Chapter 413 Ellison’s circle of friends
When Xu Liang was holding the beauty in his arms.
Larry Ellison, who was far away in New York, also mobilized his own network and attracted many allies.
Private club on the Upper West Side.
Five people sat next to Larry Ellison.
AIG CEO Jeffrey Greenberg.
John Thornton, President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs.
Howard Eisen, President and Chief Operating Officer of Oracle.
Carey Killinger, CEO of Washington Mutual, the fourth largest bank in the United States.
And Paul Singer, founder of Elliott Management.
Among the five people, except for John Thornton, whom he met later, and Howard Eisen, who was a company partner, among the other three, AIG took over all of Oracle's insurance business.
Washington Mutual Bank is Oracle's cooperative bank, and all Oracle's capital flows are placed there.
Finally, Larry Ellison is a hedge fund giant and one of the largest private EPs of Elliott Management Company, known as the ‘King of Vulture Funds’ in the United States.
To be friends and partners with the arrogant Larry Ellison, they share the same qualities.
After all, only lunatics can attract lunatics.
"Larry, that lucky boy from China scolded you quite badly in Time Magazine."
Paul Singer, who was wearing a black suit and was slightly fat, smacked his mouth. He was smoking a thick cigar and speaking frivolously.
Larry Ellison's eyes showed anger, but he quickly suppressed it.
Although he is arrogant, he also knows that some anger is not caused casually.
Especially the opponent is Paul Singer.
Elliott Management, founded by this fat man in 1977, is almost one of the oldest hedge funds in the world.
His most famous fight was a 15-year legal battle with the Argentine government over overdue debt payments, which included seizing an Argentine ship and ultimately forcing the Argentine government to pay for Elliott paid $2.4 billion, while other bondholders settled for pennies on the dollar.
Bloomberg describes Elliott as “Wall Street’s most feared fund house.”
Elliott currently controls a huge asset of nearly 20 billion US dollars.
Although Oracle's market capitalization is larger, the capital it controls is far less than that of its counterpart.
"That lucky but arrogant Chinese bastard made me very angry with his repeated provocations. What makes me even more unbearable is that he, a despicable Chinese, dares to be so arrogant on the territory of the United States. They didn’t take us seriously at all.
So, everyone.”
Larry Ellison’s sinister eyes swept over everyone and said slowly.
“I think it is necessary for us to teach him a profound lesson.”
After listening, everyone’s expressions did not change much.
They all knew Larry Ellison and had seen the interview in Time Magazine. They had long expected that Larry Ellison called and invited them here for this very purpose.
"Larry, Xu Liang is not that easy to deal with." John Thornton said.
"Maybe it was before, but now he has taken the initiative to expose his weaknesses to us." Larry Ellison said.
“You mean oil futures?”
“Yes. John, I think with the energy of Goldman Sachs, we can definitely find out where Hanhua Capital invested in oil futures.” Larry Ellison said.
John Thornton said calmly: "We can only find out the part of their transactions through the Goldman Sachs platform. As for the rest, there are a large number of shell companies as cover, and we can't find it even in a short time.
Moreover, even if it can be figured out, it is difficult to exert influence. The trading volume of Brent crude oil and West Texas Intermediate oil is too huge.”
Currently, the global crude oil futures are mainly in. Traded on the four major exchanges.
NYMEX
The trading volume in 2002 was 72.54 million lots, with an average daily trading volume of 270,000 lots.
London International Petroleum Exchange IPE
The trading volume in 2002 was 26.41 million lots, with an average daily trading volume of 170,000 lots.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange TOCOM
The trading volume in 2002 It was 25.6 million lots, with an average daily trading volume of 180,000 lots.
Singapore Exchange SGX.
The trading volume in 2002 was 12.84 million lots, with an average daily trading volume of 90,000 lots.
Each lot of oil futures is 1,000 barrels. According to the current oil price of about US$24 per barrel, the daily trading volume reaches US$18 billion.
If you want to influence global oil prices through funds, even if you use leverage, you will need a staggering amount of funds.
It’s too difficult.
"Mr. John, as far as I know, Xu Liang's investment in oil is based on the overall improvement of the world economy and the demand for global energy from China's rapid economic development.
Therefore, from this perspective, he will most likely focus on the Singapore Exchange’s ‘High Sulfur Fuel Oil Futures Contract’ and ‘Dubai Crude Oil Contract’.
