellites myself.”

“It’s going to cost an astronomical amount of money. So why not do this? I’ll pay half the cost of the satellite and half the launch cost.”

The cost of a rocket launch usually amounted to 90 billion won.

We were commissioned to launch satellites and cover the costs.

However, since one rocket could carry more than 100 satellites, it was not easy to meet the quantity.

“Are you saying you will cover half the cost? Is this the purpose of using the satellite for the Taewo Group?”

“In the future, the use of satellites will increase. We are investing in advance to prepare for that time.”

“It’s a very flattering offer on my part, but as you know, we are supported by NASA, so we need permission from the U.S. government to share satellites with other countries.”

Satellites were important strategic items.

So, of course, it was difficult to use it freely without permission from the U.S. government.

“You are saying that you will accept the offer as long as the U.S. government gives permission.”

“There is no reason not to accept the offer, right? But how do you plan to persuade the White House?”

“I have decided to visit the White House soon. I will be able to inform you of the results within the next week at the latest. There will probably be positive results.”

“And what do you plan to do with all those satellites?”

“Don’t you want to build a low-Earth orbit communication network?”

Star Link.

I brought up the story of the low-Earth orbit communication network that Musk is only planning.

As long as we could get a portion of Starlink’s shares, half the launch cost was not a large amount.