America: My Time

Chapter 422: Becoming a God in One Battle

Chapter 422 One Battle to Become a God

Following the explosion of John's legendary feat, the entire financial industry began frantically studying this "giant." At this time, his past battles with Lehman Brothers were also unearthed. It could be said that all of John's financial dealings were thoroughly investigated. Upon seeing his record, everyone gasped, with only one thought in their minds: this is a prodigy, a financial prodigy. Thankfully, his focus wasn't on the financial markets; otherwise, he would be a true financial nuclear bomb, his deterrent power terrifying.

Although John was in Tokyo, the US media was giving this 'genius' a massive report. This victory made the entire financial world aware of this prodigious talent, and even Japan was reporting on it, letting many people know how amazing the Plaza Accord had brought John. Not to mention that Standard Chartered has now changed hands, being fully acquired by Pacific Investment Management Company, and the entire integration process is underway. Such an acquisition has shocked many people.

Standard Chartered Bank is one of the note-issuing banks in Hong Kong, second only to HSBC. Yet, this British-owned bank was acquired in the blink of an eye, leaving its opponent no chance to resist. Such tactics shocked everyone who knew about them.

"Shoko, real estate has appreciated again. Do you think there's still a chance to invest in real estate now? Is it possible to make money?" When Kuroki Hitomi and Daichi Mao had a small gathering, she heard the other party ask this question. With the Plaza Accord, the US dollar depreciated and the yen appreciated, and Japanese real estate was rising again, which made Daichi Mao very interested.

"Yumi, I advise you to be more cautious. Nobody knows when this appreciation will end. If you're just making short-term investments, that's fine, but don't have such thoughts for the long term. And if you really want to invest, stocks are the most suitable. You can settle your investment annually, so at least you won't be stuck with losses. In the next two or three years, Japanese stocks will only rise, not fall. If you find a good bank, you can still make money."

Having followed John for so long and helped him manage his personal real estate in Japan, Hitomi Kuroki has gained some understanding of the current real estate market. She knows that while real estate is appreciating, stocks are also appreciating, as evidenced by the continuous rise in the market value of TV Tokyo. Most importantly, Hitomi Kuroki, Naoko Nakamori, and Akina Nakamori have all been reminded by John not to invest in real estate. If they have any investment ideas, they should put them into John's investment companies in Japan, rather than in real estate.

John reminded them because he was worried that Akina Nakamori would once again be burdened with huge loans. Although such loans were insignificant in John's eyes, he still didn't want to see the women around him suffer losses in investments, especially since Akina Nakamori's family was too greedy.

Although Akina Nakamori didn't say anything, John knew very well that this greedy family was still exploiting Akina and greedily demanding money from her. Even though the family had a lot of money, it didn't change their greedy behavior. Perhaps in their eyes, Akina was just an ATM, allowing them to take money at will.

Old habits die hard. Even though he had changed Akina's fate, John was powerless against this greedy family and could only turn a blind eye. Fortunately, these guys had received warnings from the Japanese and didn't dare cause trouble in front of John; at most, they kept demanding money from Akina. Knowing Akina's current situation, this greedy family became even more unscrupulous, seemingly with only one thought in their minds: to take all the money Akina earned. In their view, Akina, with John by her side, didn't lack money at all, so they wanted more.

John ignored the greedy family, because they weren't worth his help. Their greed was endless; they were a bottomless pit. If he offered them any assistance, they would only become more out of control. The only way to end this would be when Akina came to her senses.

"Zhaozi, it seems you've changed quite a bit. You even talk about stocks with great expertise!"

"This isn't my opinion, but his warning to us. He's worried we might fall into an investment crisis, so he's reminding us to be cautious and also advising our family members not to easily get involved in real estate investments. Personal investment and corporate investment are different, at least that's what he advised us. Naoko has been with him the longest and is the most obedient, but she doesn't understand investment at all, so she doesn't invest in anything. Akina doesn't have any money; she gives all her money to her family and only keeps a little pocket money for herself. I've chosen to work as an agent for Sanwa Bank and only do a small amount of stock investment; I don't dare to make any big investments. There are many people who fail in investment; quite a few people have lost everything before."

