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Street 20
For humans, the scale of "taking advantage without effort" varies. Future knowledge guarantees easy gains. Imagine knowing which stocks, real estate, or cryptocurrency will rise in value. If you can't take advantage of this knowledge, you'd be foolish. But, how much can you actually profit without effort? If two people have the same knowledge, will they make the same amount of money? The answer is obviously "no."
To be blunt, ordinary people and Wall Street operate on different scales when it comes to taking advantage. How so? It's easier to explain through examples.
Let's assume you know about the future of Pangyo. The land that currently costs 1 million won per pyeong will increase to 3.5 million won in three years, 11 million won in five years, and 50 million won in ten years. How would you make money from this?
– Buy up prime land and sell it off when it peaks. This is the logical approach. Nowadays, even twelve-year-olds understand this much, so let's move on to the next question.
Could you share this knowledge with others? Most ordinary people hesitate or answer "no" at this point. They might share it with family or close friends, but even then, they're reluctant. They believe that monopolizing information maximizes their profit. Later, when Pangyo's real estate value rises to 500 trillion won, and they pocket 300 trillion of it, they feel satisfied and move on to the next piece of future knowledge.
But as I said, even a twelve-year-old could do this. By future knowledge standards, this is minimum wage. To be satisfied with this is to lack ambition; such honest people are truly without greed.
Now, what about Wall Street? They don't hide this information. On the contrary, they'd produce countless reports in Excel and distribute them everywhere, proclaiming, "You should invest in Pangyo too! This is an investment, not speculation!"
At first, many people might be skeptical. After all, hearing that land priced at 1 million won per pyeong will soar to 50 million won sounds unbelievable. But three years later, when the land price jumps 3.5 times as predicted in the report, and five years later, it hits 11 million won as forecasted, who could remain passive? If you miss out on this, you're a fool. Everyone will rush in, which could drive the real estate value up from 500 trillion to 600 trillion won.
But stopping there would be a shame. The real opportunity for easy profit begins now.
What's common among those diving into Pangyo real estate? Loans. Who buys real estate with cash these days? Most people take loans using land as collateral, known as mortgage-backed securities. Since "bonds" are "products" you can buy, let's approach the bank. Why wait 30 years to recoup the funds? I'll pay you a bit more if you transfer it to me. The bank might be tempted to hand over the bonds.
If you sweep up Pangyo's mortgage-backed securities and bundle them in tens of thousands, you create a new, creative financial product—a derivative. And notably, this is an extremely safe asset. What are the odds that tens of thousands of people would default simultaneously? Moreover, Pangyo land is used as collateral. You might not believe me, so let's ask an objective third-party institution for an appraisal.
The result is, of course, AAA-rated. Why let something this good go to waste? Let's release a new report, advertise how safe this product is, and sell it at a premium. How much will this bring me?
With an overheated market, I'll get a real estate profit of 100 trillion won. By providing the "service" of bundling others' bonds in groups of ten thousand, I'll add 20 trillion won. Compared to an ordinary person, I gained an additional 120 trillion without much effort. But why stop here? Is Pangyo the only piece of land?
There are many new towns and redevelopment areas popping up these days. Let's buy bonds from other areas, bundle them in tens of thousands, and sell them off. Some of these bonds might be for ghost towns of the future? No problem, no problem. Just mix them with secure Pangyo bonds. After all, when you buy apples by the box, a few rotten apples are inevitable. As long as you adjust the ratio well, there's no issue.
When preparing the report, always mention Pangyo's success story. With creativity and footnotes, you can link anything to Pangyo's "lottery." Bundle and sell whatever you can, extracting fees along the way. How much can I make with this? Since I've secured real estate nationwide, I can make hundreds or even thousands of trillions. My creativity and skill with footnotes are the limits of my easy profits.
Want to earn even more? Just increase the ratio of rotten apples in the box. You could even create insurance for those rotten apples. But be cautious—overdoing it could ruin a whole country.
Of course, this is an extremely simplified example. The numbers are exaggerated, various regulations and details are omitted, and, in the first place, this isn't even about Pangyo. The important thing here isn't the numbers or details. What's the true lesson of this story?
If you spread future knowledge well, it comes back as even more money. Think derivatives are a rare case? Then look at stocks. Do you buy up only NetPlus stocks because NetPlus is rising? Then you're an honest ordinary person.
If NetPlus rises, you should produce a report linking the entire streaming OTT industry as a promising sector. Group NetPlus' distant relatives—fourth cousins, eighth cousins, even stepchildren—and say they share good genetics, expecting similar growth rates, and promote all related stocks. Wait, stepchildren have different genes? Sharp of you. In fact, that company will go bankrupt in the future. But what does it matter? You can still profit by selling just before the plunge.
Can you see the difference now? Ordinary people aim for the biggest slice of the pie. Wall Street doesn't just aim for the pie; it makes profit from selling the whole dessert craze: cake, muffins, cookies, and even coffee, trays, and napkins as a set. This is why I must endure life in investment banking. Not just anyone can create these essential reports for the process.
No matter how brilliant, if an ordinary person makes it, it's just "gossip." But if a Goldman alumnus creates it, it's a "report." That's "credibility."
The document I'm working on now will be the first report that starts the legend of a man named Ha Si-heon. I need to be careful.
"Which one should I pick…?"
I know every promising company inside out. But listing them honestly makes me just an ordinary person. To achieve ultimate efficiency and impact, I need to think carefully.
