My 1999

The huge profits from the opium trade created the prosperity of Boston in the 19th century. The descendants of opium dealers all became blue-blood nobles, and two hundred years later they are still enjoying the legacy of their ancestors.

At that time, the United States had just become independent and was extremely poor. Although China in the 19th century was already in decline, it still had a profound foundation accumulated over hundreds of years.

The Americans, who had lost all their wealth during the Civil War, used opium to earn a lot of profits from China to develop their own economies.

Behind the Gilded Age of America, where milk and honey flowed, were countless Chinese people whose families were destroyed by opium.

Trampling on the bones of Chinese people, the descendants of these opium dealers not only serve as generals, but many colleges and dormitories in universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are still named after the surnames of opium dealers.

Two hundred years ago, they used the profits from the opium trade to donate to these prestigious schools, and their descendants went to study in these prestigious schools. The class was solidified just like the aristocratic families of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

In addition, these opium profits were also invested in the construction of hospitals, railways, and factories, helping the United States to rapidly grow in national power. The First World War directly attracted the attention of the world.

Mak Jinheng continued:

“The ancestor of the Forbes family, John Murray Forbes, went to China to pan for gold in his early years and became the main partner of Qichang Foreign Company.

At that time, he also received help from Wu Bingjian, a merchant from the Thirteenth Industry. In the mid-19th century, he returned to the United States to invest in railways and real estate, becoming a railway tycoon, and also brought Wu Bingjian's funds to the United States for investment.

You can go to the Forbes Museum some other time. There is also a portrait of Wu Bingjian in it. "

Xu Liang smiled, he was just a comprador, looking up to him.

“The cooperation between the United States and China has a history of hundreds of years, almost throughout the history of the United States.

The Xu family and the Montes family should also strengthen their cooperation in the future. This will not only be beneficial to our two families, but will also be a praiseworthy masterpiece in history in the future. "

Blankfein next to him also smiled and agreed.

"Forbes, Kennedy, and Adams have all cooperated with China and have been active at the top for hundreds of years. Cooperation between the two countries breeds unlimited business opportunities."

"It's time for more cooperation."

Xu Liang looked at the two of them with a smile, he had already made up his mind.

In the future, the Xu family will also build a family museum.

We also need to hang the portraits of the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Tell future generations how the CEOs of the two major investment banks helped your ancestors short subprime mortgages and plunder the American people's wealth.

Two hundred years of reincarnation brings unsatisfactory retribution.

If he felt that shorting subprime mortgages was not so benevolent before, he now has no psychological burden. The Chinese people are still too kind and are always restricted by the benevolence, righteousness, morality and other rules passed down for thousands of years.

Shorting subprime mortgages only indirectly makes American people homeless. The main culprit is the United States itself, and it does not cost human lives.

The opium trade has damaged so many people's lives and destroyed so many families.

Decades later, it doesn’t matter that his reputation is in shambles in the United States. The reputation of those opium dealers is also bad in China, and there are still Internet writers who are editing them.

But in the United States, they are great philanthropists, donors to famous universities, and have descendants for generations...

Reading history makes people wise, and it seems that he also wants to learn from opium dealers like Forbes, who made friends with powerful people in the United States, shared some profits, and then hollowed out the American economy to develop new Chinese technologies.

The more Xu Liang thought about it, the more he felt that there was something wrong with this matter.

Mai Jinheng continued with a smile:

“These early wealthy merchant elites engaged in trade with China formed Boston’s commercial aristocracy.

Their family members went to the same university, worshiped in the same church, intermarried with each other, and were closely intertwined through blood, marriage, religion, business, etc., which profoundly affected American history. "

"Today, the members of these large families include scientific and cultural elites, industrial and commercial plutocrats, many American leaders, a large number of congressmen, judges, governors, etc."

Xu Liang nodded, this is the origin of "Boston Brahmin".

Below these people are the white middle class and white trash.

The white middle class is divided into high, middle and low-end groups. Grassroots civil servants, company employees, and teachers are considered to be the middle and low-end groups; the high-end mainly refers to doctors and lawyers, as well as various financial elites, prestigious university tenured professors, etc.

