The Tyrant Billionaire

It felt like a post service tip from the boss, with the service personnel thanking him.

Must be an illusion.

Hardy often complained about being short of money, but a $100,000 was still manageable, and the money for the auction house could be in cash.

Cash could be taken from the gang.

The three universally recognized money laundering methods are: movies, casinos, and artwork. Hardy had them all. Casino money laundering was the most direct, especially in the United States. With legalized gambling, no matter where the money came from, after a turn in a Las Vegas casino, it could come out clean.

The movies were also very effective. Various expenses couldn't be quantified, and the bills could be as high as needed. Even the most skilled tax auditors couldn't figure it out.

As for artworks, their value is uncertain. A random painting could sell for a million, two million, or ten million. The capital turnover rate was frightening.

The movie started, and Irina finally quieted down. With a melodious whistle, the cowboy rode out.

The movie was fascinating, capturing the beauties' attention. When Ava Gardner started singing "Scarborough Fair," some even sang along.

When leaving the cinema, Elena suddenly asked, "Ava Gardner is so beautiful. She's an artist signed by your company, right?"

"Yes."

"She sings so well. Can you get me her autograph?"

"No problem. How about this. Our company is preparing her musical album. When it's out, I'll have her sign a copy for you," Hardy said.

"That would be great."

"Mr. Hardy, I want one too," Irina chimed in.

"No problem."

...

In two days, Andy brought good news: they had acquired the toy factory.

The toy factory's equity was straightforward. The owner held most of the shares, and a minor shareholder held only 5%. The factory had been losing money and couldn't get loans from the bank. Both had long considered selling the factory.

Andy offered a reasonable price.

He offered to buy all the shares for $68,000.

The owner and the minor shareholder discussed and agreed to sell.

...

Los Angeles Stock Exchange.

VIP client room.

From here, one could overlook the trading floor below. Five or six traders sat behind desks with dozens of phones and thick documents in front of them.

These were traders hired by Andy, all with over five years of experience.

Hardy pushed the door open and walked in.

The traders were all holding microphones, loudly trading. Some were even holding one phone and had another tucked under their necks.

Andy saw the boss come in and walk over with a smile.

"How's it going?" Hardy asked.

"We're shaking out the market, repeatedly buying and selling to shake off weak investors. We aim to collect over 50% of the circulating shares for the next steps," Andy explained.

Hardy remembered something interesting. "What if another player comes in to disrupt?"

Andy smiled, "We're all hunters. When another hunter sees a hunt, they won't interfere because the hunter's gun could point elsewhere at any time. If they want to raise the stock price to get more shares, fine, we sell all our shares and leave with profits. Then they get stuck with high priced shares. If we cooperate, the retail investors get stuck."

"So, retail investors are everyone's prey, right?"

"Exactly. Brokers, financial companies, stock companies, institutions, and funds all prey on retail investors."

"Sometimes you hear about big institutions clashing, but that's for other reasons. It's like crocodiles in a pond. Their main food isn't other crocodiles but fish."

Some people saw this situation. Those who understood the market could see through it, but the toy factory stock had little potential, so no one paid attention.

After all, they had their own investors to fleece. Competing with others might break their own teeth.

Eventually, Andy took three days to shake out the market, buying 75.5% of the circulating shares at only $0.22 per share.

They can now proceed to the following phase.

Hardy and Andy, along with the recruited factory management team, went to the toy factory. The workers had long been dismissed due to unsold toys and a lack of funds. Only two technicians remained.

These were the owner's hopes for a comeback.

Andy brought in a few people who would handle operations. Hardy called over the two technicians and took out a few drawings.

"Can you produce these?"

The workers picked up a drawing. It was a beautiful doll with brown hair, a slim figure, and a pretty face, resembling Ava Gardner.

The drawing also indicated the doll's height and measurements.

Height: 24 cm, Measurements: 39–29–36, Eye color: sky blue.

Name: "Princess Ava."

Age: 24.

Feature: mature and beautiful.

The second drawing was of a doll with black hair, smaller but cuter, resembling Elizabeth Taylor.

Height: 21 cm, Measurements: 35-27-34, Eye color: Violet.

Name: "Princess Taylor."

Age: 16.

Feature: delicate and cute.

The third drawing was of a doll with black hair, delicate and elegant, somewhat resembling Elena.

Height: 23 cm, measurements: 36–28–35, eye color: golden brown.

Name: "Princess Elena."

Age: 20.

Feature: delicate and charming.

"Can you make these dolls?" Hardy asked.

The technicians said, "We can make them. As long as the molds are done, it's not much different from the previous toys. But these hair, eyes, and eyelashes will be more troublesome, definitely increasing the cost. And these clothes and accessories might need to be custom made."

Hardy waved his hand, "It doesn't matter if it's troublesome. I want a fine product. Each doll must be made extremely delicately and with beautiful clothes."

The two technicians asked in surprise, "Then it's probably going to cost more than $2 to make this doll. How can such an expensive doll be sold?"

They had previously made toy dogs and bears, which didn't sell for even a few cents, piling up in the warehouse.

What's $2 that's nothing?

Hardy's idea was to sell these Barbie dolls for $10.8 each. Later, they could produce countless outfits and accessories, even pets, sold separately.

Like a certain game company selling skins.

Expensive, no problem. The world has people who chase luxury. Barbie dolls would become luxury items in the toy world.

Hardy instructed the management team to comprehensively register the copyright for Barbie dolls.

They also needed to form a team for clothes and accessories, requiring professional tailors. Move the original toy factory's machines, find other manufacturers to make molds, recruit workers, etc.

"Andy, you can release the news now," Hardy said.