The eting with Warren Buffett happened sooner than I had expected.
Of course, I had gone directly to Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, which made it possible to schedule the appointnt quickly.
"Boss! This is the Berkshire Hathaway headquarters."
"It's a little different from what I imagined."
The building was smaller than I had expected. For a company belonging to Warren Buffett, the investor hailed as Arica's greatest, the headquarters was surprisingly modest.
David had been here a few tis already.
With his guidance, I was able to et Warren Buffett in person.
"Nice to et you. I'm Kim Min-jae."
"Finally, I get to et the person who plays Wall Street like a ga. I've wanted to et you at least once."
He had a gentle expression.
But his eyes carried the weight of soone who had seen the world.
I stayed tense as we shook hands and took our seats.
"I'm sorry for arranging this eting on such short notice. If not now, I wasn't sure I'd get another chance."
"I'm the one who should apologize. You've co all this way. More than that, you made a fascinating proposal. I never imagined anyone would suggest that Berkshire Hathaway set up its Asian base in Korea."
It wasn't my proposal.
I had only hoped that financial firms from Wall Street would establish their Asian offices in Korea.
But David and George from Quantum Fund went ahead and did sothing I hadn't even asked for.
As a result, I was now eting Warren Buffett in person, which turned out to be fortunate.
"You don't have to establish the base in Korea imdiately. Construction hasn't even started, and it will take four years to build the financial building."
"This is a place where you don't even know what will happen tomorrow, yet you're talking about four years from now? Ha ha ha."
"I'm not forcing you. But I can confidently say that Asia's financial hub will move to Korea in the future."
"So, Chairman Kim intends to make that happen. Considering the person who shook up Wall Street, it might actually be possible."
Warren Buffett knew well.
After all, I had acquired AIG, the largest insurance company in the U.S.—how could he not know?
"Are you interested? If you sign the contract now, I can arrange for you to move into the financial building at a very favorable rate."
"I've had an interest in Korea for so ti. So Korean companies are even part of the investnt portfolio I'm building. But I'm not sure it's visionary enough to open a new branch. It's a country with a lot of risk, isn't it?"
As he said, Korea was indeed a risky country.
There were all kinds of regulations, political issues, and an underdeveloped financial system.
But beyond all those factors, the biggest risk was that it was a country technically still at war.
Koreans were so accustod to it that they didn't notice, but to outsiders, Korea was a nation where the war hadn't truly ended.
Such a risk required a vision capable of overcoming it.
And I already had a vision that would capture Warren Buffett's interest.
"Korea will beco a center for advanced technology in the future. I can confidently say it will hold an overwhelming advantage, especially in the environntal sector."
"It's paradoxical for a manufacturing-focused country to beco a hub for environntal innovation."
"I understand you have a strong interest in environntal issues, and I share that concern. That's why we're making astronomical investnts in electric vehicles."
Warren Buffett was a man deeply concerned with social responsibility.
Two years ago, he donated 85% of his wealth—equivalent to 35 trillion won.
That's why I brought up environntal issues, framing the topic in a way designed to pique his interest.
"Hm. ESG is becoming increasingly important these days. I agree with that, but I oppose the current trend of enforcing ESG in a coercive manner."
"I agree with you on that point as well. But Taewoo Group is investing not because soone demands it, but for the sake of the future."
ESG—environnt, social, and governance factors.
It was an elent growing in importance, particularly in Europe.
In the environntal sector, asures like the introduction of carbon taxes were already forcing companies to comply.
"If electric vehicles grow to the point of comrcialization, Taewoo Group could certainly take another step forward. But I remain skeptical for now. If we're thinking about the environnt, developing diesel cars might actually be the better choice."
"Even diesel cars inevitably emit carbon dioxide. But electric vehicles produce none at all."
"That's sothing only ti will tell, isn't it?"
My decisive strike had failed.
Buffett wasn't uninterested in environntal issues, but he wasn't particularly focused on electric cars either.
That ant it was ti to present the next vision, and I quickly thought of a topic that would capture his interest.
"Korea is growing into an IT-centered nation. Many IT companies are already erging there, and Taewoo Group is even building a city to support these IT companies."
"I know very well how impressive Taewoo Group is. I even hold a few of your shares. But what interests now is not a new industry—it's the future of existing industries."
He brought this up first.
In fact, this was the very reason I had co to et him today.
Many large companies had been swept into bankruptcy due to the economic crisis.
Naturally, their stock prices had hit rock bottom, creating a situation where those with capital were effectively dividing the spoils among themselves.
