A Wall Street Genius's Final Investment Playbook-Chapter 152

Every battle begins with knowing your enemy.

In other words, it starts with understanding the opponent.

So, as a test, I decided to prod at Ackman's painful past.

Of course, since I was in front of old man Kissinger, I added a bit of pretense.

But…

The result was somewhat unexpected.

‘He's easier to read than I thought?'

His eyes wavered every time I poked, and the corners of his lips twitched.

He seemed to be the type who reacted relatively easily to emotions.

However, despite that, he did not move in the end.

If I kept poking at his wounds like this, he should have at least shown some irritation—something like, ‘Is he seriously talking about me right now?’—or perhaps, thrown a subtle sarcastic remark.

Yet…

‘Complete disregard, huh.'

This implied something significant.

‘He must think I'm not even worth dealing with…'

Honestly, I had somewhat anticipated this.

Ackman always targeted the big fish when investing.

He was the type who wouldn't waste even a sliver of time or energy on an insignificant opponent.

No matter how annoying that opponent was.

‘If it's like this, provoking him further would be useless.'

In Ackman’s eyes, I was nothing more than an insignificant rookie, not even worth engaging with.

In this situation, there was only one way to establish a confrontation.

‘That insignificant rookie must become a threat.'

Fortunately, I had a weapon that could threaten Ackman.

A secret about the ‘alliance' he wanted to keep hidden.

The effect was immediate.

"How much do you know?"

Ackman’s gaze changed instantly.

Moreover, the way he had been simply observing me turned into a gaze of scrutiny.

‘As expected, he's bad at hiding his expressions. His questions are also quite direct.'

When he doesn’t care, he ignores you completely.

But the moment you enter his sight, he chooses to face things head-on.

For people like him, an indirect answer is the most effective approach.

After mentally noting several of his traits, I put on a puzzled expression.

"Know? …I don't know anything. That’s why I asked for your opinion. I’m still inexperienced, so I don’t know much outside my field."

"Your field is…?"

"Healthcare."

"……"

Ackman's face stiffened.

Because the secret he was hiding was precisely tied to the pharmaceutical sector within healthcare.

"Then, when you mentioned ‘unexpected entities forming an alliance,' what specific entities were you referring to?"

Another direct question.

But once again, I answered in a roundabout way.

"It has always been common for activist funds to ally with other hedge funds. However, recently, there seem to be more cases where they cooperate with entities outside hedge funds. For instance, private equity firms…"

It was common for activist funds to collaborate with other hedge funds.

Lately, they had been leveraging the capital of private equity firms to secure additional shares.

But Ackman had chosen a rather unexpected alliance partner.

"Other corporations, for example."

"……"

Ackman's expression hardened.

This was his secret.

He aimed to establish the first case of an activist fund forming an alliance with a general corporation.

And not just any corporation—he was partnering with a company planning a hostile takeover.

Why was this controversial?

Because it was essentially a Trojan horse operation.

‘It caused a massive uproar at the time.'

Ackman had formed an alliance with Company B, which was attempting a hostile takeover of Company A, and was secretly acquiring Company A’s shares to become its major shareholder.

In other words, he was like a Trojan warrior who had allied with the Greek coalition and infiltrated Troy.

Once inside, he would gradually accumulate shares, eventually positioning himself as a major shareholder—one of the key decision-makers in the Trojan leadership.

Then, one day, when Company B pushed the Trojan Horse to the city gates…

Ackman would use his influence to argue, ‘This horse is beneficial, we should bring it inside.’

After all, that was the very reason he had formed the alliance in the first place.

However, this strategy had several flaws.

First, if he were a major shareholder of Troy (Company A), he should naturally act in Troy’s best interest.

But Ackman was clearly representing the interests of his ally, Company B.

This was an undeniable conflict of interest.

A more serious issue was that he had secretly acquired shares after learning of Company B’s hostile takeover plans.

If he had traded using non-public insider information, it was a clear case of insider trading.

Furthermore, Ackman had used options and derivatives to amass his shares discreetly.

This meant he had deliberately exploited legal loopholes to evade disclosure obligations.

Though the situation was tangled with complexities…

At its core, one thing was clear.

Ackman was the collaborator trying to pull the Trojan horse into the city.

I decided to lay it out directly.

"Such an alliance could easily turn into a Trojan horse. I only brought it up because I was concerned…"

Then, I added a meaningful smile and one more remark.

"I'm curious how this looks to Mr. Ackman, who prioritizes shareholder value above all else."

Ackman had repeatedly claimed that he acted for the benefit of shareholders rather than his personal gain.

For him to be involved in a Trojan Horse scheme was a contradiction.

When I pointed that out, Ackman responded with a stiff smile.

"An interesting hypothesis. But no matter how amusing a hypothesis is, it only matters if it actually happens. For now, it’s nothing more than speculation."

This was a kind of warning.

Even if I were to spread this secret outside, there was neither evidence nor precedent, so no one would believe me.

‘He must be most wary of me exposing it.’

