World's Richest Man: I Leaped Across Time

Chapter 164 Circles

On Monday, I called Derec to start covering the short position.

Just after I hung up the call with Derec, the doorbell rang. The delivery guys had arrived, struggling to carry in the stack of boxes holding my new computer setup.

They wheeled in a big CRT monitor—19 inches, taking up half the desk. With 1600x1200 resolution, it was top of the line. Then came the tower: a beast loaded with an Intel Pentium 4 processor running at 3.4 GHz, 1GB of RAM, and a 120GB hard drive.

I showed them to my office, pointing out where I wanted everything. As they unpacked, they started chatting.

"Man, this setup could run anything. Dual monitor support, too," one of them commented as he adjusted the placement of a second, smaller monitor I'd ordered as a side screen for real-time data. "You're gonna be flying with these speeds."

They finished connecting the screens and arranging the tower, then went over the specs with me to make sure everything was ready to run right out of the box. We made small talk about the latest tech while they plugged everything in and powered up the setup.

Once they left, I sat down and booted up the system. As soon as the screen loaded, I opened up my Forex platform. I ran a few tests to check response times; everything was running smoothly even with multiple charts and data streams running simultaneously.

I started selling off small parts of my position, careful not to flood the market. I set up an automatic selling plan, configuring it to offload shares in steady intervals while I'd be out.

Then I headed to the university.

In my Advanced Econometrics class, while the professor was talking about time series models and stochastic processes, I pulled out my notebook.

I skimmed through the market analysis channel.

Analysts were laser-focused on the currency, commenting on the huge volume of sales hitting the market.

Rumors were everywhere.

"Someone who had bought the ruble at rock-bottom prices was now unloading it fast."

Some experts hinted that the ruble's rally was nearing its end, suggesting that Russia's "good times" might be running out.

No one knew the full story, but I did.

...

After classes, Charlotte and I met up with Hana, grabbing a table at a quiet café. It had been a while since I have talked with Hana.

At some point I asked her about her sister.

She sighed, stirring her coffee. "I haven't seen her in months. The last message I got was about a month ago. I think she's just cut herself off from the family, and neither my brother or father seemed to be concerned."

'Last time I heard from her she talked about getting a promotion, but that was a long time ago...' I thought.

Your next chapter awaits on empire

I was thinking of maybe involving her in my Super PAC...

...

The week went by quickly as I continued to sell off the ruble position.

The market reacted almost immediately. The ruble dropped sharply, sliding from 27 rubles per dollar to 29.6 by the end of the week.

Untill Friday, April 9th, I was barely able to sell 50% of my position with the average of 28.9 Rubel per dollar.

I realized I'd underestimated how much my position could actually move the market.

With over $10 billion dollars worth of rubels under my control, I should've expected this.

I'd prioritized Immortal Investments, making sure they could sell off their entire position.

In the end, they pulled in over $1 billion in profit.

Since it hasn't even been a month that we held the position, the loan fee at 0.4% was almost nothing in the grand scheme—just a few million dollars.

Pennies, really, when we were raking in hundreds of millions in gains.

[FOREX]

-----------------

[PROFIT/LOSS DETAILS]

[USD/RUB SHORT]

Opening Exchange Rate: 37.49 RUB

Current Exchange Rate: 29.61 RUB

Average Close Exchange Rate: 28.51 RUB

Margin Fees: 0.4%

Profit/Loss Closed: +RUB20,654,000,000 (+$724,763,789)

Exprosure: $2,200,000,000

Profit/Loss: +RUB17,322,800,000 (+$585,078,160)

-----------------

Over the weekend, Charlotte and I set a date for our first cruise on the yacht. We chose May 29th, right after my speech at the university.

But as much as I looked forward to it, my mind couldn't shake the tension of what was coming in June. Google's IPO, Arnold Johnson's birthday, and a flood of other commitments were all piling up.

...

On Friday, April 17th, I found myself in the plush seats of a private jet, flying toward a meeting with Daniel Tepper of Appaloosa Management in New York.

Flying together with me were Derec Johnson and... Britney.

I took her along on a bit of a whim, but this could prove to be a great experience for her.

There was no particular goal in the meeting, other than improving our relations. Perhaps we could join a circle of hedge funds.

I was heading there not only as a representative of Immortal Investments but also as a private investor.

Over the past week, I'd completed the final sales of my ruble position. The end result was a massive $1,213,763,789 in profit.

After transferring it all back to my margin account, my cash position sat at a comfortable $2,946,498,331.

My net worth, taking into account Immortal Investment, Google, Johnson Trading, and Skype, was approaching $6.5 billion.

That's not including the true potential of Tesla and Facebook.

As the plane cruised at altitude, Britney slid into the seat next to me, her face calm, almost expressionless. She gave me a glance, then spoke in a flat, straightforward way. "So… I didn't have time to prepare for this meeting. I don't even know much about Appaloosa."

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, I'd say there's a good chance the talk about business will be minimal."

After we landed, a sleek black limousine was waiting for us on the tarmac, courtesy of Appaloosa. We climbed in, and soon we were driving through the city toward one of the finest restaurants around—a two-Michelin-star establishment that Appaloosa had reserved for our meeting.

Soon, we reached the restaurant. Inside, the decor was rich yet understated, with dim lighting and soft, neutral colors that allowed the details to shine: textured wallpaper, high-end cutlery, and gleaming crystal chandeliers.

Jazz music was playing in the background, just loud enough to hear without being distracting.

The waitstaff, dressed in classic black-and-white uniforms, didn't ask for any orders; they already knew exactly what we'd be served. As we entered, there was no small talk, no menu discussions.

Every course in a restaurant like this one was a carefully planned performance.

There were four people from the Appaloosa team.

It almost felt like a mental play, knowing we'd only have three on our side; they had to one-up us.

At the table, Daniel Tepper stood to greet us—a cheerful man with a big, easygoing smile and just a shadow of hair around his temples. He wore a crisp, dark suit and looked as pleased as he could be to meet us.

When his eyes landed on Britney, though, he seemed slightly caught off guard. He extended his hand, and Britney took it.

"Britney Adams, Immortal Investment market analyst." Britney introduced herself.

"Ah… yes… it's truly a pleasure to meet you," Tepper stumbled over his words. "You look great—really striking." he said, his grin widening as he looked at her.

'This guy...'

Britney thanked him with a polite smile, and we all exchanged the usual greetings, followed by the expected but subtle flattery, with Tepper eager to make a strong impression.

What surprised me was that Derec had been given a slightly secondary place at the table and I was seated directly across from Tepper.

Clearly, Tepper was smart enough to tell that I was the one in control here.