Debuted right after graduating from high school

The global economy is sluggish.

Unsurprisingly, Dubai has overextended itself and is on the verge of ruining its real estate business.

Construction on the two "sister islands" of Palm Jumeirah has been halted one after another. Fortunately, the ocean-view mansion that the local government had previously gifted to Fan Wumian is located on Palm Jumeirah, which is almost completed.

Although the house value plummeted and the bubble burst, at least the house is still there and continues to be rented out for thousands of dollars a day, but Fan Wumian has never lived there.

Following the news of the Palm Islands project being halted, the renowned World Islands project has also been exposed for owing the project owner money and for the construction team having completely withdrawn.

Several celebrities and wealthy businessmen that Fan Wumian knew were deceived into buying unfinished islands, and they couldn't really pursue the matter because the man-made deserted islands had indeed been delivered to them. It was just that the promised supporting facilities had fallen through, causing many companies and wealthy people to lose their investments and suffer huge losses.

When the overall economic environment is unfavorable, no matter how hard you try, it's often useless. Countless investors go through all sorts of ups and downs, only to find that they lose more than they win, and it would be better to just put their money in the bank and earn interest.

Investors who entrusted their funds to Fan Wumian successfully rode the wave of success and made easy money. Although the returns of the mainland Boshi Fund and Shanzhaiwang Fund were not as exaggerated as those of Hong Kong Shanzhaiwang Fund and WM-Rogers Hedge Fund, they still achieved positive returns by investing in gold, foreign exchange, private equity products, etc., and outperformed bank large-denomination certificates of deposit.

Whether one feels balanced or not depends on who they are comparing themselves to. Most of the wealth management products under the mainland asset management companies have plummeted, while the "bandit-affiliated" wealth management products seem quite reliable. In particular, many investors who tried every means to bring their money to Hong Kong or the United States have made a lot of money following Fan Wumian's lead.

The Shanghai Composite Index plummeted to below 3000 points in April, then surged to around 3700 points due to news of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut. Before investors could even celebrate, it plummeted again to below 2700 points in May, then rose again to around 3000 points before continuing its downward trend.

Many seasoned investors, disheartened after last year's sharp decline, couldn't resist the temptation to buy again. They were once again numbed by the volatile market and reluctantly added to their positions to buy at the bottom, thinking that since the market had plummeted from over 5000 points, it couldn't possibly fall any further.

However, during his visit to Yanjing, Fan Wumian used the new Deyun Society building to hold an investor conference, where he briefly outlined his predictions for the economic outlook in the coming period.

Views such as "vigorously developing real estate and infrastructure to drive the economy to maintain high-speed growth," "vigorously promoting power production and transportation, making good use of idle power at night, and focusing on the research and development of new energy vehicles," and "the manufacturing industry is ushering in a new round of upgrading and adjustment, and highly polluting enterprises may face difficulties" are secondary.

One of his statements was, "The possibility of a financial crisis is increasing. We judge that if there are no effective measures, it may occur in the next few months." When Fan Wumian said this, the audience erupted in uproar.

Almost all of Fan Wumian's previous public statements have come true, which is also a testament to his reputation.

After reading the two thin pages that introduced the asset management company's recent situation, during the Q&A session, someone couldn't wait to ask Fan Wumian directly:

"Mr. Fan, what do you think the A-share market will do next? After the adjustments in the second half of last year and the first half of this year, have the risks already been fully released?"

Fan Wumian, not wanting to cause trouble, shook his head while sitting on the stage and replied:
"In the short term, we will mainly hold cash and wait and see. However, some companies with great growth potential are becoming increasingly attractive for investment. We are studying the use of approximately 1000 billion RMB to help a number of companies. We cannot disclose the specific list."

There is indeed such a list, which includes companies such as Sanyao Heavy Industry, Hengli Group, Zhengwei International, Rongsheng Holdings, BYD, Meidi Home Appliances, and Haier Home Appliances.

Investments in the real estate market are mainly through Xinhua Insurance, which has already made its initial arrangements. Considering that the real estate market has too low a barrier to entry and lacks long-term development potential, Fan Wumian does not want to invest too much capital in this industry.

Since he has the opportunity to do something, he is more interested in seizing a batch of high-quality assets from foreign investors, gathering people's idle funds, and keeping the dividends of mainland development in the hands of his own people as much as possible. Recently, he has also been acquiring a large number of bank and securities stocks held by foreign investors, attempting to build his own large investment bank.

He said that we need to wait and see in the short term, which means he thinks the market will fall further.