It is relatively easy to influence the oil futures price in Singapore with our strength. ”
Howard Eisen smiled.
Due to freight costs, the oil going to China is basically purchased from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
And these two regions Oil is the main product in Singapore's futures trading market and is closely related to the economic development of East Asia
"John, with the energy of Goldman Sachs, it shouldn't be a problem to figure out Hanhua Capital's investment direction and approximate amount of funds?" Larry Ellison's eyes were shining.
John Thornton smiled slightly, "Of course Goldman Sachs can check this information, but what can we get?"
"We can conduct this transaction through Goldman Sachs' platform, and you can Get a good commission," Larry Ellison said.
"OK, no problem. However, the news from Goldman Sachs can only be bought with money, so Larry, this part of the funds...?"
"Damn vampire." He cursed in his heart. After one sentence, Larry Ellison gritted his teeth and agreed, "I can pay."
"That's no problem."
After talking to John Thornton, Larry Ellison turned his head, "Jeffrey, Carey, Paul, I sincerely invite you to join me. This hunting operation. I can guarantee that you will make a lot of money."
Jeffrey Gersenberg, who had never spoken, smiled lightly.
"Larry, are you aware of the war of words between Washington and Iraq?"
"Of course. ...Jeffrey, I understand what you mean. If a war really breaks out between the two sides, , with Iraq’s status in OPEC, oil prices will definitely rise
However, this war of words has been going on since September last year with no results, and there is a high probability that there will be no results. Moreover, the war in Afghanistan that started last year has not completely ended yet. I believe that Washington will not start a second war so soon. "Larry Ellison said confidently.
Jeffrey Gersenberg quickly shook his head.
"Although Washington has not made a decision yet, as long as things If it doesn't calm down for a day, there is a possibility of an outbreak. AIG won't take any chances. ”
Recently, AIG has been closely watched by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. In particular, he has used the "Martin Act" to repeatedly cause trouble for AIG, and even threatened criminal prosecution to interfere with AIG's operations. It gave Jeffery a lot of headache, and he really didn’t want to make trouble in the oil futures market.
“Jeffrey, this can make AIG gain huge benefits. "Larry Ellison said quickly.
"Larry, AIG is in trouble now, and I believe you have heard about it. So I will not go out personally, but AIG can provide financing for your actions. This is my biggest concession." Jeffrey Greenberg said firmly .
Seeing him like this, even though he was dissatisfied, Larry Ellison did not insist anymore.
He looked at Washington Mutual CEO Carey Killinger and Elliott Management Company founder Paul Singer.
The former hesitated.
In his view, the risks in the futures market are too high.
Rather than oil, he wanted to get Washington Mutual into the increasingly popular areas of real estate lending and derivatives.
Although oil and water may not be as high as the futures market, the risk is also much lower.
However, Oracle and Larry Ellison are the company's major customers, and they cannot refuse them outright. "Larry, Washington Mutual Aid can join, but we have limited funds and will not invest too much money."
Larry Ellison frowned.
But in the end he didn't say anything.
Washington Mutual is not Citigroup or JPMorgan Chase. Their investment banking business is not large, and their asset management is more focused on stable assets.
Futures are too risky for them.
"Paul, what about you?"
"I am very interested, but I need to confirm the amount of funds Hanhua has in oil futures and its specific investment strategy."
Paul Singer smiled.
Hedge funds are inherently high-risk funds.
They are frequent visitors to the futures market.
As long as they can make money, they don't care about the risk.
Larry Ellison was relieved.
After working hard for a few days, I finally got nothing.
"John, I'll leave it to you to collect information."
John Thornton smiled and nodded.
“No problem.”
With Goldman Sachs’ ability, although it is impossible to obtain Hanhua’s detailed investment plan, the general situation can still be clarified.
"Larry, do you need me to contact other hedge funds for you? I believe many institutions will be interested." John Thornton smiled.
Larry Ellison thought about it and shook his head.
“It’s not necessary for the time being. There are too many people who know and it’s easy to leak the news. If Hanhua knows about it in advance and is prepared, it will not be easy to deal with them again.”
"Larry, I think we can fight for it appropriately." Howard Eisen continued, "Hanhua Capital's roots are in Asia, and they don't have deep connections in the U.S. capital market.