I hadn’t even voiced a direct threat to reveal it, yet he was already on guard and issuing a warning.

That meant it was exactly what he feared the most.

‘Well, at least he’s easy to read.’

But just because someone is easy to read doesn’t mean they’re easy to defeat.

That’s how power dynamics work.

Even if I could predict the trajectory of a machine gun aimed at me, it wouldn’t mean much if all I had in my hands was a pistol.

Still, that was a matter for later.

For now, I had to respond to his warning.

"You’re absolutely right. Not many people would believe such a hypothesis. But isn’t it an interesting one? And if things were to unfold exactly as predicted, that would be even more entertaining."

Seeing Ackman's eyes narrow, I smiled in satisfaction.

‘This should be enough.’

By now, I would have been firmly etched into Ackman's mind as a dangerous opponent.

The confrontation I had intended to create between myself and Ackman had been perfectly established.

My business here was done.

I turned my gaze to the masterpiece on my wrist.

"Well, you must be busy, so I’ll take my leave.

I have a full schedule tomorrow as well."

***

"Leaving already?"

As I made my move to leave, Kissinger also quickly wrapped up and followed me.

After we returned to the resort, he gave me a subtle smile and made a suggestion.

"It’s still early. How about a drink?"

The look in his eyes made it obvious.

He had seen me confronting Ackman and wanted to discuss it.

‘What should I do?’

Honestly, having to act in front of the old man again was quite exhausting.

On top of that, I had urgent preparations for tomorrow.

So I was about to decline with a tired expression when—

"I just happened to receive a lounge invitation from the organizers, but I felt awkward going alone. Would you care to join me?"

"From the organizers?"

"Yes."

This… was intriguing.

If the organizers had gone out of their way to provide an invitation to someone of Kissinger’s caliber, the lounge was unlikely to be just an ordinary place.

‘Could it be…?’

Luxury resorts often had exclusive private lounges reserved for the elite.

These places were not easily accessible, no matter how much money one had.

It was akin to New York’s Metropolitan Club, where entry required reputation or connections.

And now, I was being invited to such a place?

I quickly wiped the fatigue from my face and answered.

"Sounds good. In fact, I had a few things I wanted to discuss as well."

As I accepted Kissinger’s offer and arrived at the location indicated on the invitation, a smile naturally formed on my lips.

‘As expected.’

My prediction had been correct.

The place we arrived at had tall palm trees surrounding it, with an unmarked door standing alone in the middle.

Meaning—

Only those who knew of this place could enter.

Inside, a tuxedo-clad waiter quietly approached.

"Mr. Kissinger, your private terrace is ready."

Following him through a dimly lit corridor, we soon arrived at a secluded terrace overlooking the ocean.

Flanked by lush greenery on both sides, the place felt like a hidden sanctuary crafted by nature itself.

‘So this is how it feels.’

This was an elite’s secret refuge.

In my past life, I would never have been able to step into such a place.

But now, with Kissinger by my side, there was no door I couldn’t pass through.

As I settled into a leather chair, the waiter approached Kissinger.

"What would you like to have prepared?"

"Two glasses of Louis XIII."

"And for cigars? We’ve just received a fresh batch of Cohiba Behike 56, aged for three years at 65% humidity—top quality…"

"I’ll take that."

And so, I found myself indulging in the finest cognac and cigars after a long time.

‘Is this thanks to my reset palate?’

The Louis XIII I tasted in this life was incomparably richer than before.

A smooth, honey-like warmth spread across my tongue, followed by hints of dried fruit, plum, and oak.

The pairing with the cigar was exquisite.

The Behike started with a strong peppery note, gradually blending into delicate cedar, leather, and a subtle sweetness—perfectly complementing the Louis XIII.

Kissinger leaned back in his chair, exhaling a slow stream of smoke with a deep smile.

"This is the true way to savor time."

"Thanks to you, I get to enjoy such luxuries."

Moments like these called for honesty.

Expressing joy openly meant I’d be invited again in the future.

Kissinger looked at me with satisfaction, nodding before asking with an understanding expression.

"If you ever need help, just say the word. What is the biggest concern weighing on you right now?"

It seemed he had picked up on my brief mention of ‘public scrutiny and pressure’ earlier and wanted to offer serious advice.

Given his extensive experience in that area, he probably assumed I’d be eager to hear his thoughts.

However, I brought up an entirely different issue.

"If I had to name my biggest concern right now… It would have to be funding."

With Ackman absent, I had no reason to keep up the act or waste time.

If Kissinger genuinely wanted to help, I should bring up something where he could provide real assistance.

A flicker of surprise passed across his face.

"Funding? But don’t you already have $5 billion? You should be able to secure more at this summit."

"Yes, based on my projections, I should be able to raise about $10 billion."

"Even with that amount, it's still not enough?"

I let out a bitter smile and slowly shook my head.

"The thing is… My situation is a bit different from usual. I need $11.3 billion."

"11.3 billion?"

Yes, old man.

I still need another $1.3 billion.