My absurd experiences in North America over the years

The concert lights refracted countless tiny beams of light from the Staples Center dome, falling on the faces of nearly 30,000 audience members below the stage, like a reversed meteor shower.

Taylor Swift stood in the center of the stage, wearing a silver-white knee-length dress, her golden curly hair cascading over her shoulders, sparkling under the spotlight.

She was holding the microphone, singing the last chorus of "Love Story".

The audience sang along with her, their voices so loud they almost lifted the roof off. The glow sticks formed a sea of ​​light in the darkness, like the Milky Way falling to earth.

Li Fu sat in the first row, next to Musk.

Musk was very relaxed and even a little excited after solving the funding problem, and he was gesturing wildly from time to time.

Li Fu was in a similar situation; this was his first time watching a large-scale concert live, especially since he had just signed an investment agreement with the future world's richest man.

The other party will continuously generate wealth for him.

Whether she's a superstar on the concert stage or an artist under her own company, she'll continue to be a sensation until she reaches the pinnacle of music.

For Li Fu, 2008 was a golden opportunity, one that no subsequent year could have brought.

The same applies to Taylor Swift.

The second half of 2008 was the period when she truly transformed herself.

Her second album, Fearless, was released earlier than the original timeline. It sold 592,000 copies in its first week, which turned into more than a million copies, and topped the Billboard 200 album chart.

This is the highest first-week sales record for a country music album, and it will remain at number one for another fifteen weeks, staying in the top ten for more than half a year.

Her lead single, "Love Story," conquered both the country and pop charts, becoming her first single to break into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three.

Big Machine Records' valuation tripled after the album's release.

Forbes described him as: "Nashville's youngest billionaire may be creating the most incredible business miracle in country music history."

Near the end of the concert, Taylor Swift performed "You Belong With Me" as her closing song.

She sat on the edge of the stage, gently stroking her guitar, and said that life is sometimes bound to have regrets, but the dreamlike quality of music can always fulfill everyone's fantasies.

This song became an instant hit across the United States upon its release, with an astonishingly high number of radio requests.

The audience below the stage held up light boards and swayed to the rhythm. No one knew what she was referring to as regret, nor why she said it.

But her music always resonates with people.

Li Fu couldn't help but be drawn into the song as he listened to it live. He even recalled watching the music video for this song many times in his previous life. Taylor Swift in the video was truly innocent and carefree, and that kind of spirituality was something that actors could never achieve.

He was unaware that the other person's regret was actually related to him.

After the concert, Li Fu went backstage to congratulate Taylor Swift.

Against the backdrop of the financial crisis, the concert's success was due to the fact that all the planning and promotion were secondary; the most important factor was the charm of her music.

Taylor Swift was still wearing that white dress, looking tall and exuding an indescribable charm.

The two chatted for two or three minutes, exchanging polite congratulations and catching up on each other's recent situations.

Taylor Swift still mistakenly believes that the huge success of Love Story is due to Li Fu, and she can't forget the unspoken understanding between them.

Li Fu also really wanted to sit down and have a late-night snack with her.

But he had to leave.

During his time in Los Angeles, he received more calls from people than he had in the entire previous month combined.

The story begins with Norman Reed.

The Vanderbilt University professor who bet him a dollar at the Forrest family dinner thought he had it all figured out when the Treasury announced the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

However, the subsequent economic situation was like an avalanche, exactly as Li Fu had predicted.

Reed wanted to meet Li Fu, not only to admit defeat in the bet, but also to ask him why his predictions were so accurate.

Li Fu's whereabouts were kept highly confidential, and Cole didn't know either. However, Reed didn't give up. He began to frequently mention Li Fu's name among his academic connections, almost praising Li Fu to the skies.

This might be a senior scholar filled with awe for the unknown territories he has not yet reached.

Soon, most people in his circle knew that Li Fu had accurately predicted six months earlier that the real estate financial crisis might evolve into a systemic collapse... and that every step of his prediction was remarkably accurate.

The data models at the Federal Reserve's Atlanta branch are practically useless in comparison.

The people Reed made while working as an advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, including regional Fed presidents, Treasury economic advisors, and members of the White House Economic Recovery Advisory Council, are now somewhat at a loss in the face of the financial crisis.

