1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 504 Vanderbilt’s huge investment

Author: fish nest

Chapter 504 Vanderbilt’s huge investment

San Francisco in November 1856 had entered the end of autumn, and the bleak scene gradually became apparent.

The leaves begin to turn yellow and brown, and the fallen leaves flutter in the wind and fall silently to the ground, dotting the streets, parks and squares throughout the city.

The blue sky in the past has become a rare sight now. The sky in San Francisco seems like a gloomy face, which does not make people look good and is always gray.

"My purpose of coming to California this time is the same as six years ago, which is to conduct investment studies and look for business opportunities."

When he met Liang Yao, Vanderbilt did not mince words and directly explained his purpose.

"It's different. This time you came to California not so much to invest, but to avoid risks." Liang Yao personally poured Vanderbilt a cup of his favorite black tea.

Vanderbilt sold more than $20 million worth of railroad company shares and bonds in the past two months.

Such a big move can be detected by Wall Street retail investors who are a little more sensitive. Naturally, it cannot be hidden from Liang Yao.

Two months ago, Jones, the president of Bank of America's New York branch, reported this situation to Liang Yao.

Unlike Liang Yao, Liang Yao's Americas Group is a large, comprehensive group with many businesses.

Although management is more difficult and costly, its ability to hedge risks is still better than Vanderbilt, a railroad tycoon who has only been operating railroads in recent years.

In just two months, more than 20 million US dollars worth of railway company shares and bonds were sold off, leaving only the Central Railway Company.

Making such a decision requires a lot of determination, and Liang Yao admires his father-in-law's determination and courage very much.

You know, the railroad industry in the United States is still on the rise.

After being exposed by Liang Yao, Vanderbilt was stunned for a moment, and then asked with a straight face: "Do you also think that the economic crisis is coming soon?"

"When you asked this question, I think you already had an answer in your mind. There was an answer that you were not very willing to accept." Liang Yao said very calmly.

It is impossible to say that the economic crisis in the American market will not have any negative impact on the West Coast region. After all, the West Coast market is also part of the American market.

Being far away from the core market in the eastern United States is a very big disadvantage for the West Coast, but at certain times, such as when the economic crisis comes, this disadvantage can actually be an advantage.

The West Coast market is relatively closed, and its foundation has been relatively solid in the past five years. There are not many bubbles. Liang Yao believes that the economic crisis in the east will not have much impact on the economy of the West Coast region.

Of course, the economic crisis has not only had a negative impact on the West Coast, especially California, but also has a positive impact.

After all, during the economic crisis of 1848, many residents of the eastern coastal areas chose to go west to make a living, and there were also property owners among this group of immigrants.

The rapid rise of California at that time was due to the internal and external forces of the local gold rush, the Great Depression caused by the economic crisis in the eastern region, and the cholera epidemic, which completed the first round of siphoning off native immigrants.

If California can withstand the impact of the economic crisis, it will be able to attract more high-quality immigrants to settle in California and more capital to seek safety in California.

Therefore, the national economic crisis in the United States is not entirely a bad thing for California.

"I wonder what you think of France's economic situation in the next few years?" Vanderbilt asked tentatively.

“Before I came to California, I received an invitation from the French government. In order to attract American businessmen to invest in France, the French government offered quite generous conditions.

You have always had a good relationship with France, I have received invitations, and you must have also received invitations from France. Perhaps the terms offered to you by France are more favorable."

When Napoleon III was participating in the campaign, he made a promise to the old French aristocracy to restore the past glory of the French Empire and maintain the stability of French society.

He made a promise to the new bourgeoisie to protect private property and strictly abide by the constitution.

Promises were made to the proletariat to provide employment and increase wages and remuneration.

Promises were made to farmers to reduce land taxes and agricultural taxes.

Now Napoleon III is working to fulfill these promises.

In the next ten years or so, until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, the political situation in France could be said to be quite stable compared to the first half of the 19th century.

Moreover, France's industrial foundation is relatively strong. To be fair, France during the reign of Napoleon III was indeed a treasure land for investment.

"I did receive an invitation from the Emperor of France. From a business perspective, France is worth investing in." Liang Yao thought for a while and said.

"Perhaps I will make some symbolic investments in France out of personal friendships and other considerations to maintain the friendship between California and France. But my focus is still on California and the West Coast. After all, this is my home.

.”

Three years ago, France asked if it could transfer the production line for export models of Walter rifles, but Liang Yao refused at that time.

Now Liang Yao has plans to sell off the Walter rifle export model production line.

If possible, Liang Yao also hopes to use this French investment opportunity to transfer the production line of the Walter rifle export model to France.

Vanderbilt stared at Liang Yao and asked after a moment: "I heard that the local petrochemical industry in California is only open to local consortiums in California?"

"You are my father-in-law, not an outsider. If you are interested in investing in California's petrochemical industry, I welcome you on behalf of California," Liang Yao replied.

