From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 190 Fanatical Colonialists

Chapter 190 Fanatical Colonialists

With Mr. Potter's keen eye and understanding of human nature, it would be easy for him to see that Mr. Rhodes was a boastful, vain, and greedy man, but also shrewd and ruthless.

For the next thirty minutes after Rhodes arrived at the Paine Weber Securities branch, he talked non-stop.

He kept boasting about his mansion in South Africa, how successful his De Beers mining business was, and how he bullied those "damn black dogs" in South Africa...

After chatting for a while, Potter knew exactly how many houses he owned in London and Cape Town, how many servants and horses he had.

At first, Rhodes kept talking about going public, and Mr. Porter had a hunch that he might also have a stroke of luck like Wallace, offering advice to a wealthy man he met by chance and then gaining the opportunity to help his company go public.

But after a little over three minutes, Mr. Potter realized the truth. Rhodes's constant inquiries about where the company should be listed weren't really about issuing new shares; rather, he was taking the opportunity to boast to Mr. Potter about his vast mining company in South Africa and his leadership in the British Empire's colonial development there.

Realizing this, Mr. Potter mentally crossed out the man and then excused himself by saying he was busy with company affairs, leaving him out of the picture.

Moreover, Mr. Porter did indeed have his own business to attend to today. He had transferred all the money he had in various banks, totaling $11, to New York, intending to transfer it to Larry's company account. This was the money he owed Larry for the purchase of the building.

Mr. Porter has worked in the industry for many years and has accumulated a considerable amount of high salary and extra income.

Unfortunately, if real estate is excluded, Mr. Porter's total savings are less than $15.

This amount of money is a large sum for the average American, but in New York, or even in Manhattan, it's not a large sum at all.

So, after Larry paid for the house upfront, Mr. Porter had to scrape together $11 in cash to repay him, an act that nearly depleted all of his cash flow.

Today is the final step in the payment process. Mr. Porter has collected all the bank drafts, cashed them, totaling $11, and transferred them to Larry's account at Paine Weber.

After completing the account deposit, Mr. Potter finally breathed a sigh of relief, sat down next to the brokerage manager, and asked casually,

"How much money and stock does Mr. Livingston have in his account now?"

The manager adjusted his glasses, carefully checked the accounts in the ledger, and then replied earnestly.

"Oh, that's $130,987 in total. In addition, there's $100,000 in Edison Electric Light Company bonds and 20,000 shares of New England Union Railroad stock… Wow, what an impressive client!"

Upon hearing about the vast amount of money and stocks in Larry's account, Mr. Porter gazed at the ceiling with mixed feelings, slightly lost in thought.

What was truly annoying was that the brokerage manager added, "Mr. Porter, where did you find this young, wealthy client? You're very lucky!"

Mr. Potter was speechless, thinking to himself, "I can't exactly tell you that this was one of my previous stock quote clerks, can I?"

Even though it's true, I can't bring myself to say it.

Mr. Potter had a high opinion of Larry and constantly lent a helping hand and guided him throughout his growth, much like a godfather to Larry.

But all of God's children under the heavens share a common human trait: jealousy.

Even when it comes to the brilliant achievements of one's own best friend or son, a feeling of jealousy can arise for a fleeting moment.

Mr. Porter also had such complex feelings towards Larry: he was pleased and happy for Larry's rapid rise and achievements, and even grateful for Larry's help, but when he was alone with himself, Mr. Porter would also feel a little jealous.

Regarding this complex psychology of feeling both sympathy and envy for others, Americans have a vivid idiom at the time: "May your chimney smoke, but never catch fire."

Sitting in his seat lost in thought for a while, Mr. Potter suddenly chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that he had met many business owners and tycoons, so why did he not have such complicated feelings towards those people, but feel differently towards Larry?

This is a baseless and despicable act.

It seems I really should go to church to pray this weekend.

Mr. Porter left the brokerage counter and went straight to the trader, patted him on the shoulder and said, "I told you this morning that Mr. Livingston's account has another $11. You need to keep an eye on his subscription limit and let him subscribe to as much General Electric stock as he can."

The trader paused, then instinctively asked, "...Did that young gentleman have another $11 in his account? Oh, okay, I'll subscribe to the maximum number of new shares he can allocate."

Mr. Porter nodded and then asked, "Has he sold his 2 shares of New England Union Railroad?"

The trader squinted at the price chart and replied, "Not yet, but judging from the current trend, it should hit $50 today. Didn't you tell me to sell after it reaches $50? Don't worry, I'll remember."

Mr. Porter nodded, then walked out of his office and went straight back to the trading floor, intending to return to his office from there.

As soon as I entered the customer area, a strangely loud voice boomed from within, speaking passionately.

"...The world has been almost completely divided up, and the remaining parts are being divided, conquered, and colonized. It's a pity we can't reach the stars that twinkle above us at night! If possible, we should devour those stars: I often think about this. Seeing them so bright yet so far away only makes me feel sad."

Mr. Potter turned around in surprise and saw a dozen customers surrounding Mr. Rhodes, listening with smiles as he boasted incessantly.

Cecil Rhodes was clearly enjoying himself, and he continued to boast to his wealthy audience with an arrogant and earnest air.

"Americans, I truly feel sorry for you. We are fellow Anglo-Saxons, and while our British Empire is conquering the world, you can only enjoy a peaceful life in a corner of the New World, unable to experience the glory of our British world domination. What a pity!"

