Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 146 Want to spend money? Buy land!
Tuesday, the first day of March, Larry returned to Paine Weber Securities and formally submitted his resignation to Mr. Wallace.

Mr. Wallace was taken aback and asked in surprise, "Larry, why did you resign? You could have worked part-time here while also taking care of your own business."

“The main problem is that it’s not conducive to the transaction,” Larry told Mr. Wallace directly, explaining his reasoning. “In Boston, sending a telegram from here to New York and back is just too time-consuming!”

Mr. Wallace nodded and said calmly, “That’s true… Hey, Larry, you know I’d rather be transferred than have you leave. In fact, I’ve already planned it all out. If I ever get transferred to another city like Mr. Porter, I’d prefer you to take over my job as the manager of the Boston branch.”

Larry smiled faintly, thanked Mr. Wallace for his kindness, and then said,

"However, my personality may not be suitable for a management position. You know, I may not care much about things outside of my job duties."

Mr. Wallace smiled and shook his head, saying, "You know what, Larry? There are two kinds of people in this world who often achieve extraordinary results. One kind has exceptional insight; they can often grasp the essence or crux of things at a glance and pinpoint the most important issues. Even when surrounded by enemies, they can find a breakthrough."

Larry was hearing this theory for the first time, and he unconsciously straightened up and listened attentively.

Mr. Wallace continued, “The other type of person is one who can properly arrange everything they encounter, big or small, from beginning to end. Although we cannot completely control the course of things like God, it is clear that such a person can devise various methods, plan carefully before acting, and drive the progress of various matters, just like the interlocking links of a bicycle chain.”

Larry nodded in understanding.

Mr. Wallace turned to Larry and said with a smile, “I’ve discovered, Mr. Livingston, that you possess the potential for two extraordinary abilities. You have both keen insight and the talent for meticulous planning… This is truly a blessing from God.”

Larry was taken aback, thinking to himself, "Isn't this kind of evaluation referring to Produce 101? It doesn't seem quite right to apply it to me."

Larry smiled and exchanged a few polite words before speaking.

“Mr. Wallace, thank you for your kind words. Regardless of whether I have such potential, I will remember your theory and will try my best to find solutions when I encounter problems in the future. I will be creative and try to arrange things properly from beginning to end. I will remember your teachings, just as I remember what you said, ‘The finger that can turn gold should not be used to beat drums.’”

Mr. Wallace smiled and looked at Larry. He now genuinely liked Larry, not only because Larry had made him a lot of money, but also because Larry's personality and emotional intelligence were very pleasing.

Thinking about making money, Mr. Wallace frowned and suddenly said,

"No, no! Larry, you can't resign right away. I just remembered something. Colt's financing project is finished, and it was perfect. In addition to the portion subscribed by Mr. Morgan and his bank, Colt raised a whopping $2800 million! The company is about to give out project bonuses. That's a lot of money, why not take it? Besides, you really put in a lot of effort, didn't you?"

Larry raised an eyebrow, realizing he'd forgotten about that, and quickly replied, "I just went to see Mr. Morgan, nothing else!"

Mr. Wallace looked at him with a meaningful smile. "Oh, my God! That's J.P. Morgan. I don't know what you said to him, but it's clear you made a very good impression on both Mr. Morgan and Mr. Coster. I met Mr. Coster in Hartford last week, and he kept asking me about you with a very eager expression!"

Larry swallowed hard, and when he thought of Mr. Coster and his little secretary, his chrysanthemum tightened inexplicably. He thought to himself that being remembered by him was not a good thing!
However, Larry then asked, "Mr. Wallace, now that the financing project is over, shouldn't Colt Company do its due diligence? I've been waiting for their due diligence for a long time." As he spoke, Larry smiled slightly at Mr. Wallace, revealing a knowing glance between them.

Mr. Wallace smiled and said calmly, "It should be soon! I estimate just a few days..."

Then he remembered the 1500 shares of Colt he owned and couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.

With such a large sum of money, Mr. Wallace felt he could live comfortably in his old age!

Similarly, Larry thought of his 6500 shares of Colt stock and couldn't help but feel secretly worried!
With more money comes the greater responsibility of spending it!

What should we do?

I had previously considered using this money to pay off my equity investment in Ford Motor Company, but I played too well the other day; just the deal with American Sugar alone was enough to pay off Ford Motor Company…

How should I spend this money? Should I buy a house like Mr. Kennedy's?
No, I'm about to leave Boston, what use is a house to me?

Thinking of this, Larry immediately straightened up and solemnly asked Mr. Wallace,
"Sir... to be honest, I'm not used to having a lot of money, and besides, I don't know where to put it... I don't even dare to deposit it in a bank, because I don't really trust those small banks."

Upon hearing this topic, Mr. Wallace smiled, straightened up, gave Larry a deep look, and said,

"Want to spend money? That's easy, just buy some land! I guarantee you won't lose money!"

Larry was taken aback. He had actually thought about this himself, but since real estate and land were subject to relevant taxes at the time, Larry felt it was not worthwhile.

But now that Mr. Wallace has said this, Larry also feels that there really isn't a better way.

When the topic came up, Mr. Wallace was clearly excited. He then explained to Larry that the United States was in the "era of great development" at that time, and the urbanization rate was continuously increasing. Some states gave very low valuations to undeveloped land, which could greatly reduce the cost of land ownership for landowners.
The reason is that the core objective of local land tax is to raise local funds, but not to curb real estate mergers and monopolies. In order to encourage the development of wasteland, a low tax rate can also attract investment.

In addition, there are no progressive tax rates, no luxury home tax, and no capital gains tax at this time. The appreciation of land is almost tax-free, which is also an advantage of holding land for a long time.

Finally, Mr. Wallace emphasized, "If you go to New York, you should take a look at the houses there. The property tax in New York is only 1.8%. If you own property in Manhattan, that would be even better! You can collect rent for a lifetime."

Larry's eyes lit up, and he immediately thought of the Empire State Building and the various plots of land surrounding Central Park. He thought to himself, "Forget Fifth Avenue, any piece of land in Manhattan would be enough for me to hold as a long-term investment!"
(End of this chapter)