White trash is divided into several levels, the lowest level is homeless, and the slightly better ones are working in relatively low-end jobs, many of which are not full-time, or deliberately do not find full-time jobs to meet the standards for receiving government subsidies.

"Let me tell you another piece of tidbits. John Forbes Kerry's paternal line is actually the descendant of German immigrants. His original surname was "Cohen", which has a strong Jewish flavor.

Later, in order to better integrate into mainstream American society, Kerry's grandfather changed "Cohen" to "Kerry".

Look at Kerry's long face, he looks very Jewish.

Later, Grandpa Kerry, who made a fortune in the gold rush in the United States, paid special attention to Dad Kerry's education.

Father Kerry, who is not a "blue blood" elite, is a successful diplomat and went through great trouble to marry a girl from a "Boston blue blood family".

Therefore, after marriage, Kerry's mother was not willing to give up her noble surname of Forbes. Instead, she used it in parallel with her husband's surname, and seriously passed it on to her son, John Forbes Kerry. "

Xu Liang asked with a smile: "Does the name Forbes bring any benefit to Kerry?"

Mai Jinheng laughed.

"Benefits? Helping him successfully join the Skull and Bones Society at Yale University when he was in college in the 1980s, and accumulating a large number of connections for his future political career, is this a benefit?"

Xu Liang nodded gently, this is democratic America.

Since Shang Yang's reforms implemented the county system, China has had a system of selecting virtuous people, which later developed into the imperial examination system, and it got rid of the feudal system of royal relatives and nobles very early.

The constitutional monarchy system and royal privileges retained by European countries are feudal remnants.

The blue-blooded aristocracy in the United States is also a feudal remnant, that is, property and marriage power collude.

From the perspective of political civilization, China's political system is much more advanced than that of the West.

Blancfan grew up in a low-rent housing area in New York. His father is a mail sorter. He has no good feelings for the blue-blooded aristocrats who show superiority from time to time.

Mac Jinheng is the second generation of Lebanese immigrants and has suffered discrimination since childhood.

So, the two of them have no pressure to complain about the blue-blooded aristocrats.

Xu Liang is also happy to listen to some gossip about the American upper class.

"Xu, your father-in-law is here." Mack said with a smile.

Without his reminder, Xu Liang also saw Reed Montes getting out of the car.

Behind him were his elder brother-in-law Chris Montes and his second brother-in-law Peter Montes.

"You two go in first, I'll be there in a minute."

Blankfein and Mack nodded.

With the head of the Montes family, who is also a blue-blooded noble, the rest of them certainly don't need to be introduced by them.

"Dear Reed, I haven't seen you for a long time."

Xu Liang opened his arms to greet him.

Reed Montes also gave him a warm hug.

"Xu, I heard that you developed a very good mobile phone, remember to leave some for me. Don't worry, I will pay." Peter Montes said with a smile.

"Xu, don't worry. If Jobs, the villain who abandoned his wife and daughter, dares to make trouble for you in the United States, I will definitely stand by you."

Chris Montes patted his chest and vowed.

But Xu Liang always felt that he was including himself.

"Thank you."

"Xu, how many people did you invite to today's banquet?" asked old Montes.

"I sent out 97 invitations, and almost all of them have arrived today."

Old Montes was a little surprised.

There are only a few blue-blood nobles in Boston and New York, and more than half of them have arrived today.

The influence of this son-in-law also made him look at him with new eyes.

"You should leave the organization of the banquet to me. With the influence of the Montes family, I can help you gather all the blue-blood nobles in the United States."

"I originally planned to do so, but Helen said that you are busy acquiring the Indian Bank recently and can't spare the time, so I asked JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs to cooperate."

Of course, this is an excuse.

Xu Liang does not intend to rely too much on the Montes family.

Otherwise, it is also likely that the Xu family in the United States will be annexed by them in the future.

Old Montes showed a smug look on his face.

"Oppenheimer Investment Bank is a little small after all. After acquiring Indian Bank, the merged Indian Financial Corporation has become the 21st largest financial institution in the United States."

The Montes family, which made a fortune in cooperation with Xu Liang on subprime bonds last year, also developed an interest in the financial industry after having money in their pockets.

Continuously expanding their own financial business through acquisitions.

Indian Bank is the third financial company they have acquired.

"Under your leadership, the Montes family will become a superstar in both politics and business."

