1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 499 Optimization

Author: fish nest

Liang Yao still has a good idea of ​​which industries should be divested and thrown away before they become a burden, and which industries should be retained.

Although Liang Yao started his career by gold mining, he is no longer a pure gold tycoon.

Since 1854, the Umbrella Company's gold mining income in Australia has exceeded the Xiangshan Gold Mining Company's local gold mining income.

After all, San Francisco's gold mining industry has lost its former glory under the impact of the new gold mountain.

The most profitable business of Xiangshan Gold Mining Company is not directly mining gold, but mining mercury ore and selling gold mining tools. The gold mining business can indeed be abandoned.

Then there is the Lotus Garment Factory. The entry threshold for garment factories is not high in the first place.

Liang Yao's original purpose of building a garment factory was firstly to make money, and secondly to create more jobs.

At present, there are at least five to six hundred decent and large-scale garment factories in California, excluding small tailoring workshops, and the entire textile industry is more intense and volumetric than a few years ago.

In 1852, it cost $22 to buy a suit of formal clothing in California. Now the price has been reduced to less than $5, and the quality is better than before.

After the Crimean War ended and the loss of large orders from the French military, the decline of the Lotus Garment Factory was inevitable.

Currently, Lotus Garment Factory relies on Strauss jeans to survive.

Of course, Liang Yao did not lament the decline of the American Group in the textile industry, nor did he plan to personally save the Lotus Garment Factory.

First, he doesn't have so much time and energy, and second, it's not necessary.

He could make more money by spending the same time and energy in other industries, such as Los Angeles Petrochemical and General Machinery.

With the rise of California's local manufacturing and processing industry, California's prices have been dropping visibly every year in recent years, gradually moving from the outrageous prices during the gold rush period to normal prices.

Therefore, with the rapid growth of population in California, although the per capita income is generally much lower than a few years ago, due to the faster decline in prices, the quality of life of Californians in the past two years has actually been higher than during the gold rush era.

There are similar local companies that are strong enough to overwhelm the Lotus Garment Factory, which once flourished in California's textile industry. This is also good news from another level.

During the first five-year plan, California cultivated a number of competitive enterprises.

These companies have the ability to compete with the former California textile giant Lotus Garment Factory. Naturally, they also have the ability to compete with similar companies in China and even the UK.

The cement factory founded in 1851 can also be let go. After the end of the First Five-Year Plan, the number of building materials manufacturers in California has suddenly increased from the original 7 to more than 260, and the American Group has gradually lost its advantage in this regard.

As for the retail industry, professional matters should be left to professionals. The Crystal Palace shopping mall is run by the Vandaze family. America Group only needs to hold shares and collect dividends on time every year. This is the most cost-effective solution.

Which industries should be retained, the predecessors have already pointed out the way for Liang Yao.

The answer can be found from the main businesses of the top few richest people in the rankings of America's richest people in later generations.

The Americas Group needs to optimize and focus its funds on industries that are first of all highly competitive and highly profitable.

For example, the most profitable petrochemical industry cannot be let go no matter what. America Group has a first-mover advantage in this regard, as long as it firmly holds the petrochemical industry in its hands.

As long as future generations don't commit suicide, the American Group will continue to exist for hundreds of years and there will be no problem in ensuring that they have enough food and clothing.

The petrochemical industry is one of the most profitable industries of the American Group after gold mining.

Mega-projects such as the Pacific Railway and the Garrison-Germany Railway were able to proceed smoothly largely because of the large blood bank of Los Angeles Petrochemical, which was behind them to inject blood and funds.

General Machinery's sewing machines, bicycles, machine tools and other products are sold at home and abroad. It has almost no strong competitors and has huge profits. It is second only to the petrochemical industry as a money-printing machine. This industry also needs to be firmly in its own hands.

As well as banks, railroads and shipping, California's financial and transportation lifelines must be in the hands of state capital no matter what.

In addition to petrochemicals, high-end machinery, and banks, the defense industries related to California's defense cannot be lost even if they operate at a loss.

For example, the military industry in Sacramento and the shipbuilding industry in San Francisco.

What's more, now the military industry in Sacramento and the shipbuilding industry in San Francisco have turned a profit, and their operating conditions are very good.

"Concentrate on developing the petrochemical industry in Los Angeles, retain high-end machinery, banking, railways, shipping, military industry, shipbuilding, and the remaining scraps, and find a good next home to sell it as soon as possible." Liang Yao set the tone for the future of the Americas Group.

Even mastering any one of the above industries is enough to become a super rich man with assets exceeding ten million US dollars. Liang Yao's business empire is already large enough, and it is a bit bloated. It is also time to slim down and optimize the industrial structure of the Americas Group.

Already.

"How do you plan to invest the 13 million US dollars withdrawn from the east? Invest it in Los Angeles Petrochemical?" Elizabeth asked.

Elizabeth was not stupid. Vanderbilt sent a telegram at this time and wanted to come to California for inspection, indicating that her father also followed Liang Yao and withdrew a large amount of capital from the railway industry.

It’s not hard to guess Vanderbilt’s purpose for coming to California. He simply wanted to see for himself if there were any places in California worth investing in, so as not to waste too much spare money on his hands.

If something unexpected happens to the railway industry, the investment prospects in the United States are good, and the only place that can absorb Vanderbilt's huge cash flow is California in the west.

"Invest 7 million US dollars in Los Angeles Petrochemical to expand production capacity, 3 million US dollars in General Machinery, and keep the remaining 3 million US dollars for now. I have other uses." Liang Yao said after thinking for a moment.

It is no exaggeration to say that this 13 million U.S. dollars was a huge windfall. When Liang Yao went to New York for the first time in 1851, he left 2 million U.S. dollars in the newly opened New York branch of the Bank of America.

Let Jones take care of the money and invest it in the Wall Street stock market to buy railroad company stocks.

In just five years, US$2 million turned into US$13 million, which shows how crazy the American railway industry has been in the past five years and how big the bubble is.

The current prosperity of the railway industry is nothing more than a deathbed carnival for speculators.

Under the auspices of Jeremiah, the San Francisco Shipyard has begun to try to design and build ironclads. With the assistance of Walter and Nobel, the Cony Volcano Repeating Weapons Company's mid-fire ammunition has been developed.

The $3 million is for future ironclads and repeating weapons.

If the ironclad ship and repeating weapons projects can be successfully implemented, it would be great. Liang Yao would directly use the US$3 million to place an order to purchase the ironclad ship and repeating weapons.

If these two projects fail, then continue to invest more and build ironclads and repeating weapons no matter what.