Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 892 Legendary CEO: Jack Welch
“Okay, I’ll make the arrangements,” Barney said with a smile.

Such investments, involving hundreds of millions of dollars, are also the favorites of investment banks, and once Yang Wendong, a client, has identified a target, he acts very swiftly.

Given Yang Wendong's past investment track record and his strong optimism about General Electric and Coca-Cola, shouldn't his own company or he himself also participate?
Over the next two days, Yang Wendong went to Columbia University in New York City and saw his son again.
Columbia University's board of trustees warmly welcomed Yang Wendong's arrival, and the president even invited him into his office for a chat.
Out of courtesy and for his son's convenience in attending school, Yang Wendong also donated $200 million on the spot to provide living expenses for some students. This amount is neither too much nor too little, and donations made in the United States can be tax-avoided anyway.

Afterwards, Yang Wendong took his son to a large grassy area inside the university. The sun was shining brightly, and many people were sitting on the grass reading, chatting, playing, and so on.

“Zhiwen, the $200 million you donated earlier will not go to the school, but will be used to establish a special foundation,” Yang Wendong said. “This funding will be mainly used to help impoverished Chinese people.”

You won't be in charge of managing this fund, but I will give you certain rights to participate. As a student, you should truly understand which students need this money.

Yang Zhiwen asked, "Are people from Hong Kong, Taiwan, the mainland, or other countries treated the same?"

“Yes, treat them equally. We only care whether they are poor or not, not where they come from,” Yang Wendong nodded and said. “However, we will only help them with food, and the funds will be used for their intended purpose.”

In fact, this is equivalent to helping students from the mainland. After all, in this era, apart from mainland students who study abroad on government scholarships, Chinese students from other countries or the United States are not much worse off financially, and are much better off than those from the mainland.
Of course, if there are really impoverished students in other places, as long as they are Chinese, it's no problem to help them.

Since the funds are already donated, why not use them to help our fellow countrymen?

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on this. I’ve actually gotten to know quite a few Chinese people who aren’t doing very well these days,” Yang Zhiwen replied.

Yang Wendong then asked, "They don't know who you are, do they?"

Yang Zhiwen replied, "Don't worry, Daddy. Apart from the principal and a few others, even the teachers at the school don't know that I am your son. They only think that I am the son of a small business owner in Hong Kong."

"Okay, that will ensure your safety," Yang Wendong nodded and said.

After all, his son is still a student and it's impossible for him to have the same level of bodyguards as himself. And even if he did, his freedom and university life would be completely gone.
So if you keep a low profile, you can live like a normal person and enjoy university life.
Of course, there were some necessary protective measures in place. For example, before he went to school, Yang Wendong also donated an extra sum to Columbia University and arranged for several bodyguards to work as security guards, building managers, cleaners, etc. on campus.
It would be much easier if it weren't for the fact that the professor position doesn't allow for this kind of operation;
Yang Zhiwen said, "I understand what Daddy means."

Yang Wendong nodded, then added, "Speaking of safety, have you heard about the TXL cancer that's been getting a lot of attention in the American media lately?"

"I've heard of it. This disease is transmitted between TXL patients. It shouldn't have any impact on us normal people, right?" Yang Zhiwen asked, puzzled.

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "In this world, it's impossible for any virus or bacteria to specifically target a particular group of humans. The reason for this is simply because these people are more susceptible to infection. I estimate that it's a disease that can be transmitted through blood, similar to the hepatitis B virus."

AIDS has officially emerged, though it hasn't been named yet. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already discovered this abnormal situation: too many young people are getting very rare cancers or other diseases that only occur in the elderly.
Because of the current known situation, infection chains occur between a large number of TXLs, it is called TXL cancer;
But Yang Wendong knew everything. The demon that would one day slaughter tens of millions of human lives had officially appeared.

