Chapter 2449 Meeting

"John, tell me, you didn't invest in him, right?" Feng Yiping asked John very seriously, with his hands on his hips.

John was a little embarrassed, and took a deep puff of his cigar, "No chance yet,"

This matter made him feel a little regretful, because it seemed to mean that compared with many people on the island, his strength was still a little worse.

"Huh," Feng Yiping breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good,"

Just like he had a very deep impression of his wild girlfriend, but missed it perfectly, there was a lot of information that was not very relevant to the areas he focused on, and he couldn't always remember it before the incident.

But after hearing the name Madoff, how could he not understand what tricks the man who was still being tried so hard to get to know and give him money was playing?

The Ponzi scheme with the highest amount of money in history that he created was one of the most famous news on Wall Street during the subprime mortgage period.

To put it bluntly, it should have been one of the most satisfying news heard by the people affected by the subprime mortgage at that time.

Because Madoff's scam only targeted rich people, and ordinary people like them were not even qualified to be cheated by him.

"John, you will feel lucky for this!" Feng Yiping said again.

John has a villa on Palm Island, Feng Yiping knew, but he didn't know that the big scammer Madoff also had a villa here, and it seemed that this was one of his main places to attract investors, or to lure people into the trap.

If Ma Ling's parents were also included in the list of those who were deceived, it would be difficult for him to accept it, or it would be an irony.

Because in a certain sense, it would be equivalent to him being cheated.

Fortunately, it seems that even John is not qualified to be cheated by Madoff, which is also a blessing.

John was very puzzled when he heard this, "Why?"

In fact, he probably heard something at this time, but he instinctively didn't want to think about it. How could it be possible? It's impossible!

Feng Yiping didn't say anything, just patted his son's mother and father on the shoulder.

John couldn't keep calm at this time. He threw the cigar on the ground and pulled Feng Yiping, "What do you mean?"

At this time, a few people happened to come over, talking and laughing. Feng Yiping squatted down to pick up the cigar. When those people walked away, he asked John, "You can keep it a secret, right!"

Feng Yiping's question immediately made John a little annoyed. Of course I can keep it a secret! Am I like those young and impulsive people who can't keep secrets?

Don't you think about how old I am? Don't you look at how old my grandson is?

Oh, okay, that's your son.

Feng Yiping glanced at the hotel over there, pulled John aside, and whispered, "John, have you heard of a man named Charles Ponzi?"

"In Boston at the beginning of the last century, he can be said to be a very famous one..."

"You mean, Ponzi scheme?" John's voice trembled a little, "Is it really a Ponzi scheme?"

Feng Yiping looked at John in surprise. He was so clear about this, not bad!

How could he know that, that was because there were also some remarks saying that Madoff was a Ponzi scheme before.

However, those remarks soon died down.

The wealthy people who received monthly returns from Madoff scorned these remarks.

They were confident that no one would dare to cheat them, not only because they had always been the only ones to cheat others, but mainly because they could not believe that anyone would dare to cheat so many wealthy people at the same time.

Unless that person was a lunatic.

But did Madoff look like a lunatic?

"Think about it, has he never been willing to explain his investment direction to investors?"

"Yes," John said.

He had naturally heard that when he accepted your investment, he would clearly state that he did not want you to ask about the investment direction.

"But that's because it needs to be kept confidential..."

Feng Yiping ignored John's words, "Is he always absorbing funds?"

This, yes, there should be people trying to get to know Madoff and give him money every day.

"Is he very sure of his promise that he will only make money and not lose money?"

This, of course, is also the main reason why those people rushed to give him money.

Because even Buffett did not dare to make such a promise to investors.

"Think about it again. Whether it's the stocks you invested in with high returns or the gold Heidi bought, they are all very good projects, right? But whether it's your stocks or Heidi's gold, they will also fluctuate due to the influence of the general environment. It's impossible to have very stable returns every month?"

"So, is it true?" John murmured.

"You mean, there are many people on this island who have invested in him?"

"Yes, many people are proud to invest in him," John said.

Being able to swing on the golf course of the country club and be able to get on Madoff's yacht has become a symbol of a high-end circle.

"What about the amount?"

"I heard that there are many hundreds of millions of dollars, and many, tens of billions,"

"Tsk tsk," Feng Yiping shook his head.

This is really an unqualified liar.