"When you speak of the future of existing industries, are you planning to buy shares in current companies?"
"Not on the scale of Taewoo Group acquiring AIZ, but now is precisely the right ti to invest. The best ti to buy stocks is when people are gripped by fear."
Buy in fear, sell in desire.
It was Warren Buffett's emphasized investnt principle, and it was also the guiding strategy at SAVE Investnt Company.
"In which sectors are you interested?"
"I plan to invest $13 billion in bank stocks. People have called crazy for it. But the U.S. financial sector is bound to recover eventually, so there's no reason not to invest."
"I see it the sa way. That's why we acquired AIZ. Most people buy stocks when others are interested, and ignore them when they truly should pay attention."
"Ha ha ha! That's why SAVE Investnt Company can play the Wall Street ga so well. It's been a long ti since I t soone whose investnt philosophy aligns with mine."
Warren Buffett gave a satisfied smile.
It was partly because I had borrowed one of his famous sayings, and partly because I had actually demonstrated the behavior behind it.
"I think investing in the financial sector right now is very wise. But Taewoo Group has decided not to make any further investnts in finance."
"I'd like to know why."
"Reviving the financial sector is important, but shouldn't we also help other industries?"
"I don't believe that Wall Street people invest out of goodwill. Bankers, entrepreneurs—they're all after profit."
I wasn't trying to be pretentious.
Investing to save other industries? It wasn't out of goodwill; it was simply to dominate that sector.
"I've never invested out of goodwill. If I wanted to be charitable, I'd donate instead."
"That's an answer I like. May I ask one more question? If you were to invest in an Arican financial company right now, which would you choose?"
I already knew the answer.
I rembered which banks Warren Buffett had invested in during the subpri mortgage crisis.
"I would split it between Goldman Sachs and Bank of Arica. A $5 billion investnt would yield at least $2 billion in profit."
"Ha ha ha, you're not reading my mind, are you? You're stating exactly what I was thinking."
"Just investing isn't enough to guarantee that level of profit. To increase returns, you need a sort of warranty."
A warranty was a type of promise or guarantee.
It ant that in exchange for investing at a low price, you would receive a certain compensation once the company stabilized.
"You're already negotiating a warranty contract with Goldman Sachs. Have you planted a spy, perhaps?"
"I would never do anything that would land in jail. And having worked hard to build my current image, I have no reason to do anything to ruin it in an instant."
"Exactly. Building a reputation takes 20 years, but it only takes five minutes to destroy it."
Warren Buffett looked at intently for a mont.
I t his gaze with a smile, acknowledging his eyes.
"All right! We'll establish Berkshire Hathaway's Asian branch in Korea. But we need to include a clause stating that Taewoo Group's reputation must remain as it is for the next four years."
"Would the contract still hold if our reputation grows even higher than it is now?"
"Ha ha ha, your confidence is remarkable. You have the ability to back it up, so it's hard to call it arrogance. When you have ti, how about having a al with one of my old friends?"
One of Warren Buffett's old friends?
A na flashed through my mind.
"Are you referring to Bill Gates?"
"You read my mind again? Ha ha ha. I'd really like to introduce you to him."
"I'd be delighted anyti. If a eting is arranged, I'll fly over imdiately, even if I'm in Korea."
"No need for that. Soon, I'll be visiting Korea with him. We'll have a al together then."
It was an offer I couldn't refuse.
He was coming to Korea in person—I could only welco it with open arms.
"I'll be looking forward to that day. If you give us the schedule in advance, Taewoo Group will make all the necessary arrangents."
"No need for anything elaborate. We'll co quietly and leave quietly. Then let's et next ti in Korea."
With the handshake with Warren Buffett, my U.S. schedule ca to an end.
It had been a U.S. trip that yielded an unexpected and major achievent—a contract with Berkshire Hathaway.
I returned to Korea.
As soon as I arrived at the company, I called President Han and handed him more than ten contracts.
"With this, the Korean governnt will surely grant permission to build a super-tall building on the KEPCO site."
"Signing contracts with so many companies in such a short ti… Berkshire? Did you really sign a deal with Warren Buffett's company?"
"It just happened that way."
"With Warren Buffett's na attached, the Korean governnt will accept it without question."
"Proceed with consultations with the Blue House as quickly as possible. There won't be enough ti to complete the building before this administration ends."
"I'll contact them imdiately."
President Han smiled and moved busily to make the arrangents.
Up to that point, we assud there would be no problem in obtaining the construction permit.
But, contrary to our expectations, sothing ca up that threatened to hold us back.
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