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***
In the evening, Richard sat in the drawing room of the London house in the company of his father. Traditionally, the boy and the man were seated in armchairs near the fireplace.
The Duke pronounced:
- Richie, you are showing excellent progress. I'm proud of you.
- Thank you, Father.
- Charlie said you called him and asked for the girl. Your girlfriend?
- No. The daughter of the dentists I went to today. Hermione wanted to go to Grandma Lisa's tea party so badly, I couldn't help it.
- Lots of people want to go to the Queen's tea party, but you're not going to help everyone, are you?
- No, Dad. I'm not going to help everyone. But why not do something nice for the people you know? Maybe next time I'll get a discount on the dentist. And even if I don't, it's always worth it to have dentists you know.
- Oh, son," Gerald shook his head, "you've been hanging out with my top managers too much. You're always looking for profit.
- Is that a bad thing?
- No, but you're just a kid. Son, you're supposed to make friends with other kids, play, not take advantage of your peers.
- Oh! - Ritchie rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. - You'd think they'd be friends with me for nothing! I'm not talking about the kids of powerful people, like Bill or Justin.
- Gerald sighed sadly. - Well, I wasn't much of a kid myself. Let's get to the fun part. Richie, have you given up yet?
- No, Dad. I learnt the ins and outs of running a business to put it in reverse for a reason, didn't I?
Gerald smiled warmly at his son and said:
- Good. That's what I thought. So I've opened an account for you and transferred ten million pounds into it. But how are you going to work?
Richie ran the back of his right palm across his chin with a thoughtful look and said:
- Well, I suppose I'll need a small office, a secretary and a broker. There's just one problem: I was going to put all the funds into circulation, and the profit will be at best a year away. Simply put, I can't pay my employees' salaries.
- Why do you need an office? Son, you can do investments without an office. But I'll give you a small office. You don't have to worry about a broker. I've already taken care of that. Richie, you'll be dealing with Dan Silver, the investment specialist. He'll be handling your investments through the Grosvenor Group brokers in addition to his main duties. John will act as your secretary.
- Well, that's not bad," Richard agreed. He crossed the fingers of both hands over his stomach and thought. - But that's not enough. I need someone who will be looking for new companies and talented start-ups so that I can be the first to invest in them and get the cream of the crop.
Gerald thought for a moment. He scratched his head, mentally going over people who would fit his son's criteria. In the end, he reached his verdict:
- I have one person in mind. A former detective in Scotland Yard's Economic Crime Unit. He's fifty-five now, recently retired, but he's still got a lot of energy and a desire to work. He doesn't want to go back to the police because of a conflict with his superiors.
- Dad, how do you know someone like that?
- Scott's a member of my hunting club. He's perfect for the job. And you know what, son?
- What?
- I'm going to give you a gift," Gerald smiled enigmatically and paused theatrically. - I'll pay Scott's salary myself until you're of legal age. That way at least I'll be sure you won't be scammed by crooks.
- Thank you, Father. - Richard thanked him sincerely. Then he added ironically and sarcastically: "Your gifts are very original. Expensive, no doubt. But "original"!
Gerald laughed good-naturedly.
- So, Richie, there's one last question to be decided. How are you going to study further?
- Dad, I want to continue my studies by taking exams for several grades each year.
- Richie, won't business interfere with your studies?
- No. I'll have a strict schedule. I'll have work before lunch, a study group or tutoring in economics afterwards, and then I'll study. Besides, I'm not going to be in business every day. As you understand, I just need to keep up with the latest news and occasionally give orders to buy or sell securities. Even less often will I have to be in the office and meet people.
- That sounds logical and reasonable," Gerald said thoughtfully. - Hmm... Richie, I'm all for it. I'll give you an externship, an office, and tutors!
***
A day after talking to his father, Richie was settling into his office. The room, as Gerald had promised, was small, one might even say very small. It was two by three metres, without a window, but well lit. There was not much furniture in it: a desk with an office telephone, a comfortable chair for the boy (high, so that the child's eyes were at the same level as the adult visitors), and for the visitors there was a comfortable chair, but only one.
Apparently, this room had once been a storeroom, which was quickly converted into an office. But the room was on the ground floor of the Grosvenor Group office. A sign hung on the door:
Richard Grosvenor
The first visitor to this office was Dan Silver. He was a man of thirty-five, of medium height with a short curl of black hair. He had a sharp-skinned face and a keen look in his brown eyes, which were hidden by oblong-shaped glasses.
Mr Silver was dressed in a brown suit, with slightly worn leather patches at the elbows of the jacket.
The man sat in the visitor's chair and looked slightly nervous. He hadn't expected such an increase in work, and he didn't know what to expect from a little boy.
