6 Chapter 6

In the evening, Richard sat in the living room of the London house with his father. Traditionally, a boy and a man sat in armchairs near the fireplace.

Duke ex:

- Richie, you are showing great success. I'm proud of you.

- Thank you, father.

- Charlie said that you called him and asked for the girl. Your girlfriend?

- No. The daughter of the dentists I visited today. Hermione wanted so badly to attend a tea party with Grandma Lisa that I could not help but help her.

- There are many who want to visit the Queen's reception, but you will not help everyone, will you?

- No, dad. I had no intention of helping everyone. But why not make a pleasant friend? You see, next time I'll get a discount on dentist services. And if not, in any case, it is always beneficial to have familiar dentists.

- Oh, son, - Gerald shook his head, - you talked too much with my top managers. He is looking for profit everywhere.

- Is it bad?

- No, but you're still a child. Son, you should be friends with other children, play, and not seek benefits in communicating with peers.

- Ouch! - Richie picturesquely rolled his eyes to the ceiling. - You might think they will be friends with me just like that! I'm not talking about the children of influential people like Bill or Justin.

"Eh ..." Gerald sighed sadly. - Okay, I myself was not a gift as a child. Let's get down to the fun part. Richie, have you given up on your idea yet?

- No, dad. No wonder I learned all the intricacies of doing business in order to engage reverse gear?

Gerald smiled warmly at his son and arousing:

- Good. I thought so. So I opened an account for you and transferred ten million pounds. But how are you going to work?

Richie thoughtfully ran the back of his right hand over his chin and said:

- Well ... I guess I need a small office, a secretary and a broker. There is only one problem: I was going to put all the funds into circulation, and the profit will be at best in a year. Simply put, I have nothing to pay employees' salaries with.

- Why do you need an office? Son, you can do investments without him. But so be it, I will give you a small study. Don't worry about the broker, I've already taken care of that. Richie, you're going to talk to Dan Silver, Investment Specialist. He will, in addition to his main responsibilities, deal with his investments through the brokers of the Grosvenor Group. And John will act as secretary.

"Well, not bad," Richard agreed. He crossed the fingers of both hands in the abdomen and thought. - But this is not enough. I need a person who will look for new companies and talented start-up businessmen so that I can be the first to invest in their business and get the maximum cream.

Gerald considered. He scratched his head, mentally sorting out people who would fit the criteria of a son. As a result, he delivered his verdict:

- I have one person in mind. Former Scotland Yard Economic Crime Detective. He is now fifty-five, he recently retired, but still full of strength and desire to work. And he does not want to return to the police because of a conflict with the leadership.

- Dad, how do you know such a person?

- Scott is in my hunting club. He's the perfect candidate. And you know what, son?

- What?

- I'll give you a present, - Gerald smiled enigmatically and paused theatrical. "I'll pay Scott's salary myself until you come of age." So at least I will be sure that scammers will not deceive you.

- Thank you, father! - thanked Richard sincerely. Then he added ironically and sarcastically: - You have very original gifts. Dear ones, no doubt about it. But "original"!

Gerald laughed good-naturedly.

- So, Richie, the last question remains to be resolved. How are you going to study further?

- Dad, I want to continue my studies as an external student, passing exams for several classes every year.

- Richie, won't business interfere with your studies?

- No. I will have a clear schedule. Work before lunch, after a section or a lesson with a tutor in economics, then study. Plus, I'm not going to do business on a daily basis. As you can imagine, I just need to keep abreast of the latest news and occasionally give orders to buy or sell securities. Even less often I have to go to the office and meet people.

"Sounds logical and reasonable," drawled Gerald with a thoughtful look. "Hmm… Richie, I totally support you. You will study as an external student, an office and tutors!

***

The day after the conversation with his father, Richie settled in his office. The room, as Gerald had promised, was small, one might even say very small. Two by three meters, without a window, but with good lighting. There was nothing in it for furniture: a desk with an office telephone, a comfortable chair for a boy (high so that the eyes of a child were on the same level as adult visitors), and for visitors there was a comfortable chair, albeit in the singular.

