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

Chapter 248 Perfect Ending
Upon hearing the aged voice, Mr. Potter was clearly startled and quickly turned his gaze away from the fund subscription contracts, looking in the direction from which the voice came.

In fact, not only Mr. Potter in the center of the stage, but also the wealthy people of New York looked in the direction of the voice. When they saw the figure of the speaker, their faces showed astonishment and disbelief.

The first thought in everyone's mind was—"It's him?! What's he doing here? Is it also for this fund?"

An old man with a wrinkled face walked slowly down the scarlet carpet, leaning on an ebony cane. His 80-year-old back was bent into an arc, but it still cleaved through the noise that had enveloped the ball like an icebreaker crushing floating ice.

On the other side, a tall man silently followed beside the old man, letting him walk on his own; he was merely there to protect him.

As the old man walked by, those once fearless and arrogant New York's top wealthy families fell silent, their faces showing reverence.

Mrs. Sherlock Astor was even more shocked when she saw who it was.

As a sophisticated and elegant 60-year-old heiress, Mrs. Astor instinctively touched her temples and lapel upon meeting the elderly man, as if worried that her appearance might displease him.

Finally, Mrs. Astor took two steps forward and bowed respectfully to the old man, as obedient as a little girl.

“Mr. Charles Louis Tiffany…you, you’ve come in person? This is my honor, this is the honor of the Astor family!”

Following closely behind his mother, King Astor IV bowed respectfully to the elderly woman.

Mr. Potter also quickened his pace and bowed to the old man and the tall, thin man behind him. "Mr. Tiffany, Mr. Louis, I really didn't expect you to come here in person. I am very grateful."

After they finished speaking, other guests who were familiar with the elderly couple also hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.

Among the wealthy and powerful people in the entire ballroom, very few did not recognize the old man. Larry was one of them, but when he saw the excitement on Mr. Potter's face, he knew that this man must have come for him.

Larry, naturally pleased, bowed to the old man.

This man is Charles Tiffany, the founder of Tiffany & Co., followed by his son, Louis Tiffany. The Tiffany family is one of New York's top wealthy families, and Charles Tiffany is currently the most senior among them. He was a very good friend of Queen Astor II and was also her best man at her wedding.

Charles Tiffany transformed Tiffany's from a small street-side stationery store into a world-renowned jewelry brand, a feat that is itself legendary.

Furthermore, because he runs the luxury goods and jewelry industry, which is indispensable to the wealthy, he is a guest of honor for almost all wealthy families. He is a well-connected and reliable old-school tycoon in the top circles of New York and even the United States.

The old man had a kind smile on his face, which was covered with wrinkles, but his eyes were still sharp. He looked around at the people bowing to him and returned the bow gracefully and slowly.

After everyone had straightened up, he smiled and said,
"Ladies and gentlemen, please forgive an old man's lateness. My coachman insisted on taking a detour just so I could see the new electric lights on Fifth Avenue. He said, 'Mr. Tiffany, you must see this new era.'"

I told him, 'Son, I've seen gas lamps replace oil lamps, and now I'm watching electric lights replace gas lamps. My investment isn't in any particular lamp, but in humanity's eternal instinct to seek light.'"

A smile of relief appeared on everyone's faces. They realized that Mr. Tiffany was still so wise and humorous, and they were genuinely happy for him.

Moreover, you could tell that the old man's words had a hidden meaning.

Mrs. Astor's face broke into an irrepressible smile of satisfaction, and she continued, "Oh, Mr. Tiffany, you were my witness at my wedding! I remember you were almost late 40 years ago too, and I only learned today that you went to see the gas lamps replacing the oil lamps!"

A soft laugh rang out in the ballroom.

Mr. Tiffany smiled and nodded, continuing, "Oh, I kept it from you for forty years, but you still found out. Sherlock, you still look so young. It's wonderful to be young!"

After exchanging a few jokes with everyone, the old man, leaning on his cane, walked gently to Saul Potter, and patted him on the shoulder with a trembling hand.

"Porter, I'm here to support you. I hope I didn't take too long..."

Saul Potter's eyes glistened with tears, and his lips trembled with emotion. The usually eloquent man could only express his gratitude repeatedly.

Mr. Tiffany turned to the crowd and said,
"Looking at this young man, I felt like I was seeing the first arc lamp at the Paris Exposition forty years ago. Everyone said it was too bright and impractical, but I saw the flame in its eye."

Judging an investment sometimes involves looking at data, but more often, it's about looking at the gleam in the eyes of the person behind it.

The old man's words drew stares from everyone. They hadn't expected him to have such high praise for Potter. Their gazes toward Mr. Potter now held even more trust and respect.

