Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

The die had been cast.

Ben Bernanke had responded to my proposal quite positively.

Or rather, to be precise, since he had decided to work with me, he had little choice but to respond favorably.

After meeting with Bernanke, I began reaching out to Wall Street's key figures to secure their support.

The first person I met was JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon.

"Jamie, if AIG collapses, Wall Street will collapse with it. It won't even be comparable to Lehman."

"I know, Charlie. But it's difficult for us to participate in the acquisition of AIG as well. The board is leaning toward acquiring Washington Mutual."

Things were unfolding exactly as I remembered.

Fortunately, even this part of history hadn't changed.

"I know. All I need is your support so we can acquire it."

"It'll take around one trillion dollars to acquire AIG. Do you have enough capital?"

"I'm planning to borrow it from the Federal Reserve."

Jamie Dimon nodded as though everything now made sense.

"Hmm... so that's why you need our approval. I'm always on your side, Charlie. Rather than spending time persuading me, I think you should focus on convincing everyone else."

"Thank you, Jamie."

Starting with Jamie Dimon, I met with the CEOs of Wall Street's major banks one after another.

Most of them gave their tacit approval, but Citigroup and Goldman Sachs reacted negatively.

In particular, Vikram Pandit, who had recently been appointed CEO of Citigroup, came out openly hostile.

"We'll stop your plan by any means necessary."

"...So you're saying you want to fight us."

"Do you really think Dreamhigh can stand against Citigroup?"

"Only time will tell. You'll regret it."

As soon as the meeting ended, I immediately called Eva and instructed her to execute every derivative position related to Citigroup.

Looking up at Citigroup's headquarters, I muttered,

"I'd planned to deal with them last... but it can't be helped. I'll just [N O V E L I G H T] have to start earlier."

Even afterward, I continued meeting people and securing support.

Of everyone I'd met so far, about seventy percent agreed, around twenty percent remained neutral, and the remaining ten percent strongly opposed the plan.

"Boss, it went more smoothly than expected."

After several days of nonstop meetings, we had finally met every major figure on Wall Street.

I smiled faintly at Manager Ma's comment.

"They know that if this money goes into AIG, there'll be even more bailout funds left for themselves."

"We've begun investigating the people who are strongly opposed. We believe they're all connected to Baltice."

"Good work."

This crisis had made it clear just how much Baltice's influence had declined.

In the past, the people who would have opposed anything I proposed without hesitation were now either remaining neutral or actively supporting me.

"Any movement from Baltice?"

"They've reportedly injected emergency funds into Citigroup and Goldman Sachs."

"So those two are their core positions."

Most of the families belonging to Baltice had suffered enormous losses during this crisis.

The bulk of those losses came from CDO contracts.

According to our estimates, they had lost at least $500 billion.

No matter how wealthy those families were, losses on that scale couldn't help but hurt.

And the losses from the stock market crash were impossible to calculate.

Baltice had always made enormous profits by obtaining information first—or manipulating it.

They also threw scraps to countless followers, who willingly obeyed their orders.

This time, every financial institution and investor who had taken the same positions as Baltice had suffered catastrophic losses.

Naturally, Baltice's influence could only decline.

Wall Street was no different from the wild.

Its investors were the kind of people who would gladly join forces with the person who had murdered their parents if doing so made them money.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll be in Washington persuading politicians. You arranged the schedule, right?"

"Yes. Over the next three days, meetings have been arranged with the leading politicians of both the Republican and Democratic parties."

Washington was currently in turmoil because of the presidential primaries.

The only things that had changed from my previous life were Bush's relatively high approval rating and the fact that the subprime mortgage crisis had erupted earlier.

Those were the two variables.

The leading presidential candidates from both parties wanted to avoid a collapse on Wall Street.

* * *

The first person I met after arriving in Washington was Obama.

"Obama, it's been a while. Busy these days?"

"Haha, the primaries are keeping me occupied. I couldn't spare much time."

"I understand. This is the most important period."

Obama was locked in an extremely close race with Hillary.

Finding even this much time couldn't have been easy.

"Charlie. I heard you're planning to acquire AIG?"

Since time was limited, Obama immediately got to the point.

"This time we're planning to acquire AIG entirely on our own. Along with the government's shares, we'll launch a tender offer to acquire the rest."

"That won't be easy. And it'll require an enormous amount of money."

"That's right. Around one trillion dollars."

Obama's eyes widened at the figure.

America's annual budget was roughly three trillion dollars.

This acquisition alone would require nearly one-third of that amount.

"How do you plan to finance it?"

"I'm planning to borrow seven hundred billion dollars through the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program."

"Seven hundred billion?"

"Yes. We've structured the plan with the goal of repaying it within three to five years. But first, let me explain."

I spent considerable time explaining in detail how I intended to restructure AIG after the acquisition.

"I understand the plan. But getting it through Congress won't be easy."

"That's why I'm planning to meet with lawmakers personally. And while we're at it, we'll use this opportunity to boost your approval ratings."

Obama's eyes lit up.

"Raise my approval ratings?"

"Yes. Hillary doesn't think highly of me. She'll oppose it no matter what."

Obama nodded in agreement.

Being on the front lines himself, he knew that better than anyone.

"Take the opposite position from Hillary. Say that nationalizing financial institutions runs contrary to America's principles."