He couldn't interfere with this kind of thing, but he had to prevent those around him from being affected. Asia was relatively safer at the moment, but his son was studying in the United States, so he had to take it seriously.

"Blood transmission? That's quite troublesome." Yang Zhiwen also knew some basic common sense.

Yang Wendong said, "I will acquire a private hospital near Columbia University. It will have strict internal control measures. If you feel unwell in the future, you can go to this hospital for treatment."

Yang Zhiwen asked, puzzled, "Father, is this really necessary? There are only a few dozen infected so far, right?"

"There's no harm in paying more attention, since private hospitals can make money anyway, it's profitable," Yang Wendong said nonchalantly.

Seeing his father's insistence, Yang Zhiwen could only say, "Alright."

"Hopefully, the US CDC can do something about it," Yang Wendong could only sigh.
No matter how wealthy you are, you are powerless against serious diseases and emerging dangerous microorganisms, just like the pandemics decades later, in which many wealthy people also died.

Moreover, he will still encounter it in his lifetime, but by then he will be older and will need to pay even more attention to it.

When he has more funds in the future, he will need to invest in this area, firstly in a place where he can be completely shielded from the outside world, and secondly in research on biotechnology.

Unfortunately, this is impossible to achieve in Hong Kong. Even the once industrial powerhouse of mainland China is not very advanced in the field of biopharmaceuticals.

Perhaps, if I had invested more in these areas in mainland China earlier, I might have been able to change history. If I had succeeded, not only would the safety have been improved, but the economic benefits would have been considerable. You know, the pharmaceutical industry is also a highly profitable industry.
After leaving Columbia University, Yang Wendong also received a notification from Barney that Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric, had sent an application to Yang Wendong, inviting him to visit the headquarters of General Electric.

Yang Wendong readily agreed.

General Electric's headquarters are in Field, Connecticut, which is very close to New York, only 150km away. So there is no need to take a plane. Goldman Sachs has prepared a luxury private bus with the interior laid out like a private jet. It has only 8 seats and various entertainment facilities such as a toilet, TV, and refrigerator.

However, there was some traffic on the way, and even the super-rich didn't have any special privileges. They set off in the morning and it was almost noon when they finally arrived at their destination.

Several senior executives from General Electric were already waiting at the entrance. After some pleasantries, Yang Wendong and Barney were taken to the top floor of the General Electric headquarters building, where Yang Wendong met Jack Welch, the CEO of General Electric.

“Mr. Welch, hello.” Yang Wendong greeted him politely with a handshake. Jack Welch smiled and said, “Mr. Yang, hello. I have long admired your name. Congratulations on Best Buy’s successful IPO. In the future, GE’s home appliance business will still need to cooperate with Best Buy for a long time.”

“Of course, I would be very happy to cooperate with you,” Yang Wendong said with a smile.

General Electric, a giant corporation, naturally has a home appliance business, which is quite well-known in the United States. However, like other American companies, it is currently being impacted by Japanese electronics companies.
As the largest electronics retailer in the United States, Best Buy naturally collaborates with almost all of the world's top home appliance giants, with General Electric being just one of them.

When a company becomes a leader in an industry, especially in the retail sector, it attracts a large number of partners.

Soon, the assistant brought out the coffee, and after exchanging pleasantries for a while, they officially got down to business.
Yang Wendong asked, "Mr. Welch, I wonder what percentage of General Electric's shares I can acquire?"

He naturally felt that the more capital a company could hold, the better, given that its stock could potentially rise 20 times in the future. However, this company was backed by the US government and its resources were extremely formidable, so Yang Wendong could only negotiate with them amicably.

Welch said, "Under U.S. law, foreign ownership in companies like General Electric can be capped at 25%. There is already some non-U.S. capital in General Electric. I estimate that you can only get about 9% at most."

“9%.” Yang Wendong frowned. This wasn’t much. You have to understand, he had already acquired nearly 5% in the stock market before.

