Debuted right after graduating from high school

Paulson & Co. agreed with clients that if the return exceeded 100%, they would take 50% of the profits exceeding 100% as performance fees, and for the portion below 100%, they would take 20% to 35% in tiers.

To this end, a special algorithm was designed to ensure that the more money you help your clients earn, the greater your own profit will be.

The same applies to WM Rogers hedge fund.

Since the beginning of this year, by shorting financial derivatives such as "CDS (Credit Default Swap)," "CDO (Collateralized Debt Certificate)," and "ABX Index," as well as directly shorting companies such as Merrill Lynch, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Citigroup, the yields of the two main wealth management products launched so far have both exceeded 360%.

This resulted in very considerable potential profits for both companies. Unfortunately, the profits could only be settled according to the contract after the agreed-upon lock-up period with the client ended. These profits could not be used for the time being, and Fan Wumian could only look on with envy.

After learning about WM Rogers hedge fund company.

Out of curiosity, Fan Wumian asked:
"Goldman Sachs' decision to betray its Wall Street ally must have a reason. How much has this company made recently? I heard that Warren Buffett sent people to Goldman Sachs to investigate. However, Goldman Sachs' stock price has risen a lot in recent months, so its investment value may not be that attractive."

Upon hearing this, Zovin Rogers' eyes lit up, and he excitedly told him:

"Goldman Sachs made a fortune this time. They cleared out their subprime mortgage products in advance and sold them at low prices to countless institutions around the world. Some traders earned tens of millions of dollars in commissions in just one day."

"The executive in charge of the entire transaction, who reportedly received a total of $1 million in commissions and severance pay, has recently left the company and bought a private island in the Bahamas."

"I don't know the exact figures, but I heard people at the club say that Goldman Sachs made at least $100 billion, and the stock price would rise after the financial report was released. Unfortunately, this news had already spread throughout Wall Street, and Goldman Sachs' stock price had already risen. Like a bone that has been gnawed by a dog, it has lost its investment value."

The choice to betray is often due to the immense benefits involved.

Upon learning that Goldman Sachs had made billions of dollars this year by betraying its allies through short selling, even Fan Wumian was taken aback. He finally understood why Goldman Sachs' management was so reckless, kicking Wall Street giants like Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch into the water.

One made a profit of tens of billions of dollars, while the other lost tens of billions. Taking into account the stock price decline and other losses, the actual losses are estimated to be as high as tens of billions of dollars, enough to bankrupt Goldman Sachs.

With a difference of hundreds of billions of dollars between the two sides, the choice becomes obvious.

If the management of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, or Merrill Lynch had been smarter and had taken the initiative to stab other Wall Street oligarchs in the back, Goldman Sachs might have been the one to collapse. Unfortunately, Goldman Sachs struck first, completely destroying their chances of recovery.

Upon hearing this, Fan Wumian was basically certain that the part about Goldman Sachs in the movie "The Ultimatum" was inspired by and based on material from 2007, while the story of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy was based on 2008.

In the world of Wall Street, where success is everything and money reigns supreme, Fan Wumian could only marvel at how clever Goldman Sachs' management was. Because of the unique corporate management structure of the partnership system, they were not easily constrained by rigid rules and regulations.

He then said to his partner, Zovin Rogers:

"Other big companies must be incredibly envious. Goldman Sachs has so much cash on hand, which is like turning a bad thing into a good thing. They can seize any opportunity to buy at the bottom and take it to a whole new level."

Zovin Rogers nodded repeatedly, saying:

“Other companies are worried about retaliation afterward, but Goldman Sachs is not afraid. They just need to send a senior partner to take responsibility.”

“Some people are furious and are pushing for an investigation into Goldman Sachs. I estimate this matter won’t stop easily until Goldman Sachs has to pay some of the price.”

"Goldman Sachs is ruthless. They offered traders and executives irresistible incentives, making them act as a suicide squad, risking their entire careers on Wall Street, to sell subprime mortgage derivatives at rock-bottom prices and engage in other illegal activities that could lead to prosecution and imprisonment. It's said that one team of traders each earned millions of dollars in commissions in just one day, and the next day they were lining up to collect their checks and leave."

