[Chapter 882: What's the Deal with Being Upset?]
The head of Morgan Stanley found himself in quite a tough spot. What he wanted most was to grab William White and ask, "What on earth is going on with you?"
Unfortunately, it wasn't just him as CEO; even the big bosses at Morgan wouldn't handle it so rudely. Image was important, and at William White's level, he was already on another plane.
If they wanted a fair conversation, they should have gone to talk to Filson. If there were personal issues, they needed to approach Jason Garrison or pass the message through little Bush.
After over a decade, a group of Wall Street bigwigs was astonished to find they didn't recognize the world anymore. William White held a very transcendent status now.
The top ten financial groups? Let's be honest, only a couple of them mattered to them.
Sure, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were indeed massive. While William White's portfolio might not match theirs, so what? Was Morgan Stanley theirs? Was Citigroup theirs? Not really; all those assets belonged to everyone.
"Paul, why am I feeling more confused? What is this William White guy really up to?"
With a satisfying smack, Paul Volcker watched that little white golf ball soar onto the green. At his age, his golf game wasn't what it used to be.
"Alan, isn't it obvious? He's making a big push into the real economy. Just look at his industry layout; he has a heavy imprint in media and semiconductor sectors. I suspect that if it weren't for the automotive union situation, he'd be betting on the automotive industry.
While everyone else was diving into the virtual economy, this guy chose the opposite path. It's interesting, intriguing."
Greenspan felt a bit frustrated. Many believed that William White would become radical. Given the earlier success of his investments, it seemed logical he would double down.
Unfortunately, they misjudged him again. He first started a rocket propulsion company, sending shocks through a crowd of bigwigs.
Don't think he was just blowing smoke; in a remote Nevada desert, thousands of workers were laboring tirelessly. This factory not only had its own solar power plant, but also its own airport. Considering that, he was genuinely pursuing his ideal.
They all claimed the Internet was a virtual economy, not worthy of investment. But a model like Amazon couldn't simply be dismissed as a bubble.
Next up was this outrageous warehousing system. They had no idea what he was planning, so it was hard to critique.
Unfortunately, those reporters wouldn't let up on him or Buffett. "So, what exactly is Mr. White up to?"
"Got no clue?"
Sure, that was a fine response, but the problem was, did they know how those reporters would write it the next day?
It was utterly absurd that he didn't know? Greenspan indicated he genuinely didn't understand the purpose of such a strange warehouse.
Instead of playing a round of golf, today turned into a way to dodge reporters for Greenspan.
Answering "I don't know" wasn't suitable, and saying nothing at all was worse. They'd write about how Greenspan scorned William White's investments.
"Alan, I can't really offer advice. My feeling is that this thing is related to Amazon. Look, the postal service is on strike, while Amazon and PayPal's user numbers are booming.
'Beehive'? Is that really so hard to understand?"
"No way, that's a terrible investment. I don't think he'd do something like that."
Paul Volcker smiled without a word; the guy was still young--why was he getting so confused? If he was making money, he wouldn't share it with them, and if he lost money, it was naturally none of their business.
Couldn't it be simple to follow that line of thinking? Just vague--sure, this project looked promising, but executing it would be challenging.
Wasn't it just standard for politicians to dish out double-talk? If one couldn't even do that, it was time to find someone else for the job; Buffett wouldn't be a bad choice.
What Volcker didn't know was that Warren Buffett was also being hounded by those reporters. The crowd around him was far larger than the one surrounding Greenspan.
The reason was simple; Greenspan was just the head of the Fed, a position many regarded more as a government role. Buffett was different; as a fund manager, he liked to talk about value investing. So asking him about what William White was doing was perfectly normal.
"Charlie, are those pesky paparazzi still outside?"
"Ha ha, old buddy, why care about those idiots? Just throw a few words their way."
Buffett looked burdened. Charlie Munger was his most trusted partner; otherwise, he wouldn't speak so plainly.
"Charlie, I honestly don't get it. What do you want me to say?"
"There's nothing wrong with admitting uncertainty. In fact, you should see that many people don't understand either."
"True, I'm also confused. Since no one knows, let them find William White."
"Haha, that scoundrel spends all day with beautiful women."
Charlie Munger cast a glance at his friend. You were just envious. I could say that, but you should save it for yourself. Speaking of which, that old guy really had it good; his younger wife helped with everything.
"Charlie, I still believe he won't initiate a postal system. No matter how much money he has, he wouldn't cause that much upheaval."
"Yeah, I've talked to quite a few people, and by the way, his warehousing system is supposed to be highly automated."
Buffett looked bewildered, waiting for his friend to clarify.
"They're in talks with Westinghouse. According to Westinghouse, William White has lost it; every product or package will have a barcode. Once scanned, the goods will follow conveyor belts to their designated locations."
"Cough cough, really? We have this technology?"
"My friend told me that theoretically, it's feasible. But it won't be that simple. Just think about it; the potential applications for such technology are incredibly vast: libraries, civil aviation, postal services. I'm more bullish on Westinghouse; that's an industry with tens of billions in annual value."
"Damn, that must be it. That means William White's aiming for Amazon's model. Ha ha, really, do that many people shop online? I'm skeptical.
But wait, what about those books once they go to distribution centers? Do customers just pick them up?" Just as he said that, Buffett suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. Damn it, he finally figured it out. The so-called beehive wasn't about those warehouses at all. Those 7-11s were his beehives.
Wow, while picking up a package, customers could also grab something to buy. Without that last step, he had effectively replaced it with the beehives.
Upon hearing Buffett, Charlie Munger was equally astonished. Setting aside whether this would succeed or even if it was necessary, the creativity behind this idea was genuinely impressive.
The most critical part was that he had no conflict. When going to restock a store, he could easily deliver those packages too.
Ideas like this, once you understood, were essentially worthless. Others might have thought about these things but lacked the ability to execute or support.
The two old men stared at each other, bewildered, wondering how this had come to be? Was it because the postal system couldn't meet the demand?
Not quite; although the details were unclear, they had already begun negotiating with Yaohua Tang.
"Charlie, he really qualifies as a genius. I believe even without Amazon, he would have traveled this path."
"Yeah, now it seems a hasty move. Without Amazon, he would have likely approached it gradually. Ha ha, regardless of whether this idea works, Westinghouse is solid. In the short term, they really are the biggest winner."
*****
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