Welch retorted, "What? You think it's too little? This would require at least $10 billion to acquire?"

“Although a lot of funds are needed, GE stock itself is a high-quality financial asset, and it is not difficult to use it as collateral. So theoretically, it would only take two or three hundred million US dollars to cover the cost,” Yang Wendong said.

He has sufficient profits in the gold market, so he is currently using his own funds directly.

However, the external publicity still uses the loan model, and as for who the loan was from, outsiders naturally do not know;

However, it would be foolish to use only his own funds. He will make full use of the financial asset value of these stocks to generate profits in the future.

"That being said, with this kind of leveraged trading, if the stock price falls, you could suffer heavy losses," Welch said calmly.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "That's alright, I can accept it, and I will also have other funds to take further insurance."

Welch said, "That would be best. I don't want our company's shareholders to have serious financial problems."

Barney laughed and said, "Mr. Welch, you don't need to worry. Mr. Yang's Best Buy stock is worth more than $15 billion, he has no debt, and he also has other overseas assets. This risk will not be a problem."

As a top investment bank that has cooperated with Yang Wendong many times, they are more aware of Yang Wendong's financial strength than outsiders. He is truly richer than a country, with multiple industries operating very well and almost no foreign debt.
This situation is almost non-existent in business history. Occasionally, there are top entrepreneurs who are even wealthier than Yang Wendong, such as Rockefeller, but they also make full use of financial means. Yang Wendong, on the other hand, used very little and was still able to develop so rapidly, which is simply a miracle.

“Alright, if Mr. Yang can prepare the funds, I can convene a board meeting.” Welch continued, “However, the condition is that after you acquire the shares, Mr. Yang, the voting rights of your shares must be on my side. Unless I really make a huge mistake, you cannot interfere with the operation of General Electric.”

Yang Wendong nodded and agreed, "Okay, no problem. I won't get involved in the management of General Electric either. U.S. law probably wouldn't allow it."

General Electric is a top industrial giant in the United States with close ties to the U.S. military;
For this kind of company, foreign investment is fine as long as it's small; anyone who dares to interfere in management is just asking for trouble.

Barney asked, "What are the chances that the board will approve adding a new shareholder?"

Welch said, "I'm not sure either, maybe around half."

After listening, Yang Wendong said, "In that case, please tell the existing board of directors that I am very optimistic about GE's stock. Even if they disagree, I will still acquire that many shares on the stock market or through other shareholders."

Therefore, their disagreement, which amounts to rejecting a huge sum of money, offers them no benefit whatsoever.

If GE issues shares to itself through a private placement, the funds will naturally go into GE's account; but if it acquires shares on the stock market, the funds will go into the hands of other shareholders.
For both Yang Wendong and General Electric, the former is clearly better;
Welch said, "Mr. Yang really has high hopes for my General Electric Company?"

“I have high hopes for you, Mr. Welch,” Yang Wendong said. “I agree with your earlier policy of streamlining administration and your reforms. General Electric really needs a major overhaul, otherwise, Chrysler could serve as a cautionary tale.”

Chrysler's decline was ostensibly due to the oil crisis and the impact of Japanese companies;

However, Chrysler is not the only one facing these two problems. The other two major American automakers, General Motors and Ford, are also having a tough time, but they are only slightly losing money and are far from going bankrupt.
The root cause was Chrysler's chaotic internal management and massive bureaucracy. After taking office, Lee Iacocca dismissed dozens of vice presidents and a number of senior executives. With the funds obtained through various loans and asset sales, Chrysler was finally brought back to life.

“Yes, I heard that you also invested in Chrysler, Mr. Yang. You really have a good eye for investment.” Welch agreed, “Chrysler’s reforms have indeed been very effective. I heard that their quarterly losses are already improving.”

Yang Wendong said, "General Electric is currently very profitable. If it implements a similar strategy, it will surely be able to go even further."

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(End of this chapter)