An investor conference is being held here, and the A-shares, which had been rising slightly today, have begun to fall rapidly due to the influence of Fan Wumian.

This only shows that the already volatile market has become even more sensitive and fragile. People are always shouting about how great foreign countries are, but they have no idea about the plight of foreign investors.

Shareholders who invested in companies like Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac have already lost a fortune, which makes Fan Wumian afraid to make a big fuss about going to the United States, for fear of being taken away by some unlucky guy who doesn't want to live anymore.

As a shield, Zwyn Rogers received so many threatening letters that they needed to be packed in a large box. Under the guidance of certain Wall Street forces, the blame for the market crash was shifted to companies such as Paulson & Rogers Hedge Fund, WM-Rogers Hedge Fund, and Goldman Sachs, without mentioning the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and Wall Street's frenzy of posting false risk ratings on distressed assets.

Fan Wumian is labeled a "ruthless businessman" abroad and has a poor reputation, but in China, the number of people who like him far exceeds the number of people who hate him.

Many of his critics used to think he ruined the stock market, but after calming down and thinking it over carefully, they realized that Fan Wumian was truly brilliant and began to believe in his views. They even followed his investment advice and made a lot of money.

now.

Another investor representative stood up, took the microphone, and asked Fan Wumian:
"Hello Mr. Fan, my name is Zeng Yuqun. I founded a lithium battery manufacturing company in 1999, which was acquired by the island nation TDK Group for US$1 million in 2005."

"At the time, I thought the price was very good, but now that Apple has launched smartphones and you have mentioned electric vehicles many times, I would like to know if there is still potential for further exploration in the battery field?"

"The main problem was that it was too uncomfortable to stay idle at home. Due to the need for expansion, we brought in too much venture capital, which led to a decrease in the shareholding of our founding team. During the period when the island nation's TDK Group decided to acquire our company, I had almost no say. After working there for a while, I chose to resign."

Fan Wumian had no recollection of his face, but he had a deep impression of the name "Zeng Yuqun," which seemed to be the owner of "Ningde Era."

Thinking of trying his luck, Fan Wumian decisively said:

"The battery industry is constantly making technological breakthroughs and becoming more and more advanced. As long as you have good technology, it is certainly worth investing in. I have recently been investing heavily in this area and have signed a cooperation agreement with BYD. If Mr. Zeng wants to start a business and has good ideas, he is welcome to come to me for cooperation at any time."

Zeng Yuqun was considerably older than Fan Wumian, but the difference in their strength was undeniable. Hearing Fan Wumian's words, he was still extremely pleased, even a little smug, and hurriedly replied:
"That's wonderful! I'll make preparations and definitely contact Mr. Fan." The total number of private equity investors invited to attend today was over 600, with each having invested at least 30 million RMB, and some even as much as 3 to 4 billion RMB.

Seeing that Zeng Yuqun was using his position for personal gain and taking the opportunity to ask about the problems his company was facing, and that Fan Wumian actually answered them seriously and even offered to cooperate in starting a business, the other investor representatives present immediately went wild and raised their hands to ask questions.

Inspired, Fan Wumian, sitting on the stage, began to look for familiar faces in the crowd. Unfortunately, he was just a small director in his previous life, and he couldn't recognize some business tycoons even if they were standing right in front of him. So he had to give the opportunity to ask questions to some big clients.

A businessman who was in the steelmaking business asked Fan Wumian for his judgment on steel prices. Although he was not very clear about the specific situation, he still replied that the demand would definitely surge in the short term. However, blind expansion could easily lead to overcapacity, especially small steel mills with poor technology and high pollution, which could easily be eliminated and shut down like small coal mines.

Some people who were in the toy and clothing export business wanted to know if it was feasible to invest and build factories in the United States. Fan Wumian only told them to look into the labor costs, tax expenses, and union regulations in the United States before making a decision. Finally, he asked, "Guess why so many factories have moved to the mainland?"

When encountering some unclear issues, Fan Wumian frankly admitted that he didn't understand, and no one at the scene thought there was anything wrong with it.

After briefly conveying his views to the outside world and dealing with several media interviews, Fan Wumian headed straight to the airport to go to Shanghai to discuss business and invest in several promising Silicon Valley internet companies.

These representatives from Silicon Valley companies traveled a long way to meet Fan Wumian, and they all felt extremely honored.

Last year, Fan Wumian discovered that he lacked privacy living in an old house along the street, so he bought No. 9 Tan Palace and immediately began renovations.

