Since the burst of the dot-com bubble on March 13th, the NASDAQ stock market has repeatedly plummeted, causing the share prices of listed companies on the New York Stock Exchange to fall one after another.
The entire U.S. was immersed in the grief of such "massive asset losses."
By the end of March, the NASDAQ index had brazenly dropped from its peak of 5,048 points to the current 3,600 points; the magnitude of the decline was staggering.
It was freaking tragic!
The investment firms on Wall Street were also experiencing a mix of pain and joy.
Pain, because they had failed in this dot-com bubble. Even if they quickly completed their stock sell-offs, the losses caused during the period were quite significant, and many investment banks could be described as having suffered severe damage.
"But, we won't ask for too much."
The person who said this was none other than the financial tycoon of the Quantum Fund, Soros.
Think about it, compared to those investment banks that fell, went bankrupt, or were restructured in this dot-com bubble, the investment banks that can now precariously survive have truly not had it easy!
Joy, because they were facing another opportunity to make big money.
"The stock market is plunging severely, so we short the stock market."
It has to be said that there are no fools on Wall Street; every one of them is treacherous and cunning, and they all set their sights on this golden opportunity. In just a few days, various investment banks made a fortune. Quite a few companies not only recovered their previous losses but even made a small profit because of it.
Kyle's Gale Capital, that goes without saying.
As one of the first few investment banks to escape the storm early, Gale Capital has now become a star enterprise on Wall Street.
Recently, many people have been coming to Gale Capital with checks, which already explains everything.
However,
Kyle didn't have time to entertain them now; instead, he handed all these matters over to Andy Cherop to handle.
Kyle was busy with other major matters!
You should know that in the months before the internet explosion, Kyle had sold off almost all his shares except for those in a few internet companies, obtaining more than $3 billion in cash.
Adding the gold reserves Kyle had accumulated in Swiss Banks and California Standard Bank, the cash Kyle now held in his hands was a full $4.7 billion.
Kyle did not intend to let this cash just sit there.
"I've waited and waited, and finally, it's here!"
"For what?"
"Isn't it just to target a large batch of high-quality assets!"
"Now many companies are affected by the dot-com bubble, their market values have plummeted severely, and many companies have fallen into a situation of cash shortage."
"The dot-com bubble is a disaster for others, but for me, with a massive amount of cash in hand, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Acquiring a batch of high-quality assets now will definitely yield returns of several, a dozen, or even dozens of times in the future."
In the current market environment where everyone is in a state of panic, whoever has a huge amount of cash is the boss!
As long as Kyle takes the opportunity to snap up a wave while many companies are short of money,
He will definitely be able to make a fortune in the near future and even expand his power.
What a great opportunity!
"So what is the primary target?"
Kyle had made many plans a long time ago.
—Amazon!
That's right, it's Amazon.
Before the end of 1999, Kyle sold 2.9% of Amazon's stock, profiting $1.392 billion, and only kept 5.1% of Amazon's shares to ensure his seat on Amazon's board of directors.
Before the bubble burst, Amazon was a giant enterprise with a market value close to $50 billion and a single share price as high as $126.
But what about now?
Amazon's single share of stock is only $11.8.
A loss of market value exceeding 90%.
Moreover, with the depression of the NASDAQ and the influence of the overall environment, Amazon's stock price is still falling.
How "tragic" can it get?
However, who could have imagined that it was precisely because Amazon's Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos, before the dot-com bubble burst and while other companies were taking big strides to open up overseas markets, chose not to expand overseas channels but instead chose to consolidate the North American market.
This move, which was once ridiculed by many as "stupid," is now the wisest move.
After the dot-com bubble burst, it was precisely because of Bezos's previous decision that Amazon became the fastest internet company to rise in the crisis.
Because its financial report was profitable!
There was no other way; over 98% of internet companies were all damn money-losers with almost no profit to speak of. Consequently, the profitable Amazon received great recognition from the market.
"Tsk tsk tsk~"
Kyle laughed: "If I don't hurry up and buy back a batch of Amazon stock now, by the time Amazon's financial report is announced in June, there won't be such a cheap time!"
After all, the future Amazon would be a behemoth company with a market value exceeding $1.3 trillion!
"Ring ring ring~"
At this moment, while Kyle was in deep thought, he suddenly received a phone call.
—Jeff Bezos.
"Speak of the devil!"
Kyle gave a knowing smile, answered the phone, and said: "Jeff, shouldn't you be busy and overwhelmed right now? How do you have the time to call me?"
Hearing this, the Jeff said unceremoniously on the phone: "Kyle, you guy are indeed cunning enough. I was wondering why you would sell part of your Amazon stock a few months ago. Did you have a premonition about this dot-com bubble?"
Kyle jokingly scolded: "Buddy, please~ I'm not a god. How could I know the bubble would come so fiercely? Well, as for selling the stock, that was purely my personal intuition."
The Jeff on the other end of the phone simply didn't believe it for a second.
However, he didn't care much at this moment; he called Kyle entirely because he had something to ask for.
—Borrowing money!
That's right, Bezos wanted to borrow money from Kyle. He intended to take the opportunity to buy back a batch of Amazon stock to expand his own equity.
"Haha. Jeff, can I say that great minds think alike?" Kyle laughed.
"..."
The Jeff on the other end of the phone fell silent.
Seeing this, Kyle continued: "However, I can still lend you money. At that time, you contact California Standard Bank for a tripartite cooperation. I will lend you some money in the name of a bridge loan, how about it?"
"Good!"
Bezos was a man of few words but decisive action.
But he was also somewhat annoyed. At this moment, he never expected that Kyle would actually have the same idea as him.
"Without Jeff Bezos, there would be no future success for Amazon. If it weren't for this consideration, I would definitely acquire Amazon stock on a large scale to become the controlling shareholder of Amazon," Kyle thought to himself.
Kyle's positioning of himself had always been very clear.
Managing an entertainment media group was already very taxing for Kyle. If he were to be responsible for several or a dozen more companies, Kyle would eventually be worked to death. After all, a person's energy is always limited.
Holding shares and taking dividends was also a quite good investment behavior.
"Sigh, compared to other transmigrators, I guess I have no great ambitions," Kyle mocked himself, but it was more of a sense of contentment.
A few days later.
Kyle left Wall Street and returned to Los Angeles again.
Before leaving, Kyle repeatedly instructed Andy Cherop to act steadily.
If it were during the period when Henry served as president, Kyle's prestige in Gale Capital might not have been very large. However, now, after experiencing Henry's departure, the dot-com bubble, and the short-selling profits, etc.
Kyle now dared to say: "In Gale Capital, who dares to disobey me?"
It was a bit chuunibyou, but it was an iron-clad fact.