Shan City It's