Chapter 2354 The Wolf of Wall Street

"We estimate that after Facebook goes public, its market value will reach at least two hundred billion dollars."

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Dong Chenxi said slowly.

Even she was filled with excitement as she said this.

You have to understand that after countless dilutions and battles, Future Investment still holds about fifteen percent of Facebook's shares.

In other words, if Facebook's market value reaches two hundred billion dollars upon listing, the shares held by Future Investment alone would be worth thirty billion dollars.

This figure would be enough to propel Zhao Fusheng into the ranks of the top super-rich in Asia.

And that's not even counting the shares of other companies that Zhao Fusheng holds.

From back then to now, nearly ten years of investment, finally paying off.

And what's more, it's an extraordinary return, which really excites Dong Chenxi!

"So?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Dong Chenxi and smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

Clearly, Dong Chenxi had an idea; otherwise, she wouldn't have traveled thousands of miles to see him.

"Well, I want to buy Facebook shares after it goes public."

Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng, "I think Facebook's market value will increase even more!"

In essence, what she was saying was a gamble.

A bet on Facebook's market value!

Zhao Fusheng didn't say a word; he was weighing the pros and cons.

Because in his mind, he already had the answer to this matter.

Of course Zhao Fusheng knew that Facebook's market value would skyrocket, and might even rise to one trillion dollars.

But the question was, what price would he have to pay?

How much money is enough to call it an end?

"What, you don't think it's a good idea?"

Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, Dong Chenxi was a bit surprised.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "It's not that it's not a good idea, but I'm considering how to go about it."

He paused and smiled wryly. "You have to understand, Wall Street is different from our domestic market. Old Tan has more experience in this than you do."

Dong Chenxi fell silent. She had to admit that Zhao Fusheng was absolutely right.

Compared to the domestic market, the financial market on Wall Street is, in a sense, more complex and more terrifying.

Because it's a place where you can solve all problems with money.

"To be honest, I even feel that if we rush in recklessly, we might be taken advantage of."

Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Chenxi.

The reason he was so cautious was that he really didn't know what would happen.

Earlier, Tan Kaixuan had passed him a message that the famous Wolf of Wall Street, Carl Icahn, had set his sights on Facebook.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Zhao Fusheng's cautious expression, Dong Chenxi asked in surprise.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged. "Nothing much, just that Carl Icahn has his eye on Facebook."

The moment she heard that name, Dong Chenxi's expression changed!

In the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street," the crazy, cunning, and passionate financial swindler Jordan Belfort led many people to misunderstand the term "Wolf of Wall Street."

In fact, neither within the company nor in the media had anyone ever called Belfort that.

The title was "self-proclaimed" in his autobiography.

In reality, his company wasn't on Wall Street, and in his entire career of fraud, he only swindled two hundred million dollars. Manipulating the stock price of Madden Shoe Company and making twenty-two million dollars in three hours was the highlight of his life.

On Wall Street, he was just a small-time player. Such petty tricks of fleecing retail investors could never be called a "wolf."

The truly recognized Wolf of Wall Street is Carl Icahn, a hedge fund giant on par with Soros, once named by Time magazine as "America's most heavyweight investor."

On Wall Street, he is a Thanos-like presence, a "fierce beast" feared by all listed companies in the United States.

He could not only force listed companies to concede and cut losses for profit, but also manipulate the company's strategy and direction. He forced Yahoo founder and CEO Jerry Yang to step down in disgrace, thwarted Hewlett-Packard's ten-billion-dollar privatization plan, and single-handedly drove the split of Motorola's mobile business, ultimately triggering the decline of the giant and profiting 1.3 billion dollars from it.

Like Belfort, Icahn's Wall Street career also began as a stock trader.

"They were like alchemists who could turn stone into gold, making miracles happen overnight, with strength, ambition, and passion converging in astronomical figures."

In the 1960s, when Icahn first walked into the New York Stock Exchange, he was stunned by the scene before him.

There, he made four thousand dollars in just two months.

For an ordinary family in Queens, New York, that was two years of Icahn's father's income.

From then on, he began his financial life!

In 1985, Trans World Airlines planned to split its hotel, catering, and aviation businesses.

At the time, TWA's equity was extremely dispersed with no actual controller; the company had multiple domestic and international routes, fleets, and land assets, but was inefficient, poorly managed, and its assets were severely undervalued.

All of this caught Icahn's attention.

But initially, Icahn didn't stir up trouble. He used various companies and identities to frequently buy small amounts of TWA stock on the secondary market.

Just ten days before hitting the 5% public disclosure threshold, Icahn began buying frantically, quickly increasing his stake to 16%.

Then, he completed the absolute acquisition.

At first, the guy used various methods to increase the company's market value, then leveraged by issuing junk bonds, he achieved a snake-swallowing-elephant privatization, obtaining 90% of the company's equity.

In the process, he personally profited $469 million, but left the company with a debt hole of $540 million.

Then, he began selling the most profitable routes to competitors, almost draining the company dry.

Afterward, the company filed for bankruptcy, and he became its largest creditor, using loopholes in the agreement to sell the company's tickets at low prices, until TWA was acquired in 2001 and completely exited the historical stage.

In total, the guy extracted over two billion dollars in profit from this company.

A thoroughgoing vampire!

That was the impression Carl Icahn left on people.

And now, he had set his sights on Facebook!

The moment she heard the news, Dong Chenxi felt as if she suddenly had an uneasy feeling.

"This... this can't be true, can it?"

Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng and asked.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged. "Tan Kaixuan called me; he heard it from someone else. But I think it's actually possible."

Dong Chenxi fell silent. Both she and Zhao Fusheng knew that Facebook's value was too high.

In fact, many Wall Street tycoons understood that once this company went public, it would surely create even more value.

That was why Zhao Fusheng had insisted on a dual-class share structure, giving Mark Zuckerberg absolute voting control over the entire company.

Because Zhao Fusheng knew too well the tactics of those Wall Street people.

Those guys were devils who would give up anything for profit; there was nothing else in their eyes.

If a company fell under the control of those Wall Street financial giants, it would inevitably be squeezed dry of its maximum residual value and then mercilessly discarded.

As for long-term interests?

Sorry, in the hearts of Wall Street big shots, no interest is more important than the dollars in their hands.

It was precisely because of this that Zhao Fusheng was so hesitant.

To be honest, he didn't want to confront those Wall Street people just yet.

It wasn't that he was afraid of them, but because Zhao Fusheng felt it was meaningless.

He was already planning to retire; did he have to go head-to-head with others over Facebook?

The key point was that this company wasn't his; it was Mark Zuckerberg's.

Making a wedding dress for others was not something Zhao Fusheng liked to do.

With that thought, Zhao Fusheng glanced at Dong Chenxi and said calmly, "Maybe we should just let it go."