Because of John's connections, Hitomi Kuroki's investment in Sanwa Bank was negligible, and she wasn't worried about any problems. In her view, such an investment was simply to strengthen her relationship with Sanwa—that's where Hitomi Kuroki's cleverness lay. In contrast, Naoko and Akina hadn't thought about this aspect, or perhaps they didn't have such thoughts in mind. After all, unlike Hitomi Kuroki, they were idols and didn't have the same sensitivity in this regard.

Actually, Hitomi Kuroki, Naoko, and Akina Nakamori have all received various inquiries lately, all related to investments. Many people want to learn about investments through them. However, these people didn't get everything they wanted; they were quick to learn about investments. Akina was the most troubled of the three, because her greedy family wanted her to ask John which investments were the most profitable.

Not only in Japan, but also in Hong Kong, people like Sally Yeh and Cherie Chung received all sorts of inquiries. Their pressure was even greater, as Hong Kong investors were far more frenzied. Even John's family faced numerous requests; after his meteoric rise to fame, everyone wanted his investment advice.

The saying "People fear becoming famous, just as pigs fear growing fat" is absolutely true. During this period, those associated with John received various invitations, all with the same ultimate goal: to obtain some "insider" information from them so they could make a fortune. They were simply overthinking it.

With the continuous opening of shopping malls and the continued popularity of resort hotels by the Mandarin Oriental Group, many people are envious, as these represent huge profits. Some who were initially hesitant have also joined the investment, all wanting a share of the profits from shopping malls and resort hotels.

Unfortunately, the Mandarin Oriental Group has now shifted its focus overseas. While resort hotels in Japan are indeed profitable, those overseas are even more so. As for Universal Studios, it goes without saying that it's always packed, satisfying all investors and inspiring some to consider building their own theme parks in other cities. The Yokohama theme park, at least, has attracted considerable attention and excitement. Although it lacks the backing of Universal Studios, it remains incredibly popular.

With the development of Japan's economy, the development of theme parks is very rapid. This has led many people to believe that they can make money, and even a lot of money, without the support of Universal Studios. As a result, real estate companies have also taken action.

John watched Japan's frenzied situation with a cold laugh. These guys were too naive and overestimated Japan's economic development. They were now pouring money into resorts, theme parks, shopping malls, and commercial centers, only to regret it later. Because these guys weren't selling, but holding onto their properties, John could imagine how much they would suffer when Japanese real estate prices plummeted.

John was happy to see this happen; the more frantically these guys invested, the more his various real estate holdings in Japan would appreciate, and the more he would benefit. With ample funds at his disposal, John increased his real estate investments and accelerated his acquisitions in Europe.

Many people believed that John's personal acquisition of the winery was aimed at the Russians, and that Southern Group's acquisition of the wine industry was also targeted at the Russians. These acquisitions were entirely dependent on the Russian market, so although they attracted a lot of attention, no one jumped out to stop them, or even raised the price. Because those guys all understood that they couldn't compete with John, and if they actually acquired the winery, they would be in big trouble; they didn't have John's connections.

In a short period of time, John has built a powerful wine group in Europe and Asia, and his food business is also expanding rapidly, especially in China, where factories are being built at an alarming pace. Initially, some products were sold in China, but now the focus has shifted entirely to exports, exports to overseas countries, exports to Russia, and the return of large sums of Japanese yen.

In his dealings with Japan, John never accepted US dollars, only Japanese yen. As a result, he had a large amount of yen in his hands. The US dollar was constantly falling, but the yen was constantly rising. Did anyone need to teach him how to choose?

As communication with those guys in Japan continued, the Japanese banks gradually stopped worrying. Their worst fears were not coming true. John's companies had no intention of repaying the loans early, which naturally made them happy. However, some people were not happy, namely the manufacturing industry, as the appreciation of the yen had begun to affect their development!
(End of this chapter)