Chapter 377: Hidden Wealth

[Chapter 462: Hidden Wealth]

Back then, the guys in Detroit laughed at Tesla, dismissing it as the third largest car company in the U.S., claiming it didn't even have a factory. Well, now those jokes aren't so funny. After a month of bombarding ads, at least in terms of recognition, saying it's the third largest car company doesn't seem that far-fetched, even though not a single car has been sold.

Some people talking like that were being a bit ridiculous. Their Bentleys and Aston Martins were always in high demand. How could anyone say they hadn't sold any cars?

Facing a wealthy tycoon without a care for expense made one feel nothing but envy and resentment. Their sales model was something that the Big Three American car companies considered copying, but sadly, their dealers were in an uproar, firmly opposing such unfair competition.

"Man, that's just unreasonable. Why don't you oppose Tesla?"

"Please, who knows how well it'll sell? It hasn't been tested in the market. Who knows if it's just a flash in the pan? Throwing money at ads now is fine, but can you keep it up forever?"

Of course, they were also monitoring market reactions. As it stood, the response was quite positive. They even went to Tesla's dealership for test drives and had to admit that if the price was right, those two A-class models were solid options for getting around.

...

"Fulton, we can slowly get back the money invested in Japan, and let's just keep these assets as part of the family's foundation."

"Yes, master. Should we keep storing it in the Swiss bank?"

"Right. Store it in a few different places, and also rent some safety deposit boxes. There's no need to keep so much gold on Lanai."

"Got it, sir. I'll arrange things right away and head to Switzerland."

"Much appreciated, Fulton."

"No trouble at all, sir. This is the foundation of the family, and must not be neglected."

Ever since William White brought back the so-called pirate treasure, Fulton stopped fretting over the small investment in Japan. After all, that wasn't even a comparable amount of wealth.

For Fulton, those ten years felt almost like a dream. The only regret he had was that the young master still hadn't found a successor.

That little girl was charming, but she wasn't a boy. He wished the young master would try a bit harder. 

The White family hiding some wealth was a traditional practice, merely precautionary measures. Unless faced with significant upheaval, nobody would casually dip into that wealth.

In fact, the elite class in America did it all the time. The lists of the wealthy posted in magazines were nothing but jokes.

The Rothschild family, often sparking controversy in later generations, truly was quite wealthy, but the outlandish figures portrayed in some books -- talking about 20 trillion dollars -- were simply impossible. However, they definitely had more than the mere billions they claimed publicly.

In the 1970s, the largest conglomerate in America was Rockefeller. The oil crisis weakened them, and by the 1980s, they had to sell off Rockefeller Center.

There were significant issues during this period. More than half of the oil companies in America had ties to the Rockefeller family.

The oil crisis stirred up by those desert tycoons did cause substantial losses for American oil companies, but let's not forget that Rockefeller owned a ton of oil wells.

When oil prices shot up from two bucks a barrel to over thirty, their asset value exploded astronomically.

Were they truly in a position that necessitated selling Rockefeller Center?

It was clear that Japan had been played; while they were busy buying up America, American interests were bottom-fishing in Japan.

The Plaza Accord was premeditated; America's big conglomerates were already diving into Japan. Otherwise, how could one explain the lack of capital in the U.S. market?

Since 1980, funds from around the world flowed into the U.S. While the economy was said to be recovering, the momentum was noticeably lacking. So, where did all that capital go?

Clearly, most of it had gone to Japan. By the 90s, America's top ten conglomerates suddenly exploded, exhibiting an apparent wealth.

Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Citi, and others were close to reaching a trillion dollars in assets. What kind of leap was that?

It was obvious that Japan had been shaken up quite a bit.

Strangely, the Rockefellers faded from view, and the Rothschilds were hardly in the spotlight; many once-famous families had vanished without a trace.

You'd think a family like the Rockefellers would be unaware of the Plaza Accord?

The Plaza Accord essentially offered the U.S. a chance to profit, and it was bizarre that someone even signed that deal. One couldn't help but admit, America sure was formidable.

What was the central theme of the Plaza Accord?

The yen was to appreciate, doubling in value over five years -- from 250 yen per dollar to 100 yen per dollar.

Good grief, this was practically shouting to global currency funds to go long on yen! We're planning on raising it continuously for five years.

This was just giving American funds time to enter Japan! This was just too considerate; it wasn't even possible to jump straight to 100 yen!

Someone might say, why go through all this hassle? Just go long on yen in the futures market.

But is it really that easy?

Who doesn't know the yen is going to rise? Who's going to sell contracts?

In any case, investing in yen futures was pointless; even if there were some contracts, the amount wouldn't be substantial.

...

William White was now reeling in his nets. He wasn't as greedy as those conglomerates. In truth, he hoped to hide himself now; being the world's richest man was just too irritating.

Without a doubt, American dollars -- truthfully, they weren't suitable for family legacies. Given how fast the Federal Reserve was printing dollars, 90% of that wealth would evaporate.

Some might argue that gold is very stable; look, it broke the thousand-dollar mark in 2008.

Haha, gold hovered around four hundred most of the time. Let's pretend you sold it at twelve hundred; over decades, that's just tripling your investment. That's a terrible investment.

The best investment, without question, was in those excellent companies. William White had made up his mind; aside from holding onto some hard currency, he would create a few closed-end funds and then use those funds to buy American stocks.

This might leave some traces, but really, who cares?

Truth be told, America remained a paradise for the wealthy, and the only real hassle was the tax department. With a 1% chance of being audited each year, it might not even fall on you. Even if caught not paying taxes, all you had to do was make up the difference.

Fines?

Not a chance! I miscalculated my finances, or I forgot. What's the big deal?

In America's history, there have been very strict times, and thus the Civil War began. The claim to fight for the freedom of black folks was nonsense; mainly, Southern landowners were unwilling to pay taxes, which the Northern industrial enterprises couldn't bear.

After winning, the tax cuts the Northerners anticipated vanished, replaced instead by harsher taxes. This led to Lincoln getting politically marked.

What kind of people founded this country?

They were all folks who couldn't stand the heavy taxes imposed by England, escaping to avoid those taxes. They were drawn to this wild land mainly to evade taxes.

So, don't underestimate the tax department. There are plenty of ways to legally avoid taxes; it's all to protect the safety of Mr. President. A bunch of cowboys unwilling to pay taxes could be very dangerous.

*****

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