Chapter 65: The King of Wall Street!
"Gerald Tsai?!"
Upon learning from Kwok Tak-seng that the acquaintance being recommended to him was none other than Gerald Tsai, Chen Hao let out an involuntary exclamation of astonishment.
He was far too familiar with this legendary figure!
As everyone knew, Gerald Tsai had once been the fierce rival of the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett!
One year older than Buffett, Tsai had once been lauded with titles such as the "King of Wall Street" and the "Financial Magician"!
Just how formidable was Gerald Tsai back in the day? One could easily tell by comparing him directly with Buffett at the time!
In 1958, Buffett managed a mere $500,000, whereas Tsai was already managing $12.3 million!
From 1958 to 1965, the capital managed by Buffett yielded an 8-fold return, while the funds managed by Tsai achieved a staggering 27-fold return!
In 1969, Buffett managed $100 million in capital, while Tsai managed $600 million!
Through these figures, it was evident that prior to 1969, Buffett had consistently been overshadowed and outperformed by Tsai!
Born into a wealthy family in Shanghai, Tsai was influenced by his mother from an early age and had already learned foreign exchange trading by the age of eleven!
Later, he emigrated with his family to the United States, initially studying at Wesleyan University before transferring to Boston University.
By the age of twenty, Tsai had already earned his master's degree!
In 1957, Johnson, the founder of Fidelity, recognized Tsai's extraordinary talent and specially tailored the Fidelity Capital Fund for him, entrusting him with its independent operation.
In just seven years, Tsai grew the Fidelity Capital Fund from $12.3 million to $340 million!
This feat made Gerald Tsai's name a golden hallmark on Wall Street!
At the time, many people heard Tsai's name and would hand over their money without hesitation, entrusting it entirely to his management!
Before long, Tsai's fame extended far beyond Wall Street.
Many ordinary Americans had heard of his legendary status, and countless people knew him as the most lucrative Chinese-American financier on Wall Street!
Tsai had hoped to succeed Johnson, but unfortunately, Johnson ultimately passed down the leadership of Fidelity to his own son.
However, Tsai had already prepared his fallback plan!
Tsai sold all the Fidelity shares he held and established his own fund company: the Manhattan Fund!
In a very short time, he raised $275 million, accounting for 15 percent of all capital flowing into mutual funds nationwide that year, setting a new all-time record for Wall Street at the time!
Of course, Gerald Tsai was no god; he had his moments of failure too.
Between 1969 and 1970, Tsai's Manhattan Fund caused investors to suffer a 55 percent loss, prompting a massive wave of capital withdrawals!
However, Gerald Tsai made a swift comeback!
In 1978, Tsai spent $2.2 million to acquire an insurance company named Madison.
In 1982, learning that the prominent American Can Company was seeking a corporate transformation, Tsai wrote a letter to the company's CEO, proposing a partnership between their two firms.
The CEO of American Can Company ultimately spent $162 million to acquire Tsai's Madison, and appointed Tsai as the executive vice president of the Can Company!
In other words, Tsai turned a mere $2.2 million investment into a $162 million return, setting an investment myth for the era!
At the time, the real estate tycoon and future American president, Comrade Donald Trump, was a devoted fan of Gerald Tsai!
Upon learning of Tsai's triumphant return, Comrade Trump immediately purchased shares of the American Can Company!
He even declared quite ostentatiously to the media:
"I'm betting on Gerald Tsai to win. Life is about winning, and Gerald Tsai is a winner!"
In 1987, which was the current year, Tsai successfully led the Can Company through its corporate transformation and officially became its CEO, pushing his career to its absolute pinnacle!
Under Tsai's stewardship, the Can Company blossomed into a $3 billion titan, a Dow Jones Industrial Average component, and a Fortune 500 corporation!
This also made Gerald Tsai the first person of Chinese descent to lead a Dow Jones component company.
Tsai even renamed the Can Company to Primerica!
Yet, no matter how brilliant Gerald Tsai was, he still stumbled and fell during the 1987 U.S. stock market crash!
That year, Tsai spent $750 million to acquire Smith Barney.
As a result, the U.S. stock market collapsed not long after!
Smith Barney posted a loss of $93 million for the full year, followed by another $53 million loss in 1988.
Primerica was also dragged down, suffering a broken capital chain as its stock price plummeted overnight from over $50 per share down to $21!
In his past life, Chen Hao had conducted in-depth studies of many historically renowned stock trading masters!
Naturally, he was well aware of this "King of Wall Street," Gerald Tsai!
He never expected that Kwok Tak-seng actually knew Tsai.
If Kwok could introduce Tsai to him, his upcoming trip to the United States to bottom-fish the American stock market would go much more smoothly!
After all, Tsai was of Chinese descent and spoke Mandarin, which would make communication vastly easier!
Chen Hao was not proficient in English!
Therefore, once he arrived in the United States, he would inevitably have to hire a local Chinese-American fluent in Mandarin to act as his interpreter!
Seeing the look of astonishment on Chen Hao's face after hearing Gerald Tsai's name, Kwok Tak-seng promptly asked, "Do you know Gerald Tsai?"
"I don't know him personally!"
"However, I've heard his legendary name!"
"He is a brilliantly renowned stock trading master on Wall Street in the United States!"
"Widely hailed by everyone as the 'King of Wall Street'!"
Chen Hao explained.
"Ah, you are quite right; he is indeed a master stock trader!"
"I wonder whose trading skills are more formidable—his or yours?"
Kwok Tak-seng smiled and asked.
"Heh!"
"Since young Chen is heading to the United States this time, he will have the chance to match wits with Gerald Tsai!"
"When that time comes, we'll know whose stock trading prowess is truly superior!"
Zheng Yutong chimed in with a chuckle from the side.
"I wouldn't dare call it a match!"
"In front of the 'King of Wall Street,' I am merely a junior!"
"My trip to the United States is simply driven by the hope of learning a thing or two from this senior!"
Chen Hao replied with a modest and polite smile.
"I'm afraid that this 'King of Wall Street' might not even be as skilled at trading as you are!"
"If anyone needs to do any learning, I suspect it will be this very 'King of Wall Street'!"
Xiang Zhiqiu said with a smile.
He had witnessed Chen Hao's stock trading wizardry with his own eyes!
He firmly believed that Chen Hao's trading skills were likely unrivaled in the world today!
Even the legendary "King of Wall Street," Gerald Tsai, might not necessarily measure up to Chen Hao!