They believed that the only feasible solutions were to barely maintain the situation by lowering interest rates, injecting capital, or taking over.

They held meetings day and night, but the market panic only intensified. Interest rate cuts were like pouring water into a furnace, and capital injections were like tossing coins into a bottomless pit...

The Federal Reserve’s emergency intervention proved meaningless in the face of the mid-September crash.

The bankers remained unmoved. Faced with uncertainty, the only thing they could do was desperately preserve liquidity to prevent losses from escalating.

If Congress does not pass a bailout bill, the Federal Reserve will be unable to inject sufficient liquidity into the market to unfreeze the credit market, and there is nothing that can alleviate the systemic freeze in the short term.

Reed's recommendation didn't cause much of a stir at first, as Wall Street investment banks were busy laying off staff, selling off assets, and shifting blame among themselves.

Citigroup has been reported to be planning to lay off as many as 6,500 people; Merrill Lynch has suffered losses for five consecutive quarters and is laying off 10,000 people, with its market value so low that Li Fu wanted to acquire it outright; Goldman Sachs has also announced a 10% reduction in its workforce.

In that environment, no one was in the mood to pay attention to a Vanderbilt University professor's recommendation until that name went from the whispers of a Nashville dinner party to the front page headline on the main Franklin Avenue block.

The Wall Street Journal devoted a significant portion of its front-page article to Li Fu's trading experience.

This report was quickly forwarded by Reed to his old colleagues at the Federal Reserve. The value of this attachment instantly tore a hole in the fragile and sensitive nerves of Wall Street elites.

The return on investment can range from six million to six hundred and thirty million, with a timeframe of less than two years.

The unrealized profit of 50 million to 3 billion was achieved in just a few short months...

Against the backdrop of almost all investment banks across the United States being mired in losses, this trading miracle appears all the more dazzling.

Jackson, vice president of JPMorgan Private Bank, Mark, president of Citigroup, Hubble, a partner at Goldman Sachs, and some Federal Reserve officials all wanted to meet with Li Fu.

When Lina called his office, she declined to answer, saying he wasn't in Nashville.

His whereabouts were considered a trade secret.

However, a Los Angeles entertainment newspaper soon published a report that he and Musk had attended a Taylor Swift concert together.

Li Fu thought this might expose some of his investment directions, but it turned out that most people seemed to care more about the gossip.

Even Reed thought he was trying to date some celebrity.

Reed relayed a message to Li Fu through Cole: there was someone he absolutely had to see this time, a person who sat in his office building in Washington, D.C., with a view of the trees on the South Lawn of the White House.

He thought about it for a moment, and realized that the regional Federal Reserve presidents didn't seem to work there, and they weren't qualified.

Could he be one of the board members of the Federal Reserve?

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has only seven members, each of whom has a profound influence on the Fed's policy direction.

The economic situation deteriorated rapidly after September, like an avalanche. The day after Lehman Brothers collapsed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by 504 points, marking the largest single-day drop since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001...

AIG was taken over by the government three days after Lehman Brothers collapsed, receiving an $85 billion injection. However, if it cannot hold out until Congress passes a $700 billion bailout bill, it will likely face bankruptcy and liquidation.

In such an environment, anyone would be desperate and try anything.

Li Fu understood the bigwig's anxiety, but if he were to offer any far-reaching and constructive advice, these high-ranking bankers and politicians wouldn't listen!

Because they do not represent the interests of the general public.

If we really want to meet, we'll have to wait until he completes all the acquisitions. If we miss this opportunity, there won't be a second chance.

After leaving Los Angeles, Li Fu went to San Francisco.

After investing in two of Musk's main businesses, he visited Twitter's office building.

Twitter is destined to become one of the world's most influential social media platforms in the future.

However, it is still losing money. Investors have been pouring money in round after round, but all we can see is management burning money to seize market share, with almost no profit in sight.

Against the backdrop of the financial crisis, investors began to back down.

Strictly speaking, Twitter achieved tremendous success in 2008, with registered users surging from about 100 million at the beginning of the year to about 600 million now, the vast majority of whom are still active users.

However, contrary to the rapidly growing user data, Twitter's revenue at that time was almost negligible.

Yes, you read that right, it's negligible.

Its business model has been widely questioned and is considered unlikely to succeed.

