East one moment, west the next, it all seemed like aimless floundering, but the results were astonishing. Not only the watching financial groups were taken aback; even his own think tank was at a loss.
For a while, some people claimed this billionaire title was unworthy, saying he was more like "chief debtor." They suspected it was a massive Ponzi scheme.
Every year there's a bunch of fools, but this year especially. William White didn't mind the doubts. He'd cheekily admit, "Yep, I did wrong. Give me my shares back then. I'm a scammer, I'll buy them back at original price and pay interest."
Some shareholders even asked Morgan Stanley, "Are you really getting scammed?"
Morgan Stanley, being a public company, wouldn't endorse that notion.
"We can acquire at 50% premium, buy as much as you want, you bunch of dimwits. With so many third-party reports, how could it be a scam?"
The involved parties were calm, but those who thought they were scammed were furious.
The public didn't understand. Wall Street elites aren't fools. What's with the game consoles that sell out faster than hotcakes? Toys are almost all gone too. Anything over a hundred bucks can't be found.
Everything's selling out yet you still call it a scam? See if you can scam me first.
...
After the farce, everyone was shocked to discover just how vast William White's wealth was, far beyond their imagination.
Lots of loans?
Ha, even top ten financial groups might have more loans. William White's loans are nothing. The banks lending to him aren't worried, so why fuss about it?
Realizing this, not just the public, but a group of financial conglomerates were also stunned. William White seemed to be the eleventh financial group, possibly even wealthier than some of the so-called top ten.
"An accident, just an accident. My favorite thing is entertainment. I love playing, be it comics or games. As for why there's so much money, it's just luck, can't take it seriously."
"What? What's it like being the richest?"
"Honestly, it doesn't feel like anything. I have no concept of money. Those companies are actually a hassle. If I could do it over, I wouldn't dabble in comics or novels, it's just too exhausting. I only get seven hours of sleep a day. It's tough."
"What? Ideal life?"
"Wake up naturally, count money until my hands cramp? Forget it. The daily summaries are too much anyway. As for counting money, nah, I don't like how it smells."
Alright, NBC got the scoop, and after airing the interview with William White, all the bigwigs felt like they'd swallowed something nasty.
Can't you just stop pretending? When bargaining, you weren't like this at all, haggling over every penny, this scoundrel.
William White put on quite the act, nearly breaking through all barriers. Anyway, the pretty host interviewing him was a bit dumbfounded. She had never met someone so shameless.
Well, to be fair, she saw everything at the hotel last night -- that was a different kind of shameless person. Hmm, although it felt nice, darn it, what am I thinking? We're still in the middle of an interview.
...
"Boss, I saw your TV interview."
"What did you think, Jason?"
"Everyone gave you the finger."
"Ha ha, I'm honored."
"Boss, I can tell, your shamelessness knows no bounds."
"Jason, remember one thing. If your skin ain't thick, you'll be left behind by the times."
...
The additional game console orders once again made several Japanese companies feel a bit strained. The initial contracts were very clear: before Christmas, production capacity had to prioritize the North American market.
"Too bad. If only these were our own systems."
"Baka! What are you thinking? Wishful thinking won't solve anything. Hurry up and boost production. If we can't meet the needs of North America, when will we ever have our own brand?"
"Sorry, President. I'll head to the workshop right away and make sure we work overtime tonight."
"Yosh! Get to work quickly!"
The North American market was something the Japanese were no longer considering. They couldn't be certain about how much demand there would be next year. Their first priority was to meet their own domestic needs.
Given the current situation, becoming a subsidiary seemed like an inevitable choice.
As for developing independent games?
The old guys understood very well that the more games developed, the less potential there was for their own game systems.
The royalty system William White implemented was, admittedly, a bit of a pain. He didn't restrict the development of games for other systems but didn't allow direct porting.
For example, if you developed a game for his system, you weren't allowed to create the same game as it is for other systems. And also, the upgraded version of the game could only be developed on the White system.
This meant that even if the games were profitable now, if you planned on not continuing the partnership, you'd have to give up those profitable IPs. Otherwise, you'd be breaching the contract.
The fortunate thing was that William White wasn't greedy. He seemed to prefer a steady stream of income.
William White's assets were top-notch, not just average. The scene of selling over a hundred million dollars in one day was deeply etched in everyone's minds.
The key point was that the market response was extraordinarily good.
The only dissatisfaction was that the Japanese companies were just doing contract work. Although they weren't earning peanuts, still...
...
The new boss had been in charge for nearly a year. Although many policies were enacted, regrettably, the market still lacked confidence.
William White wasn't aware, but Washington was in an uproar. The current bank interest rates were downright laughable.
Inflation had essentially faded, and gold was floating within a reasonable range. In the short term, there was no significant change on the horizon.
The Soviet exercises crisis hadn't prompted a gold price increase. Under such circumstances, slightly lowering interest rates was inevitable. Yet the Fed was deaf to it all, continuing its own path.
A near 15% unemployment rate was truly alarming. America wasn't exactly a welfare state; unemployment could mean ending up on the streets.
The head honcho in Los Angeles had sought out William White multiple times, suggesting he open a factory there.
Frankly, William White was fed up and ended up donating a bit of money to settle it.
*****
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