- Now, Mr Silver," Richard began, "I'm told that you have a good knowledge of investments.
- I daresay I am," the man replied dryly.
Richie decided not to beat around the bush, but to talk business:
- What can you say about the Finnish company Nokia?
- I've never heard of it, sir," Mr Silver shrugged his shoulders. - But ... if you let me make a few calls, I can tell you about it.
- Here's the phone.
Richie slid the telephone set to the man. Dan made a few calls and spoke to the specialists in the European branch of the company. Richard couldn't hear any answers, so he waited.
After hanging up the phone, Dan looked at the boy and said:
- "Sir, I have found out about the Nokia firm. It is an old company that has been in the market for a long time. They used to manufacture rubber products, cables, electronics, wood processing and power generation. They had a few secondary industries: making hunting rifles, plastics and chemical materials. Now they also make shoes, televisions, generators, robotics and military communications. The year before last, the company's core business was consumer electronics and telecoms equipment. That's not all. If you need more information, I can get it.
- That's enough to start with," Richie drummed his fingers on the tabletop. - I hear you've been asking about the stock in this firm....
- Yes, sir," Mr Silver nodded. - I thought you might be interested in that information.
- That's right, Mr Silver, I'm very interested.
- Their shares are now worth seventeen and a bit American cents apiece. To be exact, a stack of one hundred shares is worth seventeen dollars and sixty cents.
- Mr Silver, wait for Nokia's stock to fall to its lowest point and buy up all the available shares," Richard gave the first order of business. - According to my information it will be around autumn of next year. These stocks will have to go into a long-term portfolio for about ten years.
Dan quickly armed himself with a notepad and pen, which he retrieved from the inside pocket of his jacket, and began to write down the young boss's order.
Popadan may not have studied economics well at the institute, but his favourite subject was the History of Economics. It was all about the lecturer, who presented the material in an interesting way and knew how to enthuse the students. She told different amusing mishaps and gave historical examples of the rise and fall of large corporations. One of them was Nokia. At first it soared to the sky, and then it was sold to the Americans, who needed only advanced technologies 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 outcome - in a few decades, Nokia collapsed. But if you catch the historical fork at a time when the company's shares were booming in price, you can make a lot of money. Richie couldn't help but take that chance, because he had travelled back in time when the firm wasn't so popular yet.
Richie waited for the man to finish writing in his notebook and continued:
- Mr Silver, I'm also interested in all the young companies that have recently entered the high-tech and software market. This also includes console and computer games.
Dan made notes in his notepad, Richie continued to hand out instructions:
- Give me a report in a week. Then pay attention to finding companies and research labs that develop artificial intelligence.
- Very good, sir. But if I may say so, I don't think it's a promising investment. Research labs are mostly unprofitable, and those firms that develop artificial intelligence will probably not generate any income in the coming decades.
- That's right," Richard agreed. - But there's a big BUT. Mr Silver, you have to invest in such firms at the very beginning. Yes, they will be unprofitable. But in about ten years, they will be bought out by the giant corporations of the IT industry. And they will never sell their share, and if they do, it will be for cosmic money. But when the artificial intelligence is developed... Oh! - Richie rolled his eyes to the ceiling and smacked his lips. - That's insane money! Even a small stake in a firm like that could make a billionaire out of someone who's invested a hundred thousand pounds.
- Perhaps, sir, but it's a high-risk, long-term venture capital investment. There's more chance of losing money than there is of making money. Besides, how long would you have to wait? Ten, 20 years?
- Thirty-six plus or minus a couple of years," Richie replied.
Dan had a lenient view of the kid. He thought young Grosvenor would be a waste of money. So he tried to offer some advice:
- Sir, you can make good money during this time if you invest in stable and familiar investments. For example, if you follow your father's example and invest in construction, even at the minimum profitability of ten million pounds in the same time will turn into three hundred million.
- Thank you, Mr Silver, but I don't want to be a multi-millionaire when I'm old, I want to be a billionaire when I'm young, not including my family. So I'm asking you to follow my orders. And in order to avoid losses when investing in the company for the development of artificial intelligence, you must find such firms that receive subsidies from the state. And the country should be with a high level of economic development and a stable economy, such as the United States, Australia, Japan or Germany. That's all for today. I look forward to your report.
Dan left the young chief's office feeling upset. He felt insulted and thought he had been assigned to the son of the company owner as a toy. A sort of errand boy to help a kid who decided to play "business" to squander a huge sum of money. It would have been better if the money had been given to him, he would have put it in a bank account and lived happily the rest of his life. No, these majors are running wild!
It was the difference between the ordinary man and the rich man.
Dan considered ten million to be a huge, almost infinite sum. With such money, he would do nothing but spend it.