"But insurance is a vital part of ordinary people's lives. I believe it's right for the government to step in and save it."

"AIG's crisis wasn't caused by insurance. It was caused by reckless investments made with customers' insurance premiums. As I said earlier, I intend to focus solely on insurance. Even if the returns are lower, we'll invest safely and protect our customers' money."

Obama quietly murmured in thought.

"I think that argument will resonate not only with Democratic voters but also with moderates. You're not saying there should be no assistance—you’re saying it should be entrusted to the market."

After thinking for a moment, Obama finally agreed.

"Very well. I'll discuss it with my advisers and present that argument."

"Thank you, Obama."

"Don't mention it. Charlie, more than anyone else, you were the one who helped me get this far in the presidential race. If I couldn't even do this much for you, I'd be a terrible person."

"Even after you become President, I'll continue doing everything I can to help you."

"I'll hold you to that."

After shaking hands with Obama, we parted ways.

Afterward, I met and persuaded every major Democratic figure except Hillary.

I also met with the Republican presidential candidates and influential politicians.

Finally, I began meeting individually with members of the Senate and House Financial Committees.

"Congressman, if AIG collapses, it could bring down the entire American economy. Our plan is the only way to save AIG while minimizing the burden on taxpayers."

Naturally, many lawmakers remained skeptical.

Their biggest concern was whether Dreamhigh truly had the capacity to swallow a giant like AIG.

"We've already demonstrated our capability by acquiring Lehman's core businesses through a consortium with JPMorgan. We'll save AIG as well."

After several exhausting days, I finally secured cautious support from most of the key figures.

Just as I was preparing to leave Washington and return to New York, my phone rang.

It was Ben Bernanke.

— Charlie, you'll have to come and explain the proposal to the Board in person. There's more opposition than we expected.

I immediately called Han Kyungyeong and told him to prepare a presentation and fly to Washington as quickly as possible.

The day had finally arrived.

It was time for the Federal Reserve Board to discuss both the AIG loan and my acquisition proposal.

Han Kyungyeong and I attended the meeting in person and gave our presentation.

"Our plan isn't simply to save AIG. It's a proposal to fundamentally reform its structural problems. More than that, it will help stabilize the American financial system as a whole."

Han Kyungyeong presented a detailed financial plan along with the restructuring strategy.

"We'll focus on AIG's core insurance business while decisively divesting every other division. That will allow us to repay the government's loan within three years, or five at the latest."

As soon as the presentation ended, questions poured in from the Board members.

Han Kyungyeong answered each one calmly.

The biggest obstacle was Tim Geithner, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

"How can you guarantee your plan will succeed? As far as I know, Dreamhigh has no experience managing a financial institution the size of AIG."

"We intend to own the company while leaving management to professional executives."

"In that case, it doesn't necessarily have to be Dreamhigh."

Just as Han Kyungyeong was about to answer, I cut in.

"President Geithner, do you have an alternative? If someone else is willing to acquire AIG, we'll gladly step aside and even share our entire plan with them."

Geithner glared at me.

But he couldn't answer.

"If there isn't an alternative, then accepting our proposal is the best course of action. Otherwise, you can continue pouring taxpayers' money into a bottomless pit."

"Charlie! Right now—!"

I didn't even give him the chance to finish.

"Whether you like me or not doesn't matter. This isn't about me. It's not about anyone else's interests either. It's about the American economy—and, beyond that, the global economy."

Geithner's eyes narrowed.

"If you're acting for someone's personal benefit, then stop."

I looked him straight in the eye.

"And please don't oppose this simply for the sake of opposing it."

"What did you say!? How dare you accuse me of acting for personal gain—"

"That's enough, President Geithner."

Bernanke's shout echoed through the room.

Geithner stared at the Chairman in disbelief.

Regaining his composure, he said,

"Mr. Chairman, approving a seven-hundred-billion-dollar loan will spark accusations of favoritism."

"Then let's extend the same offer to every financial institution. We'll lend up to seventy percent of the acquisition price. But after that, there will be no more bailouts."

Most Wall Street banks were waiting for government bailouts.

If it was made absolutely clear there would be no further rescue packages, none of them would dare step forward.

"But..."

"Dreamhigh has said it needs no support other than the loan. They've promised to repay it as quickly as possible through asset sales. Is there a better alternative?"

Once again, Geithner had no answer.

Having watched everything unfold in silence, Treasury Secretary Paulson finally spoke.

"Charlie, I know you well. You're a man who always keeps his promises. But we can't lend seven hundred billion dollars to a private company based solely on a promise."

"Mr. Secretary, think about it. It'll be far more efficient for us to run AIG than for the government to do it directly. There'll inevitably be all kinds of controversy during the restructuring process. Can you really afford that with a presidential election just around the corner?"

There was no greater political risk than provoking chaos on the eve of a major national event.

The moment I pointed that out, Paulson let out a long sigh.

"...Can you persuade Congress?"

"I've already met with most of the members of the Financial Committees. I only ask that you don't oppose it."

"Very well. If the Federal Reserve approves it, the Treasury will approve it as well."

Paulson distanced himself from responsibility, effectively placing the entire burden on the Federal Reserve.

Finally, Bernanke asked,

"Charlie... can you really accomplish all of this?"

I answered without hesitation.

"Yes. I absolutely can. Trust me—and trust Dreamhigh."

"Very well. We'll notify you of our decision."