Gilbert basically understood Larry Fink's overall intention.
To put it plainly, he was unwilling to remain a mere pawn and wanted to turn the tables, mount the horse himself, and become the master.
Since both men had their own objectives, there was a basis for cooperation. Thus, the two sides temporarily formed an alliance, planning to work closely together during the upcoming crisis.
The signs of the financial crisis had already appeared as early as 2007. Going back a few more years, it could be said that it was a chain reaction triggered by the real estate market.
Because of low interest rates, real estate investment and home purchases had surged dramatically in previous years. This led to soaring housing prices and fueled the growth of the subprime mortgage market.
However, many financial institutions ignored the high risks of the subprime market, accelerating its expansion.
Between 2006 and 2007, problems began to surface in the subprime market. Due to loan defaults and a sharp downturn in the real estate market, the value of subprime assets began to decline, triggering turbulence across financial markets.
Many financial institutions discovered that they were holding large amounts of bad loans and collateralized debt obligations, facing enormous losses.
By September, Gilbert personally took command in New York. Although he did not fully understand financial operations, as the boss and chief strategist, he had to be present.
On September 7, in an effort to stabilize the market, Washington announced that some real estate enterprises would be placed under FHFA supervision.
However, this failed to restore market confidence. The Nasdaq index continued to fall, and multiple stocks began to plunge off a cliff.
People started appearing on the rooftops of Wall Street. Although there were not many yet, it was already foreseeable that the days of overcrowded rooftops and people jumping down were coming.
September 15 became the turning point of this financial crisis. Lehman Brothers, North America's fourth-largest investment bank, announced bankruptcy, triggering violent turmoil across global financial markets.
According to the prearranged plan, Fruit Fund and Larry Fink's private equity fund began to move. Although Lehman Brothers held a large amount of bad debt, it also possessed quite a few high-quality assets.
Amid the wailing across financial markets, the two funds quietly swallowed most of Lehman Brothers' premium assets.
Although the operation was carried out discreetly, it did not mean no one noticed.
It was just that at this point, no one had the capacity to care. Moreover, the ones devouring these premium assets were not just a single entity. Many firms took part; it was just that after overeating, they could not hold on and had to spit them back out.
On September 16, North America's largest insurance institution, AIG, suffered massive losses, and Washington announced a takeover. Afterward, several parties turned to BlackRock, which took over AIG.
This once again provided an opportunity for Fruit Fund and Larry Fink to operate behind the scenes. Many assets were quietly transferred, with profits split fifty-fifty.
On September 19, Washington announced a $700 billion financial stabilization fund, aimed at purchasing banks' bad assets and providing capital support.
These operations were likewise carried out through BlackRock.
This was an excellent opportunity. Thus, Fruit Fund and Larry Fink used Washington's money to acquire large amounts of high-quality assets from many banks.
The banks went bankrupt, and their premium assets were devoured by others.
In the process, Gilbert also achieved his predetermined goal: taking control of a bank.
Even more rare was the fact that this bank was a major shareholder of a company called Geode Investment Management, holding 22.74% of its shares.
And this Geode Investment Management company, in turn, held 2.25% of the shares of Raytheon Technologies.
Although Raytheon Technologies was not as famous as Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman, it was still a world-class defense and weapons manufacturer.
Its products covered missile defense systems, radar systems, space and airborne systems, and more.
Its radar and missile technologies represented the highest standards in the world today. The radars it produced were installed on most of the Mold military's aircraft, such as the AN/APG-77 radar.
Its subsidiary, Pratt & Whitney, manufactured engines that were world-leading, and the Patriot missile was also highly popular on the international market.
For such an important defense company, if Gilbert were to directly approach and acquire its shares, it would likely provoke backlash.
They were not fools either. Making such a high-profile move to acquire shares would simply be an act of drawing hatred.
Instead, taking advantage of this opportunity to indirectly acquire investment institutions or banks that held shares in defense companies was an excellent choice.
Geode Investment Management also suffered heavy losses during this financial crisis. As a result, Gilbert, controlling the newly acquired bank, directly took a controlling stake in Geode Investment Management.
Then, through remote control of Geode Investment Management, he sought to acquire shares in Raytheon Technologies.
Although Raytheon Technologies was a defense company, it was also a publicly listed company. This time, it too was affected by the financial crisis, and many of its shareholder institutions were eager to save themselves.
Therefore, this period became the most turbulent time for Raytheon Technologies, and also the time when share trading was the most frequent.
Before Washington could react, Geode Investment Management steadily acquired a considerable number of shares.
If someone paid close attention, they would discover that Geode Investment Management had inexplicably gained a large amount of capital, even though it had also suffered heavy losses during this crisis.
The methods Gilbert used were not sophisticated, and could not even be considered highly confidential.
As long as someone calmed down and carefully analyzed and observed, they would realize that Fruit Fund was acquiring high-quality assets everywhere during this financial crisis.
Waving around large sums of cash, it became a shareholder in many publicly listed companies.
But as mentioned earlier, this was a chaotic period, and everyone was too busy dealing with their own troubles. If someone could calmly observe Fruit Fund's movements, it would mean that person also had ulterior motives.
Through this round of acquisitions, Geode Investment Management surpassed Morgan Stanley and Dodge & Cox, becoming the sixth-largest shareholder of Raytheon Technologies, with its stake reaching 4.23%.
On October 6, one of Iceland's three major banks, Landsbanki, went bankrupt.
At this point, after sweeping through Wall Street, Fruit Fund turned its attention overseas and began taking over the assets of foreign financial institutions. There was no longer any need to buy Sugar Island of Skag; a small island nation in the central Pacific went directly bankrupt.
Several of its islands were then indirectly brought under the control of Fruit Fund, becoming Gilbert's private islands.
In addition, some hard assets such as mineral resources and oil fields also fell into Gilbert's hands.
In North America, a large number of farmers went bankrupt due to the financial crisis. Gilbert then acquired these lands at extremely low prices, becoming the second-largest private landowner in North America in one leap.
The first was Bill Gates. Mr. Gates had an inexplicable obsession with land and had accumulated quite a lot of it over the years.
As banks and financial institutions around the world continued to go bankrupt, wherever they collapsed, Gilbert's reach extended there, allowing him to amass enormous wealth.
And he was not the only one. There were quite a few others making similar moves.
A crisis is called a crisis precisely because it brings danger along with abundant opportunities.
Gilbert was not afraid of overextending himself now. The next few years would be very difficult, and he needed to thicken his own reserves.
It was certain that many of the high-quality assets acquired now would be released in the future.
But this could not be helped. These assets had to protect Gilbert's core holdings. Once he was targeted, he could throw these assets out to divert attention.
The impact of the financial crisis was ongoing and clearly could not end in just a few weeks or months.
After directing Fruit Fund's major operations, Gilbert handed over responsibility for the subsequent actions to Ivanka.
He himself returned to Los Angeles and resumed his normal work as if nothing had happened.
...
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