There seems to be an iron rule in this industry that rabbits don't eat grass near their nests. Why did Madoff only start with his neighbors and friends in the same club?

But think about it, it seems understandable.

If you can bring high returns to some friends who have a general relationship with you, but exclude friends who are closer to you, it will definitely make people suspicious.

In addition, the funding gap is too large, so it is naturally most efficient to let his wealthy neighbors and friends in the club get on board.

"Believe me, members of that club will only feel that joining that club is a shame in the future,"

"Also, are you interested in buying more properties on this island? I think there will be an opportunity soon,"

It is certain that these people's investment in Madoff may not all be their own funds. It would be a very smart idea to take out loans for some of their real estate, such as houses, and then invest in Madoff.

But not to mention the subprime mortgage crisis that will intensify next year and the possible impact on their other income, when Madoff's scam is exposed and they can't get their money back, I believe some people may not be able to keep their houses here.

"Sorry, John, I have to go in," Feng Yiping looked at his watch and pointed at the hotel.

"Well," John just nodded and stood there motionless.

After a while, he shouted to Feng Yiping's back, "Remember to come to my house for dinner tonight,"

…………

Joseph Huli had arrived at the hotel at this time. He looked and saw that there were more than ten minutes before the meeting. He was about to go upstairs to his room when he suddenly saw a lady, an Asian lady, to be precise, a Chinese lady, walking towards the side of the lobby.

He knew that was the bar.

He immediately changed his mind and decided to go to the bar for a drink.

He found the lady just now in this bar connected to the beach without any effort. As expected, the person sitting next to the lady's table was the one he imagined.

Although men in the financial circle generally spend a lot of money in high-end clubs, most of which are mainly spent on women.

But no matter how anxious Joseph Huli was, he would not touch those tricks at this critical moment.

The reason why I followed her was mainly because this lady was a well-known figure on Wall Street, and what she was most famous for was that she always followed her boss firmly.

When her boss left Morgan Stanley, she also left Morgan Stanley. When her boss joined Credit Suisse First Boston, she also joined Credit Suisse First Boston.

When her boss returned to Morgan Stanley, she also returned to Morgan Stanley.

Yes, the man sitting next to the lady's table at this time was the gentleman who staged a sweet revenge in 2005, John Mack, the current chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley.

Although it was not surprising that John Mack also appeared in Palm Beach at this time, because Palm Beach at this time has always been a favorite vacation spot for these people, but Joseph Huli just felt that things should not be that simple. Maybe this gentleman's coming here may have something to do with him.

When he met another heavyweight at another table, he almost immediately confirmed his judgment. Yes, their coming here at this time must be related to him, or more precisely, it must be related to the person he wanted to meet.

The other heavyweight was Paulson's successor after he accepted the White House's offer to serve as Treasury Secretary, and that was another Wall Street giant, the current chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, Raul Blankfein.

Joseph Huli thought that he had made the right choice for this trip.

At this time in Boston, Lawrence Fink also felt that he had made the right choice for this trip.

"Then, I wish us a happy cooperation!" He stood up with a smile and extended his hand to the person opposite.

"Happy cooperation!" The person who shook hands with Fink with a smile was the chairman of State Street Corporation who was unable to come to Palm Beach.

Almost as soon as Lawrence Fink introduced the general plan, they hit it off.

Lawrence Fink and his team needed to pull State Street to their side at this time, and for the person in charge of State Street Corporation, whose status had been marginalized, he needed such an opportunity even more.

…………

"Yiping, they are all here," Feng Yiping had just entered the hotel gate, and Wu Qian, who had been looking at her watch, immediately came to greet him.

Feng Yiping looked at his watch and it was nearly ten minutes before the agreed time.

"Let's go," he walked towards the elevator.

"They are all in the bar now, should we go over and say hello first?" Wu Qian suggested.

Feng Yiping thought for a moment, "Okay,"

As soon as he entered the bar, the bar was obviously quiet for a while, but soon, it became lively again.

He saw that several people stood up and walked towards him.

"Hello, Mr. Mark," "Hello, Blankfein," "You must be Mr. Hu Li from State Street," he greeted them one by one.

At this time, another person came over, "Hello, Mr. Feng, nice to meet you,"

Feng Yiping was stunned. This is Madoff. It turns out that he is not on the ship at this time.