Apparently, this room was once a storage room, which was quickly converted into an office. But the room was located on the first floor of the Grosvenor Group office. There was a sign on the door:

Richard Grosvenor

Dan Silver was the first to visit this office. A thirty-five year old man of average height with a short hedgehog of black hair. He had a sharp-cheeked face and a tenacious gaze of brown eyes, which were hidden by oblong glasses.

Mr. Silver was dressed in a brown suit, with leather overlays sewn around the elbows of his jacket, already slightly frayed.

The man was sitting in the visitor chair and was slightly nervous. He did not expect such an increase in work and did not know what to expect from the little boy.

"So, Mr. Silver," Richard began, "I was told that you are good at investing.

"I dare to hope so," the man replied dryly.

Richie decided not to beat around the bush, but immediately start talking about the case:

- What can you say about the Finnish company Nokia?

"This is the first time I've heard, sir," Mr. Silver shrugged. "But… if you let me make a couple of calls, I can tell you about this company.

- Here's the phone.

Richie pushed the phone over to the man. Dan made several calls and spoke with the European branch of the company. Richard had no answers, so he waited.

After hanging up the phone, Dan looked at the boy and said:

- Sir, I found out about Nokia. This is an old company that has been on the market for a long time. Previously, they were involved in the production of rubber products, cables, electronics, wood processing and power generation. They had several secondary industries: the manufacture of hunting rifles, plastics and chemical materials. They now also make shoes, televisions, generators, robotics and military communications. The year before last, the main activity of the company was the production of consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment. This is not all. If I need more information, I can get it.

"That's enough for a start," Richie drummed a beat on the countertop with his fingers. - I heard you asked about the shares of this company ...

"Yes, sir," nodded Mr. Silver. - I thought you would be interested in this information.

- That's right, Mr. Silver, I'm very interested in this.

"Now their shares are worth a little over seventeen American cents apiece. More specifically, a stack of one hundred shares is worth seventeen dollars and sixty cents.

- Mister Silver, expect, when the shares of Nokia will fall to the minimum and buy up all available, - Richard issued the first order. - According to my information, it will be around the fall of next year. These shares will have to go into a long-term portfolio for about ten years.

Dan quickly armed himself with a notebook and a pen, which he removed from his inner jacket pocket, and began to jot down the young boss's orders.

Richie may not have taught economics at the institute, but his favorite subject was the History of Economics. It's all about the teacher, who presented the material in an interesting way and knew how to captivate students. She told various funny incidents and gave historical examples of the rise and fall of large corporations. One of them was Nokia. At first, it skyrocketed, and then it was sold to the Americans, who only needed the advanced technology of this company. As a result, the quality of products under the brand of this company fell even lower than that of semi-basement Chinese manufacturers, while prices remained at the same high level. This led to a natural result - after a few decades, "Nokia" fell apart. But if you catch the historical fork at a time when the company's shares were growing rapidly in price, then you can make a lot of money. Richie could not help but take advantage of this opportunity, because he fell into the past, when this company was not yet so popular.

Richie waited for the man to finish writing in his notebook and continued:

- Mr. Silver, I am also interested in all young companies that have recently entered the high-tech and software market. These also include console and computer games.

Dan scribbled notes on a pad, Richie continued to hand out directions:

- Give me a report in a week. Then, pay attention to finding companies and research labs that are developing artificial intelligence.

- Yes sir. But, if you will, I do not think that this is a promising investment. R&D laboratories are mostly unprofitable, and even those firms that develop artificial intelligence will certainly not generate income in the coming decades.