As Mr. Rhodes put on his exaggerated performance, bursts of laughter occasionally rose from the crowd. Some people simply thought Mr. Rhodes was a clown and were just amusing themselves, but others were genuinely moved by the words he uttered and sat there nodding in agreement.

Someone in the crowd asked, "Then why are you back in America? Why not continue expanding your mining company in South Africa?"

Mr. Rhodes straightened his posture, deliberately showing off the enormous South African diamond-encrusted signet ring on his finger, and said to the crowd with a boastful tone,

"Oh, gentlemen, this is the two sides of a British Empire's pioneering spirit. Of course, I need to establish an imperial blueprint in Africa, stretching from the Cape of Good Hope to Cairo, using railways and mining to advance the British Empire's expansion in Africa. But as you also know, those lowly races in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are neither fit nor worthy of consuming the gold and diamonds we dig up. In order to provide those beautiful diamonds to the noble white people, I must return to Europe, come to America, and sell you these treasures that we, De Beers, have discovered!"

The crowd erupted in another round of exclamations of admiration. Now that American tycoons have more money and a higher standard of living, they have developed a great interest in European luxury goods, art, and treasures. Therefore, their admiration and closeness to Mr. Rhodes's status is more of a feeling of respect and affinity.

Mr. Potter watched Rhodes from afar, his brow furrowed, thinking to himself that he had originally planned to leave him hanging, hoping that he would get bored and give up.

Who knew that instead of leaving, he would gather a group of listeners willing to listen to his boasting.

At that moment, Mr. Rhodes looked up and saw Potter, his face beaming with a smile, and said loudly,

"Oh, Mr. Potter, are you finished with your work? Can we talk about renting a place now?"

Despite his extreme displeasure, Mr. Potter put on a professional smile and said, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. The sales department is just too busy with all the trivial matters. If it's convenient for you, let's go to the office now to discuss the rent!"

Rhodes flashed an exaggerated smile, nodded to Mr. Potter, and turned to his onlookers, saying...

"I am leaving, gentlemen. Please remember, we Anglo-Saxons are destined to dominate the world; this is the law of nature!"

After saying this, Mr. Rhodes gave a slight, gentlemanly bow to everyone, and then followed Mr. Potter to his office. Behind Rhodes, there were naturally disdainful or mocking smiles, as well as some people who genuinely applauded his remarks.

Upon arriving at the office, Rhodes plopped down on the sofa without any ceremony, adjusted his tie, and said with a smile to Mr. Potter,

"Sir, I heard those shops belong to you. Why don't you rent them to me? You know, I will be exhibiting several hundred carats of rough diamonds and precious colored diamonds that De Beers found in Africa there, which requires a very large showroom. In addition, I will also need to hire dedicated security personnel, which also requires a lot of space."

It's that kind of deliberate boasting again...

Mr. Potter was utterly disgusted with him, but maintained an impeccable smile, raised his eyebrows, and said...

"Oh, you want to rent all those street-front shops? Let me think... there are five street-front shops, all two-story structures, totaling 2.1421 square feet. Besides, the other three are currently occupied..."

Mr. Rhodes straightened up and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "So could you please pass on a message for me? If the tenants of those three shops are willing to move out early so I can rent them all to myself, I will pay an extra $1000 per shop as relocation compensation, as long as they move out and rent the shops to me!"

After Rhodes said this, Mr. Porter was secretly surprised. He knew that the total annual rent for the five shops was only $6700, which averaged out to $1340 per shop per year.

In other words, Rhodes was willing to pay them 10 months' rent in exchange for them moving out, which was quite a generous offer.

Despite being a despicable and fanatical colonialist, Rhodes's arrogance is truly astounding; no wonder he comes from a wealthy family.

Most importantly, there's the complex feeling Mr. Porter had previously considered regarding Larry.

Deep down, Mr. Porter was very grateful to Larry, who had done him a great favor by helping him buy the Fifth Avenue property.

So when Rhodes made this offer, Mr. Porter immediately felt that this would allow him to help Porter make more money and also repay the sense of indebtedness in his heart.

Mr. Potter pondered for a few seconds, then said thoughtfully, "I'll have to discuss that with them. Also, I'd like to know how much rent you're willing to pay for these five shops per year?" After saying this, Mr. Potter looked directly at Rhodes and calmly added, "Please note that the total area of ​​those five street-front shops is a full 21,000 square feet!"

Mr. Rhodes paused for a moment, then looked up and said, "As far as I know, the average rent in Midtown Manhattan is between $1000 and $1500 per room. If you can rent all five shops to me at once, then... I'm willing to pay $2000 per room, for a total of $1 a year."

Mr. Porter paused for a few seconds. He remembered that the five shops currently only brought in $6700 in rent per year. For the other party to offer $1 meant a 40% increase in rent.

Although these shops belonged to Larry, Mr. Potter was very happy that they could earn Larry more rent.

After thinking for a few seconds, Mr. Potter turned to Rhodes and said solemnly, "Alright, please leave your contact information. I'll go back and talk to the tenants of those shops to see if they'd like to process the paperwork ahead of schedule."

Rhodes smiled and looked at Mr. Potter, saying, "Very well, then it would be best if it were before Friday afternoon, otherwise I'll be leaving New York for London; Her Majesty the Queen will be awarding me a knighthood!"

(End of this chapter)