Tap, tap!
Time flew by as I weighed each option, and suddenly, it's Wednesday morning.
The Day of Reckoning
***
While Ha Si-heon was fervently working on his document, a storm was brewing inside Goldman. Pierce had been approaching not only Rhino allies but also neutral department MDs, mentioning the bet.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Well, I thought it was just kids playing, so I didn't pay much attention."
"But if you had to choose?"
Pierce's sharp gaze conveyed a clear message—there was no option to abstain.
"Haha, I'd need to know more about it to say. All I know is that it's a match between two lower-level employees."
"You're too detached from what's going on."
"I've been busy lately."
"By tomorrow, your choice will be meaningless, won't it?"
Pierce's eyes seemed to say, "If you don't decide today, I'll consider you on the opposing side." The MDs who had been watching indifferently now found themselves forced to make a choice.
"Which side will you choose?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Those trying to stay neutral knew they needed to side with the winner. But who would that be?
"Find out anything you can—now!"
This is why people were increasingly searching for Ha Si-heon. Yet, he was busy and wouldn't entertain them at all.
"Is he possibly…"
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
"This time…"
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Unable to engage Ha Si-heon directly, subordinates scrambled to gather indirect information. They tracked down people who had previously spoken with him to inquire about the details. But the information they gathered only added to the confusion.
"He's been pressuring us to bring in deals that merge tech and healthcare under TMT. He's expecting us to find similar transactions…"
"Is there any specific reason it has to be healthcare?"
"Maybe Pierce can only win if there's upheaval in healthcare?"
"So, does that mean Rhino has the advantage?"
"He's a strong opponent, but if Pierce is already aware…"
"Then, is Pierce at an advantage?"
"No! That new hire, he said he wanted to go into healthcare! Rhino must have made a move!"
"Are you sure?"
"I heard that healthcare had asked HR to rewrite the employment contract. It's clear everything's already settled…"
It was utter chaos.
Meanwhile, Rhino in the healthcare department was in a foul mood. He'd already noticed Pierce going around and applying pressure. To make matters worse, he received this notification in the morning:
—We need a bit more time. The add-backs in the attached file are too ambiguous.
This was news that the RCF (Revolving Credit Facility) deal led by Rhino was being delayed. The RCF is a revolving credit line for companies, usually the fastest type of deal to get approved. Yet, the delay indicated that the department was sensitive to Pierce's influence.
"If things continue this way…?"
The executive position was slipping away.
He had to make one last desperate attempt. With that resolve, Rhino discreetly went out. His destination was a restaurant in the city, where, without fail, a man dined every Wednesday morning. This man was the executive who had lent him his support.
"A man should know when to give up," the executive said with a disapproving look. Although he disliked Pierce and had backed Rhino, he showed no intention of helping any further.
"Even an axe has its limits. This is as far as I go."
Rhino's original plan had been to sprint full speed at the end, using the executive's power to overtake Pierce when he let his guard down. But that strategy no longer worked since Pierce had already sensed it and was sprinting ahead. However, Rhino wasn't asking for blind support; he had brought a backup plan.
"What if we discipline Pierce?"
"Discipline?"
"A reprimand for this bet. Isn't he wasting valuable company resources? Even if he's dealing with lower-level employees, using them for such a pastime is unacceptable."
The executive frowned, as Rhino seemed to have forgotten a fact every MD at Goldman should know.
"That would violate our fundamental rule."
Goldman's unwritten rule: "As long as performance is good, anything goes." This rule was established by none other than Goldman's CEO. Pierce was producing top results. If he were disciplined merely for toying with junior employees, it would be the executive, not Pierce, who'd get called in front of the CEO.
But Rhino hadn't made this suggestion thoughtlessly.
"Take a look at this." He pulled a piece of paper from his jacket and began to explain his plan. It didn't take long for the executive's disapproval to change.
***
Meanwhile, a man with a gloomy expression sat elsewhere—Brent, Ha Si-heon's opponent in the contest.
"What an embarrassment…"
Brent had already resigned himself to defeat. In this game, the winner was whoever received more client votes. The problem was that the judge, the client, was Pierce's ally. Pierce was going around hinting at the new hire's likely victory.
"This isn't a fair game!"
If Pierce weren't an MD, Brent would have said it outright—this was match-fixing. But as a low-level employee, Brent couldn't dare accuse an MD of manipulating a contest.
"And he won't even consider joining my side!"
All Brent's attempts to win Ha Si-heon over had failed. Offering department transfers, renegotiated salaries, projects that would yield high performance, and substantial bonuses based on results—all of it had been in vain.
"Damn you, Pierce! Rigging a contest so underhandedly!"
While Brent ranted to himself, Rhino returned from his outing. He had left in a fury, but now he was humming a tune. Brent felt a glimmer of hope. Surely, his superior had a plan.
"The final version."
"Here it is."
"Bring it over."
Brent brought the teaser's final version and entered Rhino's office.
Flip, flip!
Rhino aggressively flipped through the pages. He was already familiar with the content; he had personally selected each item listed. Brent had merely formalized it into a document.
Strictly speaking, this was against the rules, as the list was supposed to be created by the junior employee. But MDs were a breed who bent rules without hesitation as long as the results were good.
"No issues here." Rhino smiled broadly as he looked over the list.
"You have one job to do."
Just as Brent gathered his hope, Rhino made an unexpected statement.
"Let the new hire win."
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