A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 315: The 100-Billion Race (11)

Once all betting participants had been gathered, it was time to focus on the main event.

The race itself.

And what was the key?

‘To ignite the crowd’s excitement.’

The audience didn’t simply crave victory or defeat. What they truly desired was an unpredictable drama. And the most powerful weapon to satisfy that desire?

‘A reversal.’

For instance, the underdog who started late miraculously overtaking in the final moment. In that sense, this match offered another kind of dramatic twist.

‘Like betrayal from a once-trusted sponsor.’

What if Saudi Arabia, the strongest supporter of Masayoshi Son, switched over to my side? With betrayal, conflict, and tension woven into the narrative, the arena would erupt in flames.

Meeting with Saudi Arabia was the first step toward that flow. Thus, at 10 a.m. the next morning, I headed alone to the meeting location: the Erga Palace.

‘It’s my first time in a palace…’

It was a place I had never set foot in, even in my previous life. Golden ornaments shimmered softly along the corridors. A towering ceiling reached upward, a majestic silence ruled the space, and the echo of my footsteps reverberated in emptiness.

‘So this is where the psychological warfare begins.’

Normally, such meetings would take place in a hotel or a sovereign wealth fund’s office. The fact that I was summoned to the palace clearly held meaning. It was a strategy to overwhelm me with an unreal atmosphere and gain psychological advantage.

“This way, please.”

As I entered the audience chamber, a man was already seated. An Arab male who appeared to be in his early thirties. This was the person I needed to persuade today.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

“‘Your Highness’… In this country, there are more than ten thousand people addressed that way.”

“However, among them, I believe the one who leads with the greatest dedication to the future of this nation is none other than Your Highness Fahid bin Salman.”

Fahid bin Salman. A powerful figure in the Saudi royal family, soon to be officially appointed Crown Prince in a few months.

Internally, he was regarded as a reformist. He had drastically reduced the powers of the religious police known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, suddenly permitted women to drive, and aggressively enforced legal reforms to attract foreign capital. Furthermore, under the ambitious initiative known as Vision 2030, he was pushing forward with the decarbonization of Saudi Arabia’s economy.

From this alone, one might imagine him as an idealistic leader of progress and freedom… But reality was different. He was a thorough realist and a ruthless wielder of power.

“Please, sit.”

With a gesture, he offered me a seat, and I quietly sat on the sofa. Soon, a servant approached and placed Arabic coffee and dates on a small silver tray before withdrawing.

The Crown Prince spoke with a cheerful smile.

“This is the Saudi style of confession. Please, have a cup.”

It was a rather unsettling joke. I calmly raised the cup. Emptying the coffee would signify the end of the meeting unless the Crown Prince ordered a refill. There was no need to drink it hastily, so I only wetted my lips lightly, and he began to speak first.

“I hear you’re seeking investors. And not just any investors, but for a fund of one hundred billion dollars.”

The fact that I was raising a hundred-billion-dollar fund was still confidential. Clearly, he had done his research.

But he didn’t stop there.

“Why now, of all times?”

The Crown Prince’s lips curled upward. However, his eyes were not smiling.

“Coincidentally, I am running a similar project myself. We call it the ‘Visionary Fund.’ The target is also one hundred billion dollars, of which forty-five billion has already been invested directly by Saudi Arabia.”

He leaned forward. A cold gaze swept over me.

“The global asset market cannot sustain two funds of that size at the same time. Investor liquidity is a limited resource.”

His meaning was clear. If both of us launched simultaneously, there was a high chance neither would reach its target.

Just as I was about to respond, he cut in first.

“The financial market may appear like an ocean on the surface, but in truth, it’s a shallow lake. One whale may survive, but two will not. With too little food, one will starve. And yet, the moment I entered, you followed right in.”

His voice sank lower.

“Is that a coincidence, or a challenge?”

As expected, he was hostile. Turning such a man to my side would not be easy. But I had to try.

“It is neither. It’s simply a matter of timing.”

“Timing?”

“Every industry has an optimal entry point. Especially healthcare, which is currently facing two simultaneous inflection poin—”

“I see.”

The Crown Prince cut me off. Rather bluntly. But what followed was surprising.

“I will invest thirty billion dollars.”

He was offering investment.

“On one condition—you must launch three years from now.”

“A conditional investment, then.”

“Correct. There is no room for negotiation.”

This was not an investment. It was a fee to bind my feet—an act of paying to delay me. A defensive maneuver to protect the Visionary Fund.

Moreover, as someone with limited time to live, I could not accept it.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

Upon hearing my reply, the Crown Prince let out a light laugh. It was a slightly twisted smile.

“You must not be greedy.”

“On the contrary, I have too much ambition. I don’t seek simple returns—I seek control over—”

“I will cover all the losses incurred while you wait. All you need to do is remain still for three years.”

At this point… He never intended to hear me out. No matter what I said, he believed he could silence me with money.

‘Familiar tactics.’

I, too, have long used money as my weapon, so this approach was hardly unfamiliar. In fact, I found it amusing. And since it was a strategy I often used myself, I also knew how to counter it.

I interlocked my fingers and spoke.

“So, what you mean is—you intend to buy my time with money.”

“Exactly.”

“That will be quite costly. My time is not cheap.”

“Please, name your price comfortably. Money has never been an issue for us.”

“One hundred fifty billion dollars.”

“……”

“At around one hundred fifty billion dollars, I might barely break even. Of course, if we consider opportunity cost, twice that amount would be appropriate… but I wouldn’t want to burden Your Highness excessively.”

The Crown Prince lost his words for a moment. He looked at me as though I were completely insane.