"Hahaha..." Old Montes continued with a smug laugh, "Xu, the Montes family and the Xu family are the closest partners.

Don't worry, in the United States, the Montes family will always be your strongest backing."

Xu Liang echoed a few words, but he sneered in his heart.

The kindness of the Montes family is based on interests, and its essence is no different from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, which eat people without spitting out bones.

If he believed the other party's lies, he would probably be close to being cheated to death.

He led the Montes family to the hall.

Everyone was toasting and chatting, and the atmosphere was lively.

When it was almost time, Xu Liang walked onto the central stage.

There was a huge display screen hanging on the stage, and hundreds of chairs were placed under the stage. There were lights all around, and it was as bright as daylight.

"Everyone, I am Xu Liang, and I welcome everyone to today's cocktail party.

In addition, the reason why today's cocktail party was not arranged in a hotel, but in a manor on Long Island, was also out of consideration for protecting everyone's privacy..."

The audience smiled at Jin Caesar, who was eloquent on the stage. They were all quite satisfied with the arrangement of today's cocktail party, which was very private, and all the people present were from the same circle, without any outsiders.

Because most of them have family members working in the White House or various states.

Although politics and business are inseparable, after all, they still have to pretend to fool the grassroots.

"Everyone's time is precious, let's get straight to the point."

Xu Liang pressed the remote control in his hand.

The big screen behind him soon lit up.

A bar chart appeared on the screen, with a short stump and a tall column in the chart.

There is a number on the short step: 30 billion US dollars;

There is also a number on the tall column: 151.868 billion US dollars;

The heights of the two columns seem to differ by five times, and in fact, they are not wrong, because there is also a detailed number next to it: 515.3%.

The audience began to whisper to each other.

"Please be quiet!"

Xu Liang shouted, and the crowd gradually became quiet.

Someone in the audience asked with a skeptical tone: "Xu, are you sure your statistics are not wrong? This number is too exaggerated and hard to be convinced."

Many people nodded in agreement, not quite believing that this rate of return could be achieved.

If this were true, Buffett would be a younger brother to you.

"I can prove that all of this is true."

Mai Jinheng walked onto the stage with a smile on his face. He looked at the people in the audience and said:

"During the investment process of Pacific Phase I Fund, we had many cooperations with JP Morgan and used financial leverage many times. We have detailed internal records and the data cannot be faked."

Xu Liang said with a smile: "Many of you here are investors in the first phase of Hanhua. The money you received after the fund was unblocked last year, plus the short-term capital gains tax in the United States, it is easy to get the true figure." rate of return.”

An old man wearing gold-rimmed glasses smiled.

"I didn't think so before, but now that I think about it, it's really the case."

Everyone knows this guy.

The head of the Roosevelt family is quite prestigious among many blue-blood nobles. He agreed, and the audience finally believed it.

Then I felt terrible, and then I couldn't help but feel a deep envy of Pacific Fund's LPs.

In two years, a return rate of more than five times means that if you invest one million US dollars, after deducting the profit sharing and management fees, you can get as much as three million US dollars.

There are several private equity funds around the world that can achieve this kind of return.

Especially rare.

The other party is based on a huge capital of 30 billion US dollars.

A well-known rule in financial investment is that the larger the amount of funds, the more difficult it is to obtain excess returns.

Not to mention five times in two years.

That’s 20% every year, and there are a lot of super-rich people rushing to invest.

Everyone who understood this took a look at Xu Liang, who was standing on the stage with a smile, as if his whole body was shining, and he looked like a god of wealth walking in the world.

Mack returned to the audience and glanced at Blankfein, feeling a little proud.

Blankfein ignored his old rival. He was seriously thinking about how the Pacific Fund achieved its terrifying rate of return.

After thinking about it for a while, I could only marvel at Xu Liang's financial talent.

CDOs are nothing new.

The rating standards of rating agencies have also long been known.

But he can accurately dig out the loopholes of the rating agencies and turn junk 3B-rated CDO bonds into 3A-rated bonds, pocketing hundreds of times the profit in one fell swoop.

This powerful insight is simply amazing.

Especially since the other party is a Chinese and not from a professional background in the financial industry.

Apart from talent, he couldn't think of any other explanation.