"That's right," Richard agreed. - Here are just a fat "BUT". Mr. Silver, you need to invest in such firms at the very beginning. Yes, they will be unprofitable. But ten years later the shares in such companies will be bought by the corporations-giants of the IT industry. And they will never sell their share, and if they do, then for cosmic money. But when artificial intelligence is developed ... Oh! Richie rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and smacked his lips. - This is crazy money! Even a small stake in such a firm can make a person who has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds a billionaire.

"Perhaps sir, but this is a long-term, high-risk venture capital investment. Losing money is more likely than earning. Plus, how long will you have to wait? Ten to twenty years?

"Thirty-six, give or take a couple of years," Richie said.

Dan treated the child with condescension. He believed that young Grosvenor would be wasting his money. So he tried to give advice:

- Sir, during this time you can make good money if you invest in stable and familiar investments. For example, if you follow Father's example and invest in construction, then even with the minimum profitability, ten million pounds in the same time will turn into three hundred million.

- Thank you, Mr. Silver, but I do not want to become a multimillionaire in old age, but in my youth to be a billionaire without taking into account the state of my family. Therefore, I ask you to carry out my orders. And to avoid losses when investing in an artificial intelligence company, you must find such firms that receive subsidies from the state. Moreover, the country should be with a high level of economic development and with a stable economy, for example, the United States, Australia, Japan or Germany. That's it for today. I am waiting for your report.

Dan left the young boss's office in frustration. He considered himself insulted and thought that he was assigned to the son of the owner of the company as a toy. Something like an errand boy who will help a child who decides to play "business" squander a huge amount. It would be better if they gave this money to him, he would put it in a bank account and live happily ever after for the rest of his life. No, these majors are raging with fat!

The approach to money was the difference between the average person and the rich.

Dan considered ten million a huge, almost infinite amount. With that kind of money, he would not do anything, but only spend it.

Richard was going to make huge money out of big. But in this case, you cannot do without risk. He was going to invest with huge risks, even considering his prediction, but he was going to make huge profits. After all, he knew very well how much money the companies that developed working artificial intelligence began to cost. But, to our great regret, he did not remember the names of these companies, because by the time AI was developed, all of them had long been bought out by corporate giants like Intel, AMD, Nvidea, Huawei and the like. Moreover, often five to seven corporations owned shares of one research company at once.

About half an hour later, a densely built man with a short hedgehog of dark, powdered gray hair entered the office. He had a bulldog face and was slightly stooped. The black three-piece suit is complemented by a wide-brimmed hat. Entering the office, the man took off his hat and introduced himself:

- Scott Potter. Are you Richie?

"Oh, Mr. Potter," Richard said cordially. - Glad to see you. Yes, I'm Richie. I was just waiting for you. Sit down please.

Scott unbuttoned his jacket and hung it over the back of a chair. The man was wearing a shirt and vest, but Richie did not find a tie. In addition, the top button of the shirt was unbuttoned, which indicated that Scott was not used to being in a circle of businessmen, where such liberties are permissible only with friends or in an informal setting.

Scott settled into the visitors' chair and gazed at the boy.

- Hmm ... So Gerald asked you to look after you ...

"You could say that, sir. But I hope more for your professional skills in the service of my business.

- Yah? - Mr. Potter's voice was filled with irony. - And what can I do for you, kid?

Richie opened the top drawer of his desk, took out a folder and handed it to the detective.

Mr. Potter opened the folder and studied the contents with curiosity.

- Many names. And what needs to be done?

Scott looked up from his papers and looked at the boy expectantly.

"Mr. Potter, all these people are engineers, programmers and enthusiastic inventors who can go into business. I need to find the right people among the namesakes and find out as much information about them as possible in order to attract them to cooperation and invest in their business.

"I get you, kid," Mr. Potter chuckled under his breath and grinned. "I don't know where you got those names and surnames from, but I'll do my part of the job." I will find who I can from those who fit the listed criteria. In six months, you will have complete information and compromising evidence on most of the people on the list. But do not count on special crap - this is other money and I will not undertake this.