Experiencing something like this in real life is far less exciting than in the movies.

Fan Wumian's passion for the subprime crisis had been slowly worn away over the course of more than a year, unlike the movie, which compresses countless wonderful contents into a short period of time, full of practical information and essential parts.

Suddenly remembering something, he said with a conflicted expression:

"What if a Hollywood company makes a movie about me and includes my story? So many people have gone bankrupt lately, losing all their life savings. It's too easy for them to be resented."

After listening.

Zovin Rogers said with a smile:

“I would love to be made into a movie based on a real person, as it would be very helpful for the company’s business and could attract new investors to our company. But with your and Mr. John Paulson’s achievements, screenwriters probably won’t pay much attention to me. Every time the media mentions shorting the subprime crisis, they always like to use John Paulson as an example.”

Snapping his fingers, Fan Wumian laughed:
"Are you sure you want to make a movie based on you? It's better to strike first than to let other companies profit from my misdeeds. I'd rather conceive a script myself and try to present the truth as accurately as possible."

"You and Paulson should be the protagonists of the story, allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the plot from your perspective. As for myself, I'm just an ordinary investor who hasn't even earned a bachelor's degree yet. I don't want the outside world to pay too much attention to me."

"Those investors who suffered heavy losses should blame Wall Street for recklessly issuing junk subprime derivatives, blame banks for lowering the threshold for home loans to make money, blame Goldman Sachs for ruining the soft landing opportunity, and blame everyone for being greedy and thinking that housing prices could keep rising indefinitely. All we did was recognize the crisis and seize the opportunity to invest. We can't just obediently take the blame thrown at us by others."

Perhaps it is the machinations of certain individuals with ulterior motives that have fueled this conspiracy theory, which has recently emerged that "Paulson & Rogers hedge funds profited from short selling, thus exacerbating the subprime crisis."

This could be Goldman Sachs shifting blame, or it could be that many Wall Street institutions don't want to take responsibility for recklessly issuing junk subprime derivatives.

Of course, it's also possible that other institutions want to seize more market share, trying to embarrass Paulson & Rogers hedge funds and kick Fan Wumian and others out of the game.

Anyway, many brainless Americans actually believed it and went around attacking and vilifying John Paulson, Zovin Rogers, and Fan Wumian online, calling them the culprits behind the subprime mortgage crisis.

Although being criticized a few times wouldn't hurt him, Fan Wumian still didn't want to ruin his reputation too much, lest it negatively impact his other businesses. In this situation, making a film to try and rehabilitate his image was indeed a good choice; biographical films have relatively low budgets and even the potential to make a small profit at the box office.

If they are busy and quick, they can spend two or three months finalizing the script and the production team, and then immediately begin preparing for the release after filming. This would allow them to capitalize on the potential financial crisis next year and boost box office performance by leveraging the popularity of the film.

Before meeting him, Zovin Rogers was just an unknown nobody, eager to make a name for himself and increase his influence in the global financial world. Therefore, after hearing Fan Wumian's words, he immediately expressed his opinion:

“I don’t know what John Paulson is thinking, but I’m 100% sure I have no problem with this. If needed, I’m even willing to impersonate myself. That way, when introducing myself to clients, I won’t have to tell them my name anymore; everyone will recognize me.”

The unavailable is always in a commotion, and the favored have no fear.

Fan Wumian is a big star himself, and he often has a headache because of his high profile. He wants to stay in the shadows like other big capital players and has deliberately turned down countless interviews and events to keep his exposure low.

On the other hand, Zovin Rogers clearly hasn't experienced the bitterness of being constantly in the spotlight and having his every word and action scrutinized. After speaking, his eyes lit up, hoping that Fan Wumian would give him the opportunity to make a movie.

Fan Wumian was quite speechless and replied:
"Let's decide based on the situation later. Mr. Rogers, you haven't studied acting, so it's difficult for you to portray the feeling the director wants. What I want is not a completely realistic documentary; artistic embellishment is also important."

