Dan quickly armed himself with a notepad and pen, which he pulled out of his inside jacket pocket, and began to write down the young boss's orders.
The transmigrator may have been a poor student of economics at university, but his favorite subject was History of Economics. It was all down to his professor, who presented the material in an engaging manner and knew how to engage the students. She recounted various amusing anecdotes and cited historical examples of the rise and fall of major corporations. One such example was Nokia. Initially, it soared to the skies, but was then sold to Americans who only wanted its advanced technology. As a result, the quality of Nokia-branded products fell even lower than that of low-quality Chinese manufacturers, while prices remained high. This led to the inevitable outcome: Nokia collapsed a few decades later. But if you catch the historical fork in the road at a time when the company's stock was soaring, you can make a fortune. Richie couldn't resist this opportunity, as he had traveled back in time to a time when the company wasn't quite so popular.
Richie waited until the man finished writing in his notebook and continued:
"Mr. Silver, I'm also interested in all young companies that have recently entered the high-tech and software markets. This includes console and computer games."
Dan took notes on his notepad as Richie continued to give out instructions:
"Give me a report in a week. Then focus on finding companies and research labs developing artificial intelligence."
"Very well, sir. But, if you don't mind, I don't think this is a promising investment. Research labs are mostly unprofitable, and those companies developing artificial intelligence certainly won't be profitable in the coming decades."
"That's true," Richard agreed. "There's just one big 'BUT.' Mr. Silver, you need to invest in companies like these from the very beginning. Yes, they'll be unprofitable. But in ten years, the stakes in these companies will be bought out by the giants of the IT industry. And they'll never sell their stake, and if they do, it'll be for a fortune. But when artificial intelligence is developed... Oh!" Richie rolled his eyes and smacked his lips. "That's crazy money! Even a small stake in a company like this could make a billionaire out of someone who invested a hundred thousand pounds now."
"Perhaps, sir, but this is a long-term venture investment with high risks. The chances of losing money are greater than those of making it. Besides, how long will we have to wait? Ten or twenty years?"
"Thirty-six, give or take a couple of years," Richie replied.
Dan was lenient with the child. He believed young Rich would waste his money. So he tried to offer some advice:
"Sir, you could make a good profit in that time if you invest in stable and familiar investments. For example, if you follow your father's example and invest in construction, even with a minimal return on investment, you could turn ten million pounds into three hundred million in the same amount of time."
"Thank you, Mr. Silver, but I don't want to become a multimillionaire in my old age, but rather a billionaire in my youth, regardless of my family's wealth. Therefore, I ask you to follow my orders. And to avoid losses when investing in an artificial intelligence company, you must find companies that receive government subsidies. Moreover, the country must be highly developed and have a stable economy, such as the United States, Australia, Japan, or Germany. That's all for today. I await your report."
Dan left the young boss's office feeling upset. He felt insulted and thought he'd been assigned to the company owner's son as a toy. Something like an errand boy, helping a kid who'd decided to play "business" squander a huge sum. It would have been better if they'd given the money to him, put it in a bank account, and lived happily ever after. No, these rich kids were just being greedy!
The whole difference between an ordinary person and a rich one lay in the approach to money.
Dan considered ten million a huge, practically infinite sum. With that kind of money, he'd do nothing but spend it.
Richard, however, intended to make big money out of big money. But that would be inevitable. He intended to invest at enormous risk, even given his foreknowledge, but he also intended to reap gigantic rewards. After all, he was well aware of the enormous financial value of the companies that developed working artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, however, the transmigrator couldn't remember the names of these companies, as by the time the AI was developed, they had all long since been acquired by corporate giants like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Huawei, and the like. Moreover, it wasn't uncommon for five to seven corporations to own shares in a single research and development company.
About half an hour later, a stocky man with a short, dark, gray-streaked haircut entered the office. He had a bulldog-like face and a slight slouch. He was wearing a black three-piece suit and a wide-brimmed hat. Upon entering, the man removed his hat and introduced himself:
- Scott Potter. Are you Richie?
"Oh, Mr. Potter," Richard said cordially. "It's good to see you. Yes, I'm Richie. I was just waiting for you. Please have a seat."
Scott unbuttoned his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. The man still had on a shirt and vest, but Richie found no tie. Furthermore, the top button of his shirt was undone, indicating Scott wasn't used to being around businessmen, where such liberties were only permissible among friends or in informal settings.
Scott settled into the visitor's chair and peered at the boy with a searching gaze.
- Hmm... So it was Gerald who asked me to keep an eye on you...
"You could say that, sir. But I'm placing more hope in your professional skills at the service of my business."
"Oh, really?" Mr. Potter's voice was full of irony. "And what can I do for you, kid?"
Richie pulled out the top drawer of his desk, pulled out a folder, and handed it to the detective.
Mr. Potter opened the folder and began to examine the contents with curiosity.