Richard, on the other hand, was going to make big money into big money. But in this case, there was no risk. He was going to invest with huge risks, even taking into account his foresight, but he was also going to get a huge profit. After all, he was well aware of how much money the companies that had developed working artificial intelligence had become worth. But, unfortunately, he could not remember the names of these companies, because by the time the AI was developed, all of them had long been bought out by corporate giants like Intel, AMD, Nvidea, Huawei and the like. And often five or seven corporations owned stakes in one R&D company.
About half an hour later, a man of stout build with a short lock of dark, grey hair entered the office. He had a bulldog face and slouched slightly. A black three-piece suit was complemented by a wide-brimmed hat. Stepping into the office, the man removed his hat and introduced himself:
- Scott Potter. Are you Richie?
- 'Oh, Mr Potter,' Richard said cordially. - It's good to see you. Yes, I'm Richie. I was just expecting you. Have a seat, please.
Scott unbuttoned his jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. The man still had his shirt and waistcoat on, but Richie couldn't find a tie. In addition, the top button of his shirt was undone, indicating that Scott wasn't used to being around businessmen, where such liberties were only allowed in front of friends or in informal settings.
Scott took a seat in the visitor's chair and gave the boy a scrutinising stare.
- Hmm... So it was Gerald who asked me to keep an eye on you....
- You could say that, sir. But I rely more on your professional skills in the service of my business.
- Really? Mr Potter's voice was full of irony. - 'And what can I do for you, kid?
Richie pulled out the top drawer of his desk, pulled out a folder and held it out to the detective.
Mr Potter opened the folder and studied the contents curiously.
- Lots of surnames. And what do you need to do?
Scott pulled away from the 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 their namesakes and find out as much information about them as possible in order to attract them to co-operate and invest in their business.
- I hear you, kid," Mr Potter hummed to himself and smirked. - I don't know how you got those names, but I'll do my part. I'll find who I can of those who fit the criteria. In six months, you'll have full information and dirt on most of the people on the list. But don't expect anything particularly damning - it's a different kind of money and I won't do it.
- Mr Potter, it's enough for me that you confirm the existence of these people, get their contact details, and find out how to hook them and get them to cooperate. Nothing more.
- Well, kid," Scott stood up and picked up his jacket, slinging it over his left arm bent at the elbow, "you're pretty serious for your age. I promised Gerald I'd help you, so you don't have to worry - the data will be on your desk. Bye, lad!
Scott left the office, and Richard tried to come to his senses for a while after his visitor left. Mr Potter was difficult to talk to, and spoke to Richie like a child, as if he were in charge and doing him a favour by his presence. At the same time, it was obvious that the man took his task seriously.
"Potter," Richie thought to himself after he was alone. - Something familiar... I've heard that surname somewhere before, I think in a previous life... Hmm... No, I don't remember. It's a common name in England, though, so it's not strange. Something's going round in my head: there was a famous actor with that surname in the past, which is now my present, or some other celebrity."
***
The investment would no doubt yield a profit in the future. But Richard wanted to make "fast money." He needed cash that he could spend on himself.
He hadn't started investing in stocks yet, so he could use part or all of the available capital to make money.
Richie began to think of different ways of earning money and realised that the ideal would be to produce something small and inexpensive, which could be sold at a significant markup.
After much deliberation, it dawned on Richard - scrappers! A cheap little thing that would be in demand. Even if it's a hype product that will last on the market for a year at most, but you can make good money on it.
Richie immediately drew up sketches of various clips, which look like an elastic plastic strip with a hole at one end and a circle with a pimple at the other, with funny faces painted on top.
Richie reached the office in the morning and called Dan Silver.
Mr Silver walked into the young boss's office with an expectation of mischief. His face displayed the sadness of a man who has to work under the authority of a child.
- Good morning, sir," Dan said.
- Mr Silver, have a seat.
Dan sat down in the visitor's chair and prepared for anything, he thought.
- So, Mr Silver, you need to patent this.
Richie handed the man a folder of scrawled staples.
- A piece of flexible, strong plastic called a staple.
- Uh..." Dan stretched out, unprepared for this. - But I'm in the investment business.
- That's right, Mr Silver. Exactly," Richard had a smile on his face with a gap of one missing tooth. - That's why you're here. This is our 'innovative' product. Your job is to patent it. Then you must find suppliers who will produce a large batch of scrappers inexpensively and efficiently. Next, you need to contact large corporations and offer them advertising in the form of paper clips with the name of their products. Be sure to write to the manufacturers of Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Sprite. Don't forget Nestle and other large companies. Ask for one dollar for each scrapbook with their brand name on it.