More than a year later, the garden was tidied up. He spent more than 800 million yuan on landscaping trees, including a bonsai called "Emperor Pine" which is about 450 years old. It cost him 225 million yuan to acquire it.

The garden is very beautiful, and the interior of the house is paved with a lot of stone. It has been completed and is being ventilated to get rid of any odors. Since no one lives around here yet, there is no need to worry about disturbing the neighbors. The construction team works two shifts a day, and the renovation is progressing very quickly.

After visiting No. 9 Tan Palace, Fan Wumian found that compared with the mansion on Repulse Bay Road, this place clearly had a more luxurious atmosphere, and it should be very comfortable to live here in the future.

Unfortunately, it was just renovated recently, so it's not habitable yet.

He had no choice but to return to his old villa on Julu Road. It was a rare opportunity to enjoy a quiet night by himself. Late at night, he went for a walk on the Bund and looked out at the completed Shanghai World Financial Center.

The main building is completed, but most of the floors inside are still under renovation. Some simple office buildings are already usable. Departments such as the Shanghai branch of Xinhua Insurance Group and the Shanghai branch of Bosera Funds will be the first to move in. In addition, many foreign companies and state-owned enterprises will also move in in early September.

The "Spring Bamboo Building" located in Shenzhen is currently laying its foundation on the Shenzhen Bay. Once that building is completed, it will mean that Fan Wumian will have two skyscrapers with a height of over 400 meters. This does not even include the "Three Towers" headquarters planned by Tencent Group.

There are even more office buildings that are around 200 to 300 meters tall, such as the Golden Land Building, which was taken over by Fan Wumian by the Shanghai Municipal Government, and an office building in Yanjing that almost became an unfinished project.

Taking advantage of the market panic, Penguin Group also helped secure a loan to prepare a brand-new office park for the international version of Penguin Weibo for approximately $3.4 million. The park has a large area and is only about 3 kilometers away from Stanford University.

The reason Fan Wumian dared to take action was mainly because he remembered that Google had made a fortune by speculating on real estate in the United States.

Whether it's the subprime crisis or the financial crisis, they are only temporary. Once the opportunity to buy at the bottom is exposed, trillions of dollars of hot money from around the world will still flow to the United States, which will quickly bring the value back to a reasonable level.

So, taking advantage of the opportunity to buy at rock-bottom prices, Fan Wumian also prepared two office spaces for the Myth+ project, spending a total of approximately $2.8 million.

There's no other way. If you only make money in the US and don't invest there, it's easy for them to find fault with you. Compared to building factories or making donations abroad, it's better to invest in real estate.

These are all newly developed office parks in recent years. Even if he doesn't need that much office space for the time being, the rent from the external rentals can cover the loan. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be doing business in Silicon Valley for many years, and having his own office building will be more convenient.

As for whether to use it for personal use or sell it at a higher price when the time is right, Fan Wumian is finding it difficult to make a decision for the time being. He plans to take it one step at a time and see how things go, depending on the market conditions.

The Bund and Lujiazui as seen by ordinary people and the Bund and Lujiazui as seen by Fan Wumian may seem to be the same thing, but in fact they are two different things.

He has many assets and businesses here. While strolling around, he glances at his own company and office building, and a strong sense of accomplishment washes over him, making him feel happy.

In contrast, ordinary people are more amazed and envious, fantasizing that they too can make a fortune.

Most problems that can be solved with money are not really problems.

That very night, upon learning that Adidas had launched a product similar to Yeezy shoes, which would be available the following month, Fan Wumian disregarded Adidas's total market value and decided to hire a top-tier team to take on Adidas head-on and sue it.

Regardless of whether they win the lawsuit, as long as they make a big fuss, they can smear Adidas, which is very beneficial for Fei Li to enhance his own influence.

A few days later, the matter quickly escalated.

He chose to sue, which put Yang Mi, who was an Adidas spokesperson, in an awkward position. She took leave from the film crew and traveled from Hengdian to Shanghai to discuss the matter with Fan Wumian. The two ate and drank in an old house, and the ambiguous atmosphere quickly heated up. Soon, Yang Mi experienced what it meant to grow up.

This girl had a crush on Fan Wumian for a long time. Their QQ chat history was several hundred pages long. She had heard about his womanizing ways after working at the company for a while.

Hearing Fan Wumian say that his mind wasn't on relationships and that he wasn't considering that in the near future, Yang Mi wasn't so disappointed. Instead, she felt a sense of relief, as if her dream had finally come true. The pressure from work seemed to vanish, and she only asked the crew for two more days off to spend with him. (End of Chapter)