So, If we limit the scope to a few large institutions, we can still ensure the absolute confidentiality of the information.”
Larry Ellison thought about it and nodded.
"John, it must be one of the top twenty hedge funds in the world in the United States, otherwise the funds held are too small and will be of little help to our plan."
"No problem."
After talking about business, they simply drank some wine and left after eating.
When only Larry Ellison and Howard Eisen were left in the room, the former's face instantly darkened.
"Coward, coward. Fortunately, I trusted them so much and invited them to participate in today's opportunity. Unexpectedly, when things came to pass, they all backed down."
He thought that after he said hello, the other four people would There were so many applicants, but unexpectedly except for Paul Singer who agreed verbally, Carey Killinger who might have given some votes due to his reputation, John Sonsun and Gersenberg, who he had great hopes for, all declined.
It’s natural to be angry when your hopes are dashed.
Wait until he vents and calms down a little.
Howard Eisen said seriously: "Larry, we must find more informants in Washington."
"Are you also afraid that a war will break out in Iraq?"
Howard Eisen nodded: "If we join this battle, the Iraq War is the only off-site factor that can affect the success or failure of both of us, and we must keep enough focus on it. "
Larry Ellison frowned for a while and then nodded.
“I will find more public relations companies.”
Seeing his agreement, Howard Eisen was relieved.
His greatest fear was that Larry Ellison was too proud to listen to advice.
——
After three days of rest, everyone at Hanhua Capital has regained their strong energy.
Because the manor did not have a dedicated conference room, Xu Liang chose the audio-visual room on the basement floor as the meeting place.
The space here is large enough, and there are five steps to place chairs. The screen in the middle can also be used with a computer to make presentations.
It is a more suitable place for meetings.
Xu Liang stood in front of the screen, looking at the more than 30 senior executives of Hanhua Capital sitting or standing in front of him, feeling a deep sense of pride in his heart.
Three years ago, Hanhua Capital was still a company of three big cats and two small cats.
It was only because of his coaxing and deception that he lured Jiang Xiaoyang from CITIC to serve as the CEO of Hanhua.
With her relationship and the background of the Jiang family.
When Hanhua Talent was unknown, it was able to recruit some outstanding talents, raise a certain amount of funds, and then slowly develop.
Three years later, Hanhua has become one of the top hedge funds in the world, with capital under management approaching US$10 billion.
Xu Liang took a breath and calmed down and said with a smile.
"Everyone is in good spirits. It seems that they have recovered over the past few days."
Everyone at the foot of the steps laughed.
"Not only have I gained weight, I feel like I have gained two pounds in the past three days." Huo Yan said with a smile.
"Lao Huo, forget it, look at our Director Jiang, he is really fat."
Jiang Jizeng smiled, he didn't care about being teased by everyone, he was happy He looked at Xu Liang in front of him and listened to him continue to speak.
"Okay, okay, the joke is over. Let's get down to business."
Hearing what he said, the laughter on everyone's faces disappeared and their expressions became serious.
Xu Liang cleared his throat.
“It has been three years since Hanhua Capital was established in February 2000.
As of now, Hanhua Capital has a total of investment-focused 'Planet Series', as well as The 'Magic Beast Series', which mainly focuses on private equity and hedge funds, has a total of 12 major parent funds and 25 sub-funds, and is a private equity giant with assets under management of tens of billions of dollars.
Our Qinglong No. 1. The fund, with an average annual profit of 378%, was ranked first in the 2002 global hedge fund rankings by Bloomberg News, surpassing all peers including Medallion Fund and Bridgewater.
This is everyone. Credit for the joint efforts.”
Wow….
Loud applause sounded in the video room.
Everyone's expressions were filled with proud excitement.
The better the company develops, as a member of it, they will not only get a hefty salary, but also have a lot of highlights on their resumes.
Even if you leave Hanhua in the future, it will be much easier to find a job or start a business.
After the applause subsided, Xu Liang said with a smile: "Next, we welcome each fund manager to make an introduction. Who comes first?"
"I..."
More than a dozen arms came together. He lifted it up quickly.
"Haha, it seems that everyone is very active. But you are so active and I have a hard time choosing. How about this? Investment funds should be in the order of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and hedge funds should be in the order of establishment. .”
There is only one update tonight.
(End of this chapter)