Mr. Tiffany continued, “Many of you here have bought Tiffany jewelry as a gift for your sweetheart and won her smile as a result.”

So tonight, why not invest in an opportunity that will make your wealth smile too? After all, it's far more interesting to let money grow happily than to let diamonds lie silently in a safe.

At this point, the old man turned to his son and said, "Louis, please get me a copy of the fund subscription agreement; I'd like to take a look..."

Louise Tiffany took two steps forward, and Mr. Porter quickly presented her with a stack of blank fund subscription agreements; Louise then placed the stack of agreements in her father's hands. The old man glanced at them casually, a smile appearing on his face, and calmly said, "Alright! I'll subscribe for $150 million!"

Mr. Potter looked utterly astonished. His eyes widened, and he couldn't believe what he was hearing for a long time!
Not only him, but even Madame Astor, King Astor IV, and even his son looked puzzled, as if their ears had just gone malfunctioned.

No, what was that amount I just heard? Was it really $150 million?

The old man's words were like a pebble dropped into the calm sea; slowly, the waves that spread outwards from that pebble became raging torrents.

"My God! Old Tiffany actually invested $150 million in this fund?!"

"My God, he's crazy... Does he really think so highly of this fund?"

"No, no, the old gentleman isn't optimistic about the fund, but about Saul Porter. It seems he has some unknown abilities..."

……

The ballroom was suddenly filled with hushed discussions. These former New York tycoons, faced with such a change, were like children, constantly marveling at it.

People thought that JPMorgan's investment of $50 in this fund was the limit, but unexpectedly, there was another big spender who invested $150 million in one go.

The fund has just raised $216 million, and Mr. Tiffany's incredible investment has brought the fund's total investment to $366 million.

Let alone a new fund, even large companies can't raise this much money at once when issuing bonds, especially within a small circle, let alone overnight.

Even George Perkins, a senior partner who had just represented Mr. Morgan in an investment of $50 and was a seasoned veteran of Wall Street, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"My God, that railroad connecting New York and Chicago only raised $300 million in funding back then!"

Mr. Potter was overjoyed. All his hard work, dedication, and diligence over the years had turned into a huge reward for him that night.

Larry was also extremely excited. He hadn't expected the fund's first fundraising to be so successful. He had previously thought that raising $120 million would be a huge success, as it would not only benefit the investment in Eastman Kodak but also subsequent investments.

But to everyone's surprise, the first fundraising round raised $366 million...

From now on, you can easily invest in some century-old company and live off it all.

After everyone's excitement had finally subsided, Mr. Tiffany chuckled and joked, "If my stubborn old partner were still alive, he would definitely say, 'Charles, you're crazy!' But I would tell him, 'Old friend, it would be truly crazy not to take a gamble on the smartest young man of this era.'"
.
As midnight approached, the guests gradually dispersed. Eastman, Mr. Porter, and Larry stood in the empty ballroom, looking at the mountain of subscription agreements piled on the table.

Because of Mr. Tiffany's record-breaking $150 million follow-up investment, some New York tycoons who had just chosen to wait and see continued to invest.

Therefore, the Progressive Partners Fund ultimately raised a total of $408 million.

“You’ve changed the game tonight,” Eastman said to Mr. Porter. “Wall Street will never be the same again.”

Porter smiled slightly. "No, George. I'm just going with the flow. Capital needs to be combined with technology, and we need to create new forms for that combination."

After saying that, Mr. Potter turned to Larry and asked, "To be honest, I never expected the result to be this good..."

“This is God’s reward for you being a good person all these years,” Larry said with a smile.

Mr. Potter smiled but didn't say anything.

George Eastman looked at the stack of contracts, then glanced at Larry with a sigh, "I don't think you're in this for the money... because I feel like your excitement when you saw the fund's recruitment drive was less than your excitement when you saw my camera just now..."

"The advancement of technology delights me even more, but this model of investing in entrepreneurs is the biggest takeaway tonight," Larry said, turning to look out the window at the New York night sky.

“After tonight, every ambitious inventor will be looking for his Porter, and every visionary financier will be thinking about how to better link themselves with technological innovation.”

The following day, the New York Tribune's financial section featured the event with a large headline: "New Technology Meets New Finance: Porter Fund Raises $4 Million Overnight."

The article details how Porter's high level of follow-on investment dispelled investors' concerns and created a fundraising miracle in Wall Street history.

More importantly, it heralds the arrival of a new era: financiers are no longer merely intermediaries of capital, but adventurous partners deeply intertwined with technological innovation.

The article concludes by saying, as Porter said at the end of the banquet that evening: "Gentlemen, tonight we are witnessing not only the birth of a fund, but the beginning of a marriage between capital and technology. And the product of this marriage will be the future of the entire world."

(End of this chapter)