From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 150 Let's go see the original site of the Empire State Building

Chapter 150 Let's go see the original site of the Empire State Building

After a light lunch, Mr. Wallace was pulled away by the investment banking team at Paine Weber Securities to give an internal presentation, while Larry returned to his room at the Astor Hotel.

This time, the two of them booked suites.

The suites at the Astor Hotel are extremely luxurious, with an inner bedroom and an outer room featuring a fireplace and mahogany furniture with Persian carpets.

Larry sat on the sofa, not thinking about anything else, and took stock of what he had gained from the trip.

After buying the land at Walden Pond and spending the following week, I had a total of $1524 left in my wallet.

On this trip to the Colt company in Hartford, he received a gold-cased pocket watch and a check for $3000.

Today at the Paine Weber Securities awards ceremony, I received a $6000 bonus check and a special bonus check of $1.53.

In other words, he received a total of $2.43 in rewards for this Colt corporate bond underwriting project.

Larry looked at the three checks and thought that if he were just an ordinary brokerage employee, he would have already reached the pinnacle of his life today.

Keep in mind that even the elite employees on Wall Street at that time only earned $50 a week; while managers in investment banking departments, or those like Mr. Porter who served as the general manager of the largest branch in New York, were already top-tier mid-level employees, earning only $180 a week, which is less than $1 a year.

Larry earned in one go what they earned in two and a half years.

The key point is that Wall Street banks and brokerages are among the highest-paying industries in the United States. While some industries are also very lucrative, such as the oil, steel, and railroad industries at the time, the vast majority of their employees do not actually earn high salaries.

Over the past century, industries have experienced both prosperity and decline, with many companies once shining brightly only to eventually fade into obscurity.

But Wall Street still exists, and the financial industry remains the highest-paying industry of all, and that has never changed.

An ordinary American, if they really entered the financial industry like Larry, would be satisfied with anything.

But for Larry, this was just the beginning.

Larry looked at the three checks and thought to himself that he had never cashed a check before and didn't know what the procedure was for cashing a check in this day and age.

Fortunately, all three checks were from the same bank, National City Bank of New York, which is currently the largest commercial bank in the United States and has branches in major cities across the country.

Larry wasn't in a hurry to cash the checks, but looking at the three checks, he suddenly remembered receiving $3000 from Logan after buying land in Holliston last December and returning to Boston.

At that time, Larry lied to his parents, saying that the money was a "bonus".

Now that the bonus has actually arrived, this is the biggest reward my parents have given me for getting this job at Paine Weber.

Larry decided to return to Boston and give the $2.43 to his parents, thus fulfilling his promise of the "bonus".

As for the gold-cased pocket watch, Larry felt that Colt had really brought him good luck, so he decided to keep the pocket watch in place of his ordinary pocket watch.

After finishing the accounts, especially after deciding to give all the money to his parents, Larry felt very relieved.

Larry had planned to take a nap and rest for a while, but he couldn't fall asleep at all while lying in bed. So he got up and remembered the "land purchase" he had mentioned to Mr. Wallace. He thought that instead of sitting here idly, he should go to the original site of the Empire State Building and see what it looks like now.

In his past life, Larry had been to the Empire State Building once and knew that it was located at 350 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, between West 33rd and West 34th Streets.

The Empire State Building certainly doesn't exist now, but visiting it now to see what it looked like before would be a very meaningful time-travel adventure.

Thinking of this, Larry perked up immediately, as if he had suddenly found a small goal that he had to achieve.

After leaving the hotel, Larry first walked back to Wall Street, and then proceeded along Wall Street from south to north.

Wall Street looked exactly as Larry had seen it before. This renowned financial district was actually far less glamorous than most people imagined. From the outside, it was just an ordinary street in New York.

If we're talking about the most noteworthy building here, it's undoubtedly the New York Stock Exchange.

Located at 11 Wall Street, this building is in the Roman Revival style, and bankers and brokers in formal attire often walk back and forth in front of it.

Further ahead is the Federal Building, which was the first Capitol Building in the United States, and a statue of Washington stands in front of it.