With every word the child said, Mr Silver's eyes grew more and more out of their orbits. The man was amazed to the core that a boy of that age had come up with a new product. What amazed him even more was the fact that if the idea of advertising was successful, the product would pay for itself even before it entered the market. That is, even if one corporation agrees, it is at least a break-even venture.
- Sir," Dan said respectfully, "that's a great idea. But I dare say that any new product needs advertising.
- I'm glad you thought of that," Richie grinned. His eyes glittered mischievously. - I've thought about it. We need to get big supplies of staples from the big retail chains: Asda, Debenhams, Kingfisher, Tesco, and children's shops like Mothercare. I intend to supply each chain with at least a million products. I reckon about two hundred million staples should saturate the British market. And then the chains will be in charge of advertising our products.
Dan was sceptical of Richard's plans and asked directly:
- Sir, but what makes you think that the retailers will be advertising your products?
- It's simple, Mr Silver. We will offer the retail chains an exclusive marketing promotion to increase sales. For the products that the shops want to sell in large quantities, when you buy a few copies, they will give you staples that will not be on the shelves, they will be exclusive. Besides, there will be a whole collection of staples that many children will want to collect. In turn, the children will motivate their parents to buy the products that the shop needs in order to complete the collection of scrapes. To do this, retailers will need to commission adverts aimed at children under the age of fourteen.
- I don't think that's gonna work.
- It will work, Mr Silver! - said Richie with confidence. - Trust a professional - a kid who already wants a collection of staples!
***
It had been a very busy summer. He had to fly all over the world with John: China, USA, Japan. Even his ninth birthday he met in Tokyo on a business trip.
In China, Richard signed a contract with a large factory producing plastic products for the production of staples at a price of five American cents per piece.
In principle, it could have been cheaper, but the quality of the products would have been lower. Ritchie wanted his paperclips to be made of high quality plastic, so the price was appropriate.
Ritchie underestimated the popularity of the products, or rather, a large-scale advertising campaign, which many large retail chains decided to resort to.
In Britain managed to sign a contract with Kingfisher and Asda, which ordered a hundred million pieces of products. In addition, the American Walmart, which ordered three hundred million scrapes, came out on Ritchie. But that's not all. The Japanese, when they learnt about the staples, got in touch with the young businessman. Trade retailer Ion ordered two hundred million staples based on their designs. In response, their competitor Ito Kaido similarly approached Ritchie and ordered the same number of products based on their designs.
Ritchie sold the staples at a double markup, i.e. ten cents each. And so that retail chains did not refuse advertising products, they were given as a free bonus.
By the way, Dan Silver managed to sign contracts with Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Nestlé. Together, these companies ordered a total of one hundred million staples, although they did not agree to a price of one dollar. With each of these corporations managed to bargain for fifty cents per unit of advertising. That is, one of the nine staples was promotional and covered the cost of ten units. This meant one thing: the product had not yet been produced and sold, but it had already covered the purchase costs and made a profit of five cents on ten units.
In June, Richie paid fifteen million dollars in advance, almost all of the money he had received from his father, to the factory that had been contracted to produce the staples. The boy had six hundred thousand dollars left on his hands, which went to pay for flights, hotels and other expenses.
Already in July he had a fortune on his hands. Payments for advertising scrapes from corporations came - fifty million dollars. Of these, thirty were set aside to pay for the contract with the factory, and the rest of the proceeds went through ruthless taxation.
In Britain, companies that earn more than one and a half million pounds a year pay thirty per cent on profits. And those earning less pay a rate of nineteen per cent. In total, Richie had to give the state as much as five million dollars, but he had ten million. That is, if not for the tax, he would have been left with the amount he had originally.
Of course, Richie has to pay the money to the Treasury by the end of the year. So there would be nothing wrong if he continued to use them. But the guy immediately decided to close the debts to the country, and not to let someone else's money into circulation.
During this year and half of next year until May, the accounts of Ritchie's company should receive funds from retail chains, which will be supplied with large batches of scrapes. That's another eighty million dollars. That is, taking into account all expenses, taxes and with the returned spent funds, the net profit will be fifty-one million dollars.
It would seem that the nonsense of plastic, which costs a penny, but brought a fortune.
Since the end of August, all TV channels have been broadcasting:
"Staples, watch and repeat how I staple.
Or:
"Mum, Mum, look, staples."
It worked out just as Richard told Dan - the retailers paid for the TV adverts themselves to boost sales of stale products by using the staples. In other words, the pieces of plastic don't seem to sell, but they make a profit for the creator.
Perhaps in Britain, Japan and the United States it was hard to find a person who did not know what a staple was. Only for all the common people it remained a mystery who was behind the appearance of this marvellous piece of plastic and makes a profit from it.