The Rise Of A Billionaire 1943-Chapter 65 - 73: Where Did This Genius Come From

Cooperation was all well and good, but Pierre had no interest in Italian banks whatsoever.

Even without North Borneo, he wouldn’t be interested in Italy. How could investing in Italy compare to investing in Germany?

Germany—that was the real ruin, littered with... gold!

Italy...

In the end, it was all about capital. If he, like Morgan, controlled billions or even tens of billions of dollars, he would certainly invest everywhere.

But for now, the best steel had to be used for the sharpest blade.

Very soon, the feast of dividing up the spoils began. Thanks to Mussolini’s two decades of state investment, the Italian government owned a huge amount of official assets. Although a large portion was in the north, there were still plenty of high-quality assets in the south. For example, Taranto Port—the most important port in southern Italy—was snapped up by an American company for a mere $3 million.

As for the assets in the north still under German control, they could also be auctioned off, but the prices were, of course, far from ideal.

Naturally, there were also things that simply couldn’t be sold, like merchant ships.

Just as in history, at the Italian government’s auction, the merchant ships went unsold. As much as 285,000 tons of merchant shipping ended up as worthless junk that nobody wanted.

This result utterly stunned the Italians—after all, not long ago, they were convinced these ships would be in high demand. After all, German submarines were still sinking merchant ships in the Atlantic.

Logically speaking, they should have been hot commodities, especially since the shipping industry was currently booming.

The Italians even set a high price—$15.8 million!

But the auction failed. No one was interested in these ships.

It was at this moment that a businessman walked into Rear Admiral Baritian’s office.

"You’re an agent for a Spanish company?"

Rear Admiral Baritian looked at the visitor in surprise, a hint of confusion on his face.

A Spaniard?

An Asian?

Could he be an Indian?

"General, that’s not important. I’ve brought you a solution to your problem."

"What problem?"

"Your personal problem."

Pierre got straight to the point. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"What?"

Rear Admiral Baritian frowned, puzzled.

"What personal problem?"

"General, as everyone knows, the Allies will inevitably punish war criminals in the future. I’m sure you’ve heard rumors about this. You must have some idea of what’s coming, so..."

As he spoke, Pierre placed his briefcase on the table.

"I think, in the days to come, you’ll need something that can be used abroad. Here’s $500,000!"

Five hundred thousand dollars!

Rear Admiral Baritian’s eyes widened. He stared at the briefcase, then looked back at the man in front of him.

War criminals.

He had indeed heard rumors about this, and even the Marshal himself might end up on the list.

Who could protect them?

Baritian was filled with anxiety about the future, but the briefcase before him was certainly tempting.

He reached out and opened the briefcase, finding it packed with US dollars!

The impact of seeing a briefcase full of cash is hard to imagine. Taking a deep breath, Rear Admiral Baritian asked,

"What is this?"

"This money is my consulting fee for you."

"What do you want, sir?"

"Merchant ships!"

"Merchant ships."

Glancing at the briefcase, Rear Admiral Baritian said,

"Anyone can bid for those merchant ships, sir."

"No one wants to buy that pile of scrap metal, General. You know the answer, don’t you?"

Pierre’s smile left Rear Admiral Baritian with mixed feelings. Those ships had once been the most valuable assets in official hands, but now?

They were nothing more than worthless scrap.

"They just haven’t realized their value yet."

"Value? What value?"

Pierre replied bluntly,

"Compared to old ships, the British and American authorities prefer to buy new ships—new ships are faster and have standardized speeds. As for other shipping companies? They’re waiting to buy Liberty ships from the British, American, and Canadian authorities after the war. Those are ten-thousand-ton ships, all built in recent years. When the war ends, a Liberty ship that cost $1.8 million will go for just tens of thousands, maybe even less. General, tell me, why would anyone pay a high price for your ships?"

Pierre had originally thought it was Allied interference that prevented the Italian government from selling its assets, but it turned out people were simply being practical—America had built too many Liberty ships, and too quickly!

Compared to these old Italian ships, people would much rather wait until after the war to buy Liberty ships.

"This..."

Rear Admiral Baritian opened his mouth, but in the end, couldn’t say a word.

Before the auction, they thought those merchant ships could fetch a good price, but now, after talking with those American businessmen, their illusions had been shattered.

Blame the Americans for building too many Liberty ships.

"That may be true..."

"I hope, with your help, I can buy them at a reasonable price!"

As he spoke, Pierre wore a sincere smile, looking straight at the general in charge of selling off the assets.

Baritian’s gaze shifted back and forth between the briefcase and Pierre. At last, he said,

"This briefcase seems to be French—it doesn’t look any worse than an Italian one."

Of course, what he really cared about was not the briefcase, but what was inside. That was what mattered.

"General, you can take it home and admire it at your leisure."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Pierre stood up with a smile.

That’s just how the rules of the world work. When a country collapses, almost everyone tries every means possible to profit from it.

Who is this feast for?

It might be for some high-ranking official, or perhaps a general, but it certainly has nothing to do with ordinary people. For ordinary people, all they suffer is the pain of losing loved ones and the poverty that awaits them.

But the elites once again make a killing. In this way, much of the country’s assets are bought up by the privileged and speculators at rock-bottom prices.

Just like how, when Japan surrendered, Samsung "bought" the rice stored in the Japanese army’s warehouses, earning its first pot of gold...

Tired.

And now?

In Italy, Pierre is merely a participant in this grand feast, skimming off just a tiny bit of profit.

But only a few days later, word began to spread among those predators—someone had spent two million dollars to buy an Italian merchant ship.

Almost everyone was left wondering—where did this fool come from?