In May, the market valued Twitter at $9800 million.

Its value has now shrunk by at least 20% to 30%.

Of course, not everyone sees Twitter's potential; just recently, Facebook offered $5 million ($1 million in cash and $4 million in stock) to acquire Twitter.

Twitter CEO Evan Williams rejected the acquisition, saying the timing was "wrong" and that he believed the company had huge future potential and that Twitter's value was currently severely undervalued.

His confidence was indeed justified.

However, his primary task is to successfully raise funds to weather the financial winter.

Twitter is currently seeking a new round of funding, amounting to around $50 million, for an 8% stake; however, no individual or organization is currently willing to invest.

Williams was overjoyed by Li Fu's arrival.

This deal was a perfect match for them.

However, some details still need to be discussed.

Li Fu wanted to invest $100 million for a 15% stake and an observer seat on the board of directors.

He acknowledged Twitter's enormous growth potential, noting that Musk spent $440 billion to acquire it in 2022.

That's secondary. Twitter is, after all, a global social media platform, and the value of such media cannot be measured in money.

Therefore, he had to seize this opportunity to become one of the major shareholders.

Williams did not want to sell too many shares, and negotiations reached a stalemate.

This negotiation was different from Musk's; Williams was very determined, and the two sides went back and forth repeatedly.

Li Fu knew that retreating to advance would not be very effective, because although the other party was in a difficult situation, it was not as urgent as Musk's situation, and Williams had a way out.

At worst, he could sell it to Facebook for $5 million, which would be enough for him to live a carefree life as a wealthy man.

Li Fu increased the offer to 150 million, but Williams still did not agree, insisting on selling only 8% of the shares.

At this point, he was unsure.

However, since he was certain that this was an investment destined to be very profitable, and his cash flow was ample, he was certain that he had enough cash flow.

He decided to go all in.

Since Facebook offered $500 million to acquire it, and Williams refused to sell, why not offer $500 million to buy only 50% of the shares and only ask for a seat on the executive board?

Williams was immediately stunned by Li Fu.

Five hundred million in cash flow is not something everyone can come up with these days, let alone just fifty percent of the shares!

In contrast, the executive director position is merely a bonus.

A company with a market value of only tens of millions of dollars and no visible profits sold 50% of its shares for 500 million.

No one could resist it.

This time, the two sides finally reached an agreement and successfully signed the investment agreement.

When Thompson came out of the Twitter office, he walked more than twice as fast as usual.

"Mr. Li, investing five hundred million US dollars in a company that's still losing money? Isn't that too risky?"

Li Fu shook his head and smiled. In fact, if Williams had persisted a little longer, he might have raised the stakes even further.

Because the other party was eventually able to obtain an investment through other means, and then, six years later, turned the company into an industry giant with a market value of 20 billion US dollars.

This investment is a huge profit no matter what.

Moreover, this is a company that can control the narrative.

He is now the largest shareholder.

After leaving San Francisco, the two flew directly to New York.

This time it wasn't just Li Fu and his team; Cole also came from Nashville.

This time, they're investing in The New York Times.

Traditional media of this caliber need the endorsement of influential figures.

It really wouldn't work if Cole didn't come.

The meeting took place at a private club in Manhattan owned by Arthur Oakes Sulzberger Jr., chairman of The New York Times.

Sulzberger was in his fifties, with gray hair, wearing a dark blue suit, and looked very energetic.

However, his New York Times is in stark contrast, now in dire financial straits amid the financial crisis, with the rise of internet media squeezing out traditional media to some extent.

It is no longer the aristocrat it once was, but a typical old-era giant burdened with debt and besieged on all sides.

The company's stock price has fallen from about $21 at the beginning of 2008 to less than $7 now, a drop of 55.74%.

If we start counting from 2004, the market value has evaporated by 77%.

Even more alarming is that in April 2009, the company had a $400 million debt maturing, bringing its total debt to a staggering $1 billion, while it only had $40 million in cash on hand.

If we don't plan ahead, the consequences won't be as simple as bankruptcy; they will also include a collapse of our credibility.

He probably won't have the chance to make a comeback in the future.

In fact, Li Fu had never considered acquiring a media outlet of this caliber before, because he thought it was unlikely.

This investment was initiated by Sulzberger through his connections.