Chapter Sixty-Five: There Are Many Troubled Souls

William White’s actions were indeed rather unreasonable. With no evidence at all, they dared to accuse him of plagiarism. Well then, when there are past offenders, they are bound to be caught in the crossfire. The final beneficiary must present proof—that’s William White’s principle. You might call him unreasonable, but who cares?

American law works much the same way: the prosecution must provide sufficient evidence to prove the accused guilty. But securities law is different. In that realm, you must prove your own innocence, or you’re presumed guilty.

In America, you’d better not rush to trade stocks on insider information. If you lose money, perhaps nothing will happen, but if you make a fortune, you might end up losing everything, or even facing jail. That’s why Americans typically let institutions handle these matters; it’s rare for individuals to invest personally.

Individual accounts thus become highly conspicuous. Forget about trading millions—accounts with mere hundreds of thousands of dollars draw attention. Long-term investments are generally fine, but if you make huge short-term gains, you’re almost certain to lose everything, perhaps even your freedom.

William White’s stance is just like this: he presumes the other party is guilty from the start, and then washes his hands of it. It’s up to them to prove their innocence. As long as the mastermind remains hidden, suspicion remains.

You might say it’s nothing to be suspected, since it doesn’t mean jail time. But that would be a grave mistake. William White needs to maintain a good public image, and Hollywood moguls need it even more. If public perception collapses, you can forget about making it in entertainment.

Those who tried to disgust William White only ended up disgusted themselves. Some things simply can’t be kept secret, especially from powerful forces, for whom these petty tricks are nothing but a joke.

The media caught in the crossfire were naturally disgruntled. At that time, every media house had some family or financial backing—no one wanted to take the blame for something so absurd.

When dealing with a man like this, it’s best to steer clear. What everyone fears most is reckless, cost-no-object madness. Lawsuits don’t scare them; endless litigation is a headache for anyone. William White’s readiness to hurt himself just to hurt others is truly infuriating.

A few tabloids were relieved—they quickly apologized, and he couldn’t be bothered to stoop to their level. After all, tabloids thrive on sensational headlines; at worst, they would refrain from targeting him next time.

After this episode, William White decided to alter his strategy. He was too weak in the media sphere, and this was the perfect opportunity to build his presence. If it’s just a matter of newspapers, he might as well acquire a few.

Americans have the habit of reading—every morning at the breakfast table or on their way to work, they always pick up a newspaper. This habit has persisted even after the advent of smartphones.

Things are different in China. Newsstands have vanished from the streets, and no one reads newspapers on the subway anymore. Newspapers and magazines have nearly disappeared.

Western print media is in decline too, but not to such an extreme. In any case, new things always catch on quickly in China. When we adopted LCD TVs, they were still using traditional ones.

Many people are hostile toward William White, but it’s pointless. His greatest assets are not just his wealth; his age also makes many wary.

His current actions make everything clear—he’s a vengeful man, and he’ll stop at nothing. People like him are bound to self-destruct sooner or later; there’s no need for direct confrontation. Better to sit back and watch the drama. Being caught up in his attention is hardly pleasant.

At this stage, William White is indeed having a rough time. Had he not put on such a show, who knows how many people would have tried to take him down?

Playing the fool can actually be useful: flying into a rage at a moment’s notice, tearing into others over the slightest dissatisfaction.

Dealing with someone like that is a real headache—no one knows what goes on in the mind of a madman. It’s best to keep a low profile.

“Young master, we’ve sold off seventy percent of our silver holdings—the profits are truly remarkable. When should we offload in London?” Uncle Fu asked, his face alight with excitement.

“No rush. They can’t reach that far. As long as we clear out before year’s end, we’ll be fine. We’re guaranteed to make a killing,” William White replied with a smile. He understood Uncle Fu’s excitement—this was a profit of hundreds of millions, akin to a legend.

Fortunately, these are futures, and there’s nothing the Securities Commission can do. With inflation running rampant, we’re just buying silver as a hedge, nothing more.

But if you bought stocks this way, you’d be in trouble. Without a reasonable explanation, you’d be hounded with problems and wouldn’t even get to keep your profits.

Individuals can buy stocks, but it’s best for long-term investment—several years at least.

At this point, stocks were practically being given away, but William White’s industrial investments weren’t yet complete, and he still needed a massive amount of funds. The plan to buy at the bottom would have to wait.

To call it “bottom fishing” now is an exaggeration. The U.S. market crash wasn’t over in ’79—the stocks were only cheap. The real disaster for that crowd would come in the next few years.

Some say you needn’t do anything—just buy Coca-Cola stock. If you put two hundred million into it now, you might not become the world’s richest person, but you wouldn’t be far off.

But things are rarely so simple. If you buy a few million, fine. Too much, and someone will find a way to dilute your shares, and you might get kicked out altogether.

Why was Buffett safe? Did you think Berkshire Hathaway belonged to him personally?

Don’t be ridiculous. He’s the mouthpiece for the Federal Reserve—of course his interests are protected.

Think of all the trouble Soros has caused.

The Koreans would love to boil him alive, but have you ever seen him hide? He’s the Fed’s attack dog—no one dares touch him, unless they want to go to war with the United States.

Even the so-called world’s strongest country has been cowed—who else would risk their neck?

William White has no such backing, nor does he intend to be anyone’s pawn. Without the strength to protect his own assets, it’s necessary to compromise appropriately.

But such compromise has limits. He would never accept coercion. This plagiarism scandal is full of intrigue—the mastermind has yet to show their face even now.

That says a lot. There are few who can act so brazenly in America.

Of course, they’ve hit a brick wall this time. If they don’t want things to spiral out of control, the best choice is to let sleeping dogs lie.

As for the newspapers that stirred up trouble, they’ll serve as scapegoats—such is the fate of small fry. They don’t even know what happened, yet they’re swept up in disaster.

There’s been all sorts of speculation about William White’s security company. The old guard is getting anxious.

Are we headed for a showdown? Texans are all bastards.

The bad temper of Texans is no exaggeration. How do you think the last great financial group emerged?

No one wants new players in the game; America’s interests have already been divided.

A new financial group?

It’s only natural for them to be suppressed collectively. Unfortunately, they underestimated the resolve of the Texas consortium. If compromise isn’t reached, Texans won’t hesitate to start another civil war.