- Mr. Potter, it is enough for me that you confirm the existence of these people, get their contact information and find out how they can be hooked and promoted for cooperation. No more.

- Well, kid, - Scott got up and took his jacket, throwing it over his left arm, bent at the elbow, - you are pretty serious for your age. I promised Gerald to help you, so you don't have to worry - the data will be on your desk. Bye boy!

Scott retired from the office, and Richard, after the visitor left, tried to recover for some time. Mr. Potter turned out to be difficult to communicate and spoke to Richie like a child, as if he was in charge here and was doing a favor with his presence. At the same time, it was clear that the man took his task seriously.

Potter, Richie thought after being alone. - Something familiar ... Somewhere I have already heard this name, it seems, in a past life ... Hmm ... No, I don't remember. Although the surname for England is quite common, so there is nothing strange about it. Something is spinning in my head: either in the past, which became the present for me, there was a famous actor with such a surname, or another celebrity. "

***

The investment will undoubtedly be profitable in the future. But Richard wanted to make "quick money". He needed cash to spend on himself.

Richie had not yet begun to invest in shares, so he could dispose of part of the amount or all of the available capital to earn money.

Richie began to recall different options for earning money and realized that the ideal would be to produce something small and inexpensive, which could be sold at a significant mark-up.

After much thought, it dawned on Richard - 'funny bracelets'! A cheap little thing that will be in demand. Let it be a hype product that will hold out on the market, God forbid, for a year, but you can make good money on this.

Richie immediately threw in sketches of various 'funny bracelets' that look like an elastic plastic strip with a hole in one end and a circle with a pimp on the other, on top they are painted in the form of funny faces.

Richie walked to the office in the morning and called Dan Silver.

Mr. Silver entered the young boss's office with the expectation of a dirty trick. His face showed the sadness of a man who has to work subordinate to a child.

"Good morning sir," Dan said.

- Mister Silver, have a seat.

Dan sat down in the visitors' chair and prepared for whatever he thought.

"So, Mr. Silver, we need to patent this.

Richie handed the man a folder with sketched 'funny bracelets'.

- A product made of flexible durable plastic called " funny bracelets".

- Uh-uh ... - Dan drawled, not being ready for this. - But I am engaged in investments.

"That's it, Mr. Silver. Exactly, - a smile appeared on Richard's face with a gap of one missing tooth. "That's why you're here. This is our "innovative" product. Your task is to patent it. Then you should find suppliers who will inexpensively and efficiently produce a large batch of 'funny bracelets'. Next, you need to contact large corporations and offer them advertising in the form of 'funny bracelets' with the name of their products. Be sure to write to the manufacturers of Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Sprite. Don't forget Nestlé and other big firms. Ask for one dollar for each 'funny bracelet' with their stamp.

With every word the child said, Mr. Silver's eyes were getting more and more out of their sockets. The man was deeply amazed that a boy of this age had come up with a new product. Even more, the man was amazed that if the idea with advertising burned out, then the product would pay for itself even before it entered the market. That is, even if one corporation agrees, then this is at least a break-even venture.

"Sir," Dan said respectfully, "great idea. But I dare say that any new product needs advertising.

"It's good that you thought about it," Richie grinned. His eyes glittered mischievously. - I thought about this moment. We need to negotiate large supplies of 'funny bracelets' with large retail chains: Asda, Debenhams, Kingfisher, Tesco, as well as stores for children like Mothercare. I'm going to ship at least a million products to each network. I estimate that about two hundred million 'funny bracelets' should saturate the British market. And already these networks will be engaged in advertising our products.

Dan was skeptical about Richard's plans and asked directly:

- Sir, but why did you decide that retail chains will advertise your products?

"It's simple, Mr. Silver. We will offer retail chains to conduct an exclusive marketing campaign to increase sales. For goods that stores want to sell in large quantities, when buying several copies, they will give 'funny bracelets' that will not lie on store shelves, they will become exclusive. In addition, there will be a whole collection of 'funny bracelets' that many children will want to collect. In turn, the children will motivate their parents to buy the products the store needs in order to replenish the collection of 'funny bracelets'. To do this, retail chains will need to order advertising targeted at children under the age of fourteen.