If you stand here and look into the distance, you'll see the western section of Wall Street, where the famous Trinity Church stands. It's a Gothic building with a soaring spire, and at that time, it was one of the tallest buildings in Lower Manhattan.

Larry strolled along, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding buildings, secretly familiarizing himself with the terrain.

Heading north along Broadway, you'll pass New York City Hall, a typical Federal-style building with a white marble facade surrounded by trees and benches, where tired citizens often sit and rest.

Fortunately, there weren't many dog ​​owners in New York at that time, so Larry could walk around without worrying about stepping in dog poop.

Then we passed the New York Herald building, a tall and beautiful building with a giant clock tower and sculptures on the roof.

Speaking of which, the New York Herald is currently the biggest newspaper, and the Wall Street Journal doesn't even come close. Larry had a sudden thought and thought that he should visit the Wall Street Journal's offices when he had the chance.

If you walk further ahead, you'll reach Broadway Shopping Street.

Here stood the largest and most luxurious department stores and theaters of the time, such as Stewart and the Naked Theater, where Larry could see the various luxury goods displayed in the tall, brightly lit shop windows. New York was beginning to see electric lights, Larry thought, adding that it would be a completely different sight at night.

However, Larry wasn't sure about the security situation at the moment, and besides, his personal bodyguard, Mr. Dunbar, was still in Hartford. He was now a man with a little money, so he needed to be careful.

Lost in thought as he walked, Larry finally arrived at the famous Fifth Avenue.

At this moment, Fifth Avenue is the residential area for all of New York's wealthy.

The most famous Astor family in New York, as well as the Vanderbilt family of railroad tycoons, have their mansions on Fifth Avenue.

The Vanderbilt estate near 34th Street is a twin mansion consisting of two connected French-style castle-like mansions. The castles are surrounded by gardens with their majestic white marble walls. Vanderbilt was a famous American railroad tycoon and a member of New York's nouveau riche, so his house was naturally very luxurious and ostentatious.

Larry continued forward, following his memories from his past life, searching for the location of the Empire State Building, secretly hoping that if there weren't any particularly expensive buildings around, he could find a bargain...

When Larry got there, he was heartbroken; he knew he couldn't possibly snag this bargain!

Because this is currently a construction site, a 13-story building that looks extremely luxurious has completed its main structure and is undergoing interior decoration.

Building materials were piled up around the construction site, and construction workers were busily going in and out.

At the entrance of the construction site, a supervisor in a suit was standing outside with documents and blueprints in his hand, as if waiting for someone.

"Isn't it a beautiful building?" Larry greeted him with a smile.

The man glanced at Larry's attire and demeanor, and said politely, "Sir, are you here for a visit?"

"Yes, I'm from Boston, and this is my first time visiting New York. May I ask what this beautiful building is used for?" Larry asked with a smile.

"A hotel!" The manager returned the smile. "This used to be the residence of Mr. William Astor of the Astor family. It has now been demolished and a new hotel has been built here."

Larry raised an eyebrow and remarked, "To be able to raz one's own mansion to the ground to build a hotel, that's some serious guts! This is Fifth Avenue, after all."

The manager smiled, pointed to the Vanderbilt mansion next door, and said meaningfully, "Mr. Astor found the new neighbors too noisy, so he moved away and transformed this place into the best hotel in New York."

Larry followed the steward's finger to the railroad tycoon's mansion and instantly understood.

In America at this moment, the war between the old money and the new rich is constantly unfolding across the country. It is estimated that the Astor family was disgusted that the railroad tycoon had also moved into Fifth Avenue, and felt that their prestige had been challenged, so they simply demolished their mansion to build a hotel, just to annoy their neighbors.

You'll bother me for two years if you build a house, I'll bother you for a lifetime if I build a hotel!

Larry turned his attention back to the hotel, thinking that no matter how well it was built, it would eventually be razed to the ground to make way for the Empire State Building.

What a pity, I don't know what this unfortunate hotel is called?

"May I know the name of this hotel?" Larry asked the manager.

The supervisor subconsciously shook the blueprints and proudly announced, "This hotel will be named the Waldorf Astoria!"

(End of this chapter)