Chapter 179: Still Thrilling
Chapter 179: Still Thrilling
―Ellie: The week's profits have exceeded 28.8 billion dollars.
Money was always thrilling every time it rolled in.
Sure, with so much wealth, he'd never spend it all, but the mental satisfaction just kept growing endlessly.
While hanging out with Jo Soo-ah around Korea and chilling in an air-conditioned apartment, his fortune had ballooned by an insane amount on the New York stock market.
It had been a while since such a massive investment return, and his hands were shaking, but he deliberately played it cool in his texts.
―Kim Shin: Hmm. Okay.
―Ellie: The profits are truly enormous.
Would the day ever come when he'd get used to 28.8 billion dollars?
It was the kind of money you only made in the financial markets. Of course, there was always the risk of losing it all at any moment.
―Ellie: With profits this huge, should we keep going according to plan?
Aggressive short-selling and put option buys.
Considering the stock price surges from last year and this one, it hadn't even dropped yet.
―Kim Shin: Keep it going.
His heart was racing inside, but he kept up the nonchalant texts on the outside.
* * *
―Oh Myeong-woo: Nothing much going on here.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Well, there is something special. Earth Channel's gaming division has put out some hit games.
Earth Resource was running smoothly while he was in Korea.
It wasn't like the company relied heavily on his presence as CEO, as people might mistakenly think.
―Kim Shin: I'll be in Korea a few more days.
―Oh Myeong-woo: You trying to dump more work on me again?
―Kim Shin: Look forward to your year-end bonus.
―Oh Myeong-woo: Too much money to turn down. Got it.
While in Korea, he decided to mull over the Earth Car project. Without Mirae Motors' cooperation, starting the business would be a real hassle.
"Bro, what about BMW or Mercedes?"
It was Lee Jong-yeop's suggestion from the Hannam-dong apartment.
Earth Resource didn't even have a dedicated auto team, so the two of them were brainstorming ideas.
"Not a bad idea. But would they even cooperate?"
"With your name value, bro, it's worth a shot. They couldn't ignore you. Plus, we could buy up some stock."
Even a chairman of any company would at least take a meeting if he reached out.
Not a hostile takeover, but holding around 10% stake would smooth talks with management.
It was a tactic that could work with Mirae Motors too, but it might backfire there.
Chairman Jin Myeong-il didn't hold a huge stake, so it could easily be seen as a bid for control.
"Let's test drive BMW and Mercedes first and decide."
Both brands' EVs were hard to rent, so they bought used ones from dealerships.
They drove them all over—from Hannam-dong to Jongno, Gangnam, and even Incheon Airport—and nothing felt superior to Mirae Motors.
"The range is shorter than Mirae Motors'."
"Yeah, and the price is way higher."
"BMW or Mercedes EVs aren't even luxurious. No standout options or tech gap."
The ride quality was meh too.
Mirae Motors was producing decent-quality EVs at reasonable prices.
Surprisingly, he could say Mirae Motors built better cars than the European giants.
〈Kim Shin Test-Drives Benz and BMW EVs in Korea〉
〈Signal of Kim Shin's Auto Industry Investment?〉
〈Mirae Motors, BMW, Benz Stocks Surge in Tandem〉
Not just Korean media—overseas outlets too ran stories on what cars he was driving.
He'd bought them from used car lots on purpose, so of course they'd catch eyes.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Looks like talks with Mirae Motors didn't go well.
―Kim Shin: Yeah, a bit of a snag.
Strapping wheels to a smartphone—that quip might've irked Chairman Jin Myeong-il.
But he didn't think it was just emotional.
Fundamentally, it was asking them to hand over all their core tech, which no owner would swallow easily.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: You're not scrapping the EV project just because Mirae Motors is out, right?
Quitting here would've been a waste.
There were plenty of other auto companies.
―Kim Shin: No, we'll keep pushing.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: If you give the go-ahead, CEO, I'll meet with the chairmen of DK and LK myself.
―Kim Shin: You'll handle it personally?
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: Yes. They'll jump at the chance to join Earth Resource's EV project.
They made auto batteries and EV components—no reason not to.
Relations with both were solid too.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: We'll need to play hardball to get the minimal stake handover, so it'd be better if Isung Group and I lead the negotiations.
Seon Jae-yong was coming on strong.
'He that eager for the auto sector?'
He hadn't planned on bringing Isung Group into the EV project. This was them scrambling to get in.
It looked a tad desperate, but could be a big help.
―Kim Shin: Alright, then handle talks with DK and LK.
―Vice Chairman Seon Jae-yong: I'll keep you posted as we go.
With no domestic auto partner for the EV venture, he'd have to look overseas.
Potential partners could be found in the United States, Germany, and Japan.
Plenty of companies, but pitching cooperation had its issues.
"GM and Ford aren't short on cash. Their auto tech is surprisingly solid too."