Done.

Fan Wumian quickly changed the subject and asked, "How have Nasdaq and Silicon Valley tech stocks been performing lately?"

Zovin Rogers said:
"Most stocks are falling, but some companies are bucking the trend and rising. Luckily, you sold your Apple stock earlier, and it has fallen back to the level at the beginning of the year."

"Your fund company in Hong Kong asked me for help, and I contacted several institutions on Wall Street to buy a total of 2.88% of Apple's total shares. The price of this deal was very good, almost the same as the average price in January of this year."

"There are also Silicon Valley startups; I'm constantly looking for suitable investment opportunities, but current valuations are generally too high. There's a 99-cent store with a very promising future. With the economy in recession, people have less money to spend, and low-price chains like this should see a surge in sales."

Fan Wumian quickly dissuaded him, saying:

"Let's wait and see. We need to use the funds where they are most needed. There should be plenty of opportunities to buy at the bottom soon. Since you can see the potential of the 99-cent store, others will also choose to invest in it."

There are so many good projects that it's impossible to invest in them all, so Fan Wumian certainly wouldn't make things difficult for himself by picking an investment target he knows nothing about.

I talked a lot with Zovin Rogers in the office, then left Wall Street for Marvel Entertainment headquarters.

It's not what I expected.

The furnishings at Marvel Entertainment's headquarters weren't particularly interesting to Fan Wumian; there were just some comic book pictures hanging on the walls, some new and some old.

The company's CEO took me to visit their archives, which supposedly contain all the comics Marvel has ever published, including the earliest Spider-Man and Iron Man superheroes.

Other comic book fans or Marvel fans would probably be thrilled to see such a vast database, but Fan Wumian just glanced at it. He didn't recognize most of the comic book characters he saw, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, and Black Widow, which were completely inconspicuous on the wall.

Marvel Entertainment is now primarily responsible for publishing comics and operating merchandise, while its film production business is handled solely by its subsidiary, Marvel Studios.

The current situation is that "Iron Man" has finished filming and is in the post-production special effects stage. It is expected to be released next year. Apart from comic book fans who will pay attention to Marvel, it is not remarkable in the eyes of others. It only has some value because of some comics that are worth adapting.

Previously, Marvel was in a state of internal strife, but after being acquired by Van Gundy, the chaos was quickly quelled. Several executives who did not want the company to be acquired chose to leave, and the matter did not cause much of a stir.

Fan Wumian only stayed for an hour or so to chat and get to know the senior executives under his command before returning to the hotel.

After dinner.

Around 7 p.m. local time, Fan Wumian lay in bed, feeling a sense of boredom and tedium, like a middle-aged person without a nightlife.

Feeling utterly bored, he scrolled through his contacts and, unusually, made a call to Miranda Kerr to ask:

"I'm in New York, staying at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. What are some fun places nearby for the night?"

Miranda Kerr told in a sweet tone:

"You're in New York? What a coincidence. I'm in Miami for an event. Playboy magazine asked me to do a photoshoot, and I've recently started dating Leonardo DiCaprio, so it's not convenient for me to see you. How about this, you go find my friends. They seem to be going to a party tonight. They called me yesterday to invite me."

Upon learning that Miranda Kerr was dating Leonardo DiCaprio, Fan Wumian could only sigh that he was truly a man who had lived a life of pleasure and must have made a fortune.

This isn't the first time the two have been on the same wavelength, as Leonardo DiCaprio dated Britney Spears for a period of time more than a decade ago.

After Miranda Kerr helped make the contact, Fan Wumian took a car to the address she sent. When he arrived at the destination, he found that it was actually the home of her colleague, Adriana Lima.

Tonight, Adriana Lima and her NBA star boyfriend, Marko Jaric, hosted a small party at their home. Several Victoria's Secret supermodels, as well as some well-known wealthy young men in New York, fashion magazine executives, and NBA stars were in attendance.

Fan Wumian only knew Duchen Klose and Alessandra Ambrosio. Arriving at someone else's house so abruptly felt a little strange, but everyone present was very welcoming. (End of Chapter)