"I don't think it'll work."

- It will, Mr. Silver! Richie said confidently. - Trust the professional - a child who already wants a collection of 'funny bracelets'!

***

Summer for the hitman turned out to be extremely eventful. Together with John, he had to fly around the world: China, USA, Japan. He even met his ninth birthday on a business trip while in Tokyo.

In China, Richard signed a contract with a large plastic products factory to make 'funny bracelets' at a cost of five US cents apiece.

In principle, it could be made cheaper, but in this case the quality of the products would be lower. Richie wanted his 'funny bracelets' to be made of quality plastic, so the price was right.

He underestimated the popularity of the products, or rather, the large-scale advertising campaign, which many large retail chains decided to resort to.

In Britain, they managed to conclude a contract with Kingfisher and Asda, who ordered one hundred million pieces of products each. In addition, the American Walmart reached out to Richie, placing an order for three hundred million 'funny bracelets'. But that's not all. The Japanese, when they learned about the 'funny bracelets', went out to the young businessman. Trade retailer "Ion" ordered two hundred million 'funny bracelets' according to its sketches. In response, their competitors, Ito Kaido, similarly approached Richie and ordered the same number of items from their sketches.

Richie sold 'funny bracelets' at double the dime markup. And so that retail chains did not abandon advertising products, they were given in the form of a free bonus.

By the way, Dan Silver managed to sign contracts with Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Nestlé. Together, these firms ordered a total of one hundred million 'funny bracelets', although they did not agree to the one dollar price. Each of these corporations managed to bargain for fifty cents per unit of promotional items. That is, one of the nine 'funny bracelets' was advertising and covered the cost of ten pieces. This meant one thing: the product had not yet begun to be produced and sold, but had already covered the purchase costs and brought in a profit of five cents from ten units.

In June, Richie made an advance payment of fifteen million dollars, almost all of his father's money, to a factory he had been contracted to make 'funny bracelets'. The boy had six hundred thousand dollars left in his arms, which went to pay for flights, hotels and other expenses.

Already in July, he had a fortune in his arms. Received payments for advertising 'funny bracelets' from corporations - fifty million dollars. Of these, thirty were deferred for payment under a contract with the plant, and the rest of the proceeds went through merciless taxation.

In the UK, companies that make over £ 1.5 million a year pay thirty percent on their profits. And those who earn less pay at the rate of nineteen percent. In general, Richie had to give the state as much as five million dollars, but he had ten million at once in his hands. That is, if it were not for the tax, he would have remained with the amount that he had initially.

Of course, Richie must pay the money to the treasury before the end of the year. So it wouldn't be okay if he continued to use them. But the guy immediately decided to close the debts to the country, and not to put other people's money into circulation.

Throughout this and half of next year, until May, funds from retail chains, which will supply large quantities of 'funny bracelets', are to come to the accounts of Richie's company. That's another eighty million dollars. That is, taking into account all expenses, taxes and the returned funds spent, the net profit will be fifty-one million dollars.

It would seem that it is nonsense made of plastic, which costs a penny, but brought the hitman a fortune.

Since the end of August, all TV channels have been hearing:

'Funny bracelet', watch and repeat as I fasten.

Or:

"Mom, mom, look, 'funny bracelets'."

Everything turned out, as Richard told Dan - retail chains themselves paid for advertising on television in order to increase sales of stale products at the expense of fasteners. That is, pieces of plastic seem to be not for sale, but at the same time they bring profit to the creator.

Perhaps, in Britain, Japan and the United States, it was difficult to find a person who would not know what a 'funny bracelet' is. Only for all ordinary people it remains a mystery who is behind the appearance of this wonderful piece of plastic and receives income from it.