"Can you afford an investment of US$16 million?" Vanderbilt thought for a moment and then continued to ask, "The most important thing is, what is the return on investment?"

The figure of 16 million US dollars couldn't help but make Liang Yao's eyes shine.

Liang Yao has invested an additional US$7 million to expand the production capacity of Los Angeles Petrochemical.

If Vanderbilt is willing to invest US$16 million, he can not only continue to expand petrochemical production capacity in Los Angeles, but also directly deploy the petrochemical industry in the east, such as oil in Texas and Pennsylvania.

The money should not go to outsiders, and Vanderbilt will fight for this idle capital no matter what.

“The annual profit rate of the Los Angeles Petrochemical Company has never been less than 50% since its establishment. In 1855, the annual profit rate of the Los Angeles Petrochemical Company was 85%.

In addition, the exploration team of Standard Oil Company is exploring for oil in Texas and Pennsylvania. Once oil fields are discovered in these places, there will be Texas Petrochemical and Pennsylvania Petrochemical in the future." Liang Yao painted a big picture for Vanderbilt.

Standard Oil was able to achieve such high profit margins because of its monopoly and vertical integration strategies.

It is relatively easy to monopolize scarce natural resources. The monopoly strategy means that Standard Oil controls the only known origin and refining method of crude oil in the world. It has an absolute dominant position in the market and has absolute control over the market prices of petrochemical products.

At the same time, Standard Oil adopted a vertical integration strategy, which brought multiple links in the production chain into the company's control.

It controls oil production, refining, product processing, transportation and sales, allowing the company to control costs and prices in all aspects, and ensuring Standard Oil's absolute say in the entire oil industry.

Los Angeles Petrochemical is responsible for the production, refining, and processing of oil, while Standard Oil is responsible for finding new oil fields, transportation, and sales.

Vanderbilt was shocked and pleasantly surprised by the high profit margins in the petrochemical industry.

He had long heard about the huge profits from California's petrochemical industry, but he didn't expect such huge profits.

Liang Yao is now frantically expanding the factory and purchasing machinery. Labor costs in California are also very high. Under such circumstances, he can still maintain such a high annual profit. This shows that the petrochemical industry is even more crazy than the gold mining industry.

and.

"Tsk, tsk, no wonder you shut out outsiders." Vanderbilt tutted in admiration, "It's too high. It's almost unreal. Can I look at the financial reports of Los Angeles Petrochemical and Standard Oil?"

US$16 million is almost one-third of the Vanderbilt family's net worth. With such a large investment, Vanderbilt has to be cautious.

"Of course." Liang Yao agreed readily.

"But one thing I must state in advance is that my money is just temporarily with you to avoid the limelight. I don't want to get involved in an area that I am not familiar with for a long time." Vanderbilt emphasized, "If there is no economic crisis, that would be great, I will

Get the money back and continue building my railway.

If there is, after the crisis is over, I will still get the money back and buy bankrupt railway companies at the bottom."

"To put it bluntly, you still want to do the railway." Liang Yao said with a smile.

Thanks to the Pioneer series locomotives launched by the California Railroad Company and the courage of Liang Yao and Vanderbilt, they directly dug their own railroad company's rails that did not meet the Pioneer series locomotives and formulated track standards for American railroads.

Therefore, the railway bubble has returned to normal, but the assets of railway companies are not completely junk assets, and they still have bargain-hunting value.

At this time in history, the width of railroad tracks in the United States varied widely. It was no longer a question of one state's standard, but one company's standard. The seven-year railway boom left behind a pile of industrial waste, resulting in a huge waste of resources.

.

The standardization of American railways in later generations was already in 1886.

Since different railway companies use different specifications of track gauge, it has brought a lot of inconvenience to domestic and international trade.

In order to solve this problem, the American Railroad Company began to explore the possibility of standardized track gauge, and passed the National Railway Standardization Act in 1886 to unify the railway track gauge to 4 feet 8.5 inches (about 1435 mm), which is what is known in modern times.

"Standard Gauge".

"Life is short, and it is enough to do one or two things well in a lifetime." Vanderbilt said very seriously, "I can only feel secure if I do something in a field that I am familiar with."

The conversation between Liang Yao and Vanderbilt had just ended, and when he was about to send Vanderbilt off to rest, he bumped into an impatient Sven.

"General, there is something urgent!" Sven hurriedly handed the two letters to Liang Yao.

Liang Yao opened one of the letters, and when he saw the contents of the letter clearly, his expression instantly froze.

The profit margin of the oil industry refers to the book "The Rise of Standard Oil", which contains financial reports and data after the establishment of Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company.

In the 1870s, Standard Oil's annual profit margin basically remained between 50% and 100%.

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The overtime work these days is a bit outrageous. It's almost two o'clock in the morning when I get home from work, and I have to clock in to go to work at 8:30 in the morning. It's really overwhelming. I'll try to update it as much as possible these days.

Double updates can be resumed after the 15th.

(End of chapter)