‘As expected—very effective.’

When someone tries to corner you with outrageous sums, the best response is to strike back with an even more shameless number. Though that wasn’t the main point right now. What mattered was that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia had been startled enough to pause.

Surprise meant an emotional shift. And those who waver emotionally were always the ones who ended up being led.

From here on out, the flow belonged to me.

“It’s not an exaggeration. The thirty billion you invest in me now will be at least one hundred fifty billion dollars three years later.”

At my words, the Crown Prince’s brows slightly furrowed.

“Earn five times your money in three years?”

“Yes. If I fail to deliver the promised return within the time limit, I will cover the difference out of my own pocket. If you wish, we can put it in writing.”

……

I was confident. After all, three years from now was when the COVID crash would occur. It would be the perfect time to go shopping in a collapsing market and ride the rebound. Earning five times the return would not be difficult.

But that wasn’t the important part right now. What mattered was maintaining this momentum.

“Your Highness, this is a deal in which you cannot lose, is it not?”

“Even so, isn’t your claim a bit too much of a leap?”

“There is a clear basis. In medicine, technological innovation directly translates into profit—a rarity among industries. Right now, healthcare stands at the inflection point where genomics and AI are simultaneously exploding. This wave will be beyond imagination.”

“But…”

The atmosphere shifted in a subtle way. It had turned into a situation where investing was the obvious choice, and the Crown Prince was now the one who needed to find a justification not to invest.

He spoke in a tone that sounded almost like an excuse.

“As you know, I have already invested in another fund.”

“Yes, I am aware.”

I nodded as if I understood. And immediately followed up with a question.

“Your Highness, if I may be so bold, may I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Would someone who takes out two insurance policies simply be a fool?”

“……”

“No, of course not. A person who has life insurance also takes out fire insurance. The reason is simple—the coverage is different.”

My point was straightforward. Masayoshi Son’s ‘tech’ fund and my ‘healthcare’ fund belonged to entirely different categories. There was no conflict in investing in both.

The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes slightly.

“We are not talking about insurance. This is a fund.”

“Perhaps. But to me, this fund looks like an ‘insurance policy’ for the kingdom. Or am I mistaken? Is Your Highness not preparing a safety net in advance for the day the oil era ends? It seemed to me you were searching not just for returns, but for the next engine that will keep the kingdom moving long after oil is gone.”

“…”

“However, right now, Your Highness is all-in on tech. But is there any guarantee that tech will succeed? Is there any guarantee that another dot-com bubble will not collapse the market again?”

The Crown Prince’s eyes trembled. Of course, to my knowledge, the tech bubble would not burst. But when someone who has predicted multiple black swan events says such a thing, it naturally leaves a lingering sense of dread.

“Even under the most optimistic scenario, one problem remains. Suppose you invest in tech and make a profit. Can that truly replace oil as the pillar of your kingdom? This is not just about revenue. It is about national identity and global standing.”

I looked straight at the Crown Prince and declared:

“To speak frankly—Your Highness is already too late to win with tech.”

“.......!”

“Tech is already on its trajectory. At this point, everyone knows tech is hot. Even if Saudi Arabia participates, you would simply be positioned as ‘the wealthy latecomer.’ It would look as though you were compensating for a lack of foresight with capital.”

The Crown Prince’s expression stiffened. That was fine. I intended to provoke him.

I continued.

“But healthcare is different. This market is at the very moment when major capital is just beginning to enter. Your Highness can be the first to plant the flag—a pioneer. And if healthcare explodes as I predict? The world will record Saudi Arabia like this: ‘Saudi Arabia, the first capital to open the era of medical innovation.’ For the next decade, every investment report will repeat that line. You will earn not only returns, but narrative and prestige.”

This time, the Crown Prince’s gaze wavered. Fahid bin Salman was known publicly as a reformer. But was he doing all this purely out of love for his country?

‘Of course not.’

Innovation and reform bring image, prestige, legacy. He likely valued symbolic authority even more than money. And right now, I was telling him that healthcare was the domain where he could achieve far greater historical glory.

‘That should be enough carrot…’

Of course, I could not overdo it. If Saudi Arabia joined my side too early, there would be no “plot twist.” My role right now was merely to plant the seeds of discord. Harvesting them would come later.

As long as the seeds were placed correctly, it was time to wrap up. Only one thing remained.

I nodded gently and continued.

“Of course, from Your Highness’s perspective—having already invested in Masayoshi Son—I may seem lacking. I am still young, and perhaps not yet fully proven.”

It was an obvious deception. I might be young, but I was already more than proven. But that didn’t matter—I had no intention of stopping the provocation.

“Masayoshi Son is undeniably a man who has written history. However, instances of a legendary figure writing another legend in the latter half of life are rare. Most end with a graceful epilogue. Therefore, as long as Your Highness remains aligned with him, your name is likely to stay in the footnotes of that epilogue.”

……

“But if you choose to stand with me… then Your Highness will become the first to open an uncharted chapter. A new story, not yet written by anyone—recorded under your name.”

The Crown Prince’s expression twisted subtly.

“You speak as though you’ve met Masayoshi Son personally, yet you underestimate his strength too greatly.”

He was displeased by how blatantly I belittled Masayoshi Son. Of course, that too was by design.

‘I needed to provoke Masayoshi as well.’

For this race to be truly entertaining, both runners had to go all out. Masayoshi Son needed to burn with the desire to crush me. Naturally, a competitive structure would bring out motivation—but adding fuel to the fire never hurt.

If word reached him that I spoke this way in front of his top sponsor… As a man, he would have no choice but to ignite his will to destroy me.

The true race would begin from there.