chapter 44
Kushner Company
“Now the fifth floor is empty.”
Yoosung, who was in charge of managing Terehanro’s Shooting Star building, sent some of the companies that were in the building out of the house with heavy compensation on the moving fee.
“I put up a condition that I could pay for a few months’ rent, and I quickly found a place to move in. Now I have to fill the empty space.”
“It will fill up quickly.”
Companies that will move in here have already thought about it.
Perhaps even five floors would not be enough.
“I have a meeting with the venture companies that hyung mentioned starting tomorrow.”
“From two trees?”
“uh. However, it seems that the two trees have already received quite a bit of investment. Do you think we will have to stab more than we think to get as many stakes as we want?”
“I do not care. They will give you as much as you want.”
“Is it such a great company? You mentioned that you are a stock trading application maker. Is your market that big?”
Yoosung asked with a slightly puzzled expression.
“There are business items to consider when investing in venture companies, but the members’ abilities are more important than that. If you have a creative, flexible-minded executive, or a very good developer, it’s a good investment.”
“Does the two trees have superior management? Or is it the development team?”
“The founder majored in computer science at Seoul National University and majored in economics. The idea is great, and the enthusiasm for the business is overflowing.”
“ah! he’s talented I don’t know the marketability of securities-related apps, but I think someone with that kind of ability can do anything at any time.”
“okay. It seems that even after starting the current two trees, they are still testing several items. I’ve already stopped it several times because of lack of marketability, but I’m always trying new things. This time, at a time when the stock market is moving from computer to mobile, it seems like it has already done quite well by jumping ahead of its competitors.”
However, it is not because of the securities application that Eugene wants to invest in Dougru.
Two years later, Doogroo will jump into the booming cryptocurrency trading market belatedly and grow into the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Korea in a short time.
This is partly because Doo Groo has the know-how of constantly developing stock trading applications, but rather, it is because of the superior management ability.
Eugene now knows how Do Groo was able to grow like that. But I didn’t think that strategy alone would be so successful.
Eugene believed that strategy is important for a business to succeed, but more important is the leadership and determination of the business leader.
If you are only running a cryptocurrency exchange, you are sure to succeed.
However, cryptocurrency exchanges are only part of Eugene’s big picture.
So, I thought that it would be better to continue cooperation with a company with guaranteed success.
Eugene has already secured a considerable stake in three companies, Bit Korea, Bitwon, and Coinzero, which are already operating cryptocurrency exchanges, with a fairly generous investment.
In addition, it is preparing to open a separate cryptocurrency exchange by gathering developers.
If you can add two trees to it, you won’t have to worry about cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea anymore.
During the liquidation of Daeyang Group’s stocks, including Daeyang Electronics, it continued to attract investments from more than 20 startups and early-stage companies.
Cullinan, a shopping mall specializing in fresh food, offers a groundbreaking service that delivers same-day orders to the front door the next morning.
Bobby Republic, which stands for a comprehensive financial platform representing simple remittance.
Carat is developing a locally-tailored second-hand trading application.
All of them are companies that started services in 2015, and they are companies that will show overwhelming performance in the field in the next few years.
Around that time, when his junior Kim Hwan and Eugene were attending Myeongseong, colleagues started joining them one by one.
Eugene assigned each of them a task.
There was a lot of work to be done, such as supporting 20 companies, the fashion brand business entrusted to the couple Yoo Ah-ra and Lee Hyun-wook, and the cryptocurrency trading site in charge of Yoosung.
The good news, though, is that the time it takes for a new organization to take root is much shorter since the members of the group have been working with each other for a considerable amount of time.
If you had tried to recruit talented people like them through headhunting, it would have taken a lot of time just to set up an organization.
And it must have taken time again for people who worked in different cultures to adapt.
“I wish you all the best in the future.”
He entrusted the actual command post to his former boss, whom Eugene and Kim Hwan worked hard to recruit.
His younger brother Yooseong, who is still inexperienced, has the title of CEO, but in reality, he will learn a lot from this person.
Even Yoosung himself wasn’t sure if he had the ability to lead a company let alone a group.
First of all, I decided to focus on the cryptocurrency business and work while gaining various experiences.
Eugene also has no intention of entrusting her with a job, no matter how young she is, unless she is capable.
“I wish you well. President.”
The old boss spoke politely without even showing a smile.
“I am not the president. Who is rude these days?”
“Still, in Korean society, if you have a group, you should be given the title of chairman. Or how about the new name, Chairman?”
“The Korean corporation is not under my jurisdiction. I am, after all, the manager of an American company.”
A series of investment relationships have been established, from a corporation under the name of Eugene established in New York to a corporation of brothers Eugene and Yooseong established in LA, and again to the Korean Shooting Star Company.
Eugene is the representative of the New York corporation to the last, and the representative of the Korean corporation is his younger brother Yoosung.
“So, the president is right.”
The old boss, this time with a little laugh, insisted again.
“Anyway, I’ll leave it to you. Next time, I will definitely send you a plane ticket to New York.”
“If you call me New York, I think I’ll make you do something difficult… … .”
“Think of it as a vacation or a tour.”
“phew. Okay. Then, please be careful.”
So Eugene finished her work in Korea and returned to New York.
Now another big event is drawing near. To prepare for what will happen in June, you need to prepare slowly.
“I heard that you went back to Korea.”
One day after we arrived, the guests arrived.