They just couldn't make hits, but they had tons of foundational tech for car development.
"VW's going all-in on EVs themselves."
Japan had been an auto powerhouse just a decade ago. But they were slow on EVs.
Their tech lagged behind competitors, by most accounts.
"Mirae Motors is the easiest play after all."
"Looking at it this way, yeah, they're the only real partner option."
Chinese makers existed, but off the table from the start.
They made good EVs, sure, but relations with China were sour.
Teaming with a Chinese firm could draw government backlash, and he'd risk a knife in the back later for massive losses.
―Jin Yoo-kyung: I heard what happened. Seemed like a solid business proposal, but Dad's totally against it.
―Kim Shin: Got it. Can't be helped.
From what Jin Yoo-kyung said, convincing Chairman Jin Myeong-il was a no-go.
He got it completely.
Some things money couldn't buy.
Handing over decades of auto tech and know-how? No way he'd agree lightly.
'Was I a bit too shameless...?'
He was killing time without much to do when—
〈Inflation Fears Drag Down New York Markets〉
〈Global Banks Eye Profits? Growth Stocks Flood Market〉
〈China's Evergrande Faces Likely Debt Default〉
New York stocks seesawed but trended down overall.
'Sitting back and raking it in feels pretty damn good.'
Ellie, running the JP Morgan team, emailed him daily—over 400 reports on assets, econ forecasts, you name it.
* * *
Reporters in New York had caught wind lately.
'Kim Shin's investing again.'
'Betting on a drop right when stocks are hitting record highs?'
Kim Shin's stock picks were hugely popular.
At first, it seemed like gossip fodder, but digging in changed minds.
"Expected investment over 100 billion dollars?"
"All-in short-selling? Put options?"
"Banks refusing to issue puts for him?"
They were the world’s largest investment banks.
The ones with HQ or branches in New York posted massive profits yearly in the markets.
Making more from paperwork than factories did from products.
Their greed during the financial crisis had been severe enough to help ignite the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Word was, many banks were outright refusing to create puts for Kim Shin.
"Banks are playing it safe."
"Playing safe?"
"He burned them for so much last time."
They were following the precedent set by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs the previous year and even waiving their fees.
After COVID-19, derivatives trading outpaced spot-stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange, so buying put options was not a problem.
But for huge volumes, banks often issued options directly.
"First time seeing banks pass on easy money."
"Kim Shin's clout is no joke."
"Betting way over 100 billion. Some say operating funds top 200 billion."
"Half of Tesla shorts are Kim Shin? For real?"
"What's even legit anymore?"
Reporters got chills mid-investigation.
As journalists, they knew going public could jolt the markets.
* * *
〈Kim Shin Bets on New York Market Drop〉
The story hit the New York Times.
Waves of additional coverage followed.
〈While Others Buy Stocks, Kim Shin Buys Puts〉
〈Over 30 Billion in Profits in Ten Days〉
〈Midas-Touched Kim Shin Makes His Move〉
Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, etc.
The buzz hit Korea hard too.
―30 billion in ten days?
―Kim Shin bro could make 30 bil easy. Dollars tho?
―Bear market incoming?
―Bro's timing the dip.
―Location locked!
―Gazua! Shorts this time!
―Lmao reading the article, that recent drama makes it hilarious.
―Drama?
―Yeah. Kim Shin bro said he'd drop 50 bil on US investments.
―He did.
―Community blew up saying even with his wealth, blowing 50 bil could bankrupt him quick.
―Worried about celebs before, now super-rich too lmao.
―Elon just holds Tesla. Earth Resource ain't public. Koreans fretting over the world's top non-billionaire or whatever.
―30 bil dollars is no joke.
―'Investment God' movie dropping soon—perfect timing.
―Life's a movie.
―Trilogy won't cut it. Need part 4, 5...
News of his New York profits lit the internet ablaze.
* * *
One guy kicked off his blankets seeing the 30 billion-plus profit story.
The man was Kim Sang-gi, the manager of the gaming team.
"Argh, why'd I do that."
He'd wanted to brag a bit to Kim Shin while watching the match.
"Shin-ah, guess my investment return this year?"
"How much?"
"150%. Rode Nasdaq growth stocks like crazy."
That was a return worth boasting about anywhere.
After turning 500 million into 750 million, he could not stop boasting about it.
Kim Shin had smiled and praised his investing, but damn, blanket-kicking material.
―Kim Sang-gi: Shin-ah. The article saying over 30 bil dollars—is it real?
He could not hold back and fired off a text.
He ignored texts in the US usually, but reply came fast.
―Kim Shin: Yeah.
―Kim Sang-gi: For real?
―Kim Shin: Roughly that, yeah.
―Kim Sang-gi: Roughly?
―Kim Shin: Haven't checked exact figure, so not sure.
"......"
He flashed back to his own Nasdaq nights—waking hourly to check.