“yes. I went there to set up Ivanka Trump’s fashion company.”
That was just one of the many reasons I stopped by Seoul this time, but I needed to show my opponent that Eugene cares.
“The organization has already been formed, and we plan to launch it at the end of this year at the latest. It’s good to look forward to it.”
“I am really looking forward to it.”
Ivanka seems to think that the promised brand license fee alone is sufficient profit.
“Oh yeah. My husband is very interested in Eugene. When do you plan to see each other?”
It seems that he came here with a purpose.
“Sure. His deputy, Jared Kushner, is known as a very capable and influential businessman. It is always welcome to interact with such a person.”
Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, comes from a real estate wealthy family like the Trump family.
Also, like Trump, he is famous for having a knack for running a business mainly with other people’s money.
The real estate industry uses leverage as much as the financial investment industry.
While Trump denounced Washington’s politicians as being dependent on Wall Street capital, in fact, it was Trump himself who had the closest ties to Wall Street’s financial capital.
The same goes for Kushner.
Doing a big business in New York meant networking with all kinds of people and raising a lot of their money.
If he wants to meet Eugene, there is probably only one reason.
The meeting really happened like a lightning bolt.
That very afternoon, Jared came to visit Eugene.
“There is a good investment product that I wanted to introduce.”
As I thought, I recommend investing in your own business.
“A good investment product is always welcome.”
“There is a commercial building on Fifth Avenue that our family company, the Kushner Company, owns. It is also the most central part of the busiest street in the world.”
“That’s great.”
Even though he knew what Jared was going to say, Eugene pretended not to know.
To bond with the Trump family, Eugene already had some knowledge of their family’s assets.
Among them, 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which Jared is talking about, is very important.
In 2007, Jared bought the building for $1.8 billion.
Among them, $50 million was invested by the Kushner Company, and the remaining $1.75 billion was paid by borrowing from large investment banks such as Barclays and UBS.
And the following year, the subprime mortgage crisis occurred.
Kushner’s investment has now returned to disaster.
By 2010, the building was valued at $800 million, less than half the purchase price.
Moreover, at present, this wonderful building has a whopping 30% of unrented vacancies.
Considering that the vacancy rate of neighboring office buildings is only less than 10% since the US economy recovered from the subprime mortgage crisis, it was a situation that could only be regarded as a disaster.
The Kushner Company was looking for people to invest in all directions to somehow solve the troublesome complex.
But with his father-in-law, Trump, who hasn’t announced his candidacy yet, finding someone to pay for the deficit-filled building won’t be easy.
“There are too many empty spaces. It wouldn’t be very profitable.”
“There are a lot of places doing interior work right now. Once refurbished, we will be able to attract rentals at the best prices.”
“It seems that the cost of the interior work is not enough.”
“This building is centrally located in New York, even on the most expensive land in the world. A lot of companies want that position. So, there is a need for an appropriate investment. And if possible, it needs to be remodeled into a skyscraper. If we can go up to the 80th floor, the profits will be huge.”
To be honest, Kushner’s plans weren’t bad.
Tourists from all over the world shop on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
And Kushner’s building is in the heart of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.
In terms of investment value, it’s not bad at all.
Moreover, if you think that this place will remain as the world’s financial and shopping center forever, it is a place that Eugene is also coveting.
But the problem is that the stakes in this building are incredibly messy.
For just $50 million, he bought one of New York’s most expensive buildings, the interest was very high, he sold half his stake in the building to another real estate company after being hit by a subprime mortgage, and sold quite a bit of his most valuable commercial space. .
Eugene pointed out such things one by one.
“If the renewal is successful, we can recover several times the amount of money invested. This is the best time to start a condo business in New York.”
Jared was a resourceful man who had already made a fortune in his own business from the time he was in college.
He has a great ability to persuade others and get money.
However, there were too many problems with this building.
“How much investment do you need?”
“We need at least $700 million.”
Jared said with a laugh.
“If you invest $700 million, how much equity will you get?”
“I will give you 30% of the stake held by the Kushner Company.”
He’s also a stinkin’ person.
“Right now, we are receiving a lot of offers from Qatar Investment Authority and investors from Israel, Saudi Arabia and China. I would also like to offer this wonderful investment opportunity to Eugene, a good friend of Ivanka.”
“I also want to maintain a good relationship with Mr. Kushner. But frankly, there are many doubts about the profitability of this building. And if Donald, the father-in-law, enters the White House, foreign investment in this building will be very difficult.”
“Are you saying that Donald is going to enter the White House?”
Jared asked with a curious smile.
Trump has yet to announce that he will run for president at the end of next year.
But the media saw Trump as a potential Republican candidate and always included his name in polls.
And according to a recently released poll, Trump has a markedly lower approval rating among Republican candidates.
Few believed that Trump, with only 4% approval, would really run for the Republican primary, and furthermore, to say that Trump will be elected president was just a joke.
“Sure. Donald has been blaming Obama nonstop for the past six years. Obama is undoubtedly the beloved president of many Americans, but I also know that so many people hate him. Donald would be a great alternative for someone who hates Obama so much. Of course, Donald’s charm also plays a part.”
“That is an interesting opinion. But that’s a very plausible analysis. It’s like looking into Donald’s mind.”
“And Jared and Ivanka are great partners who can fill in the gaps in Donald. If Donald really gets into the White House, the roles of Jared and Ivanka will be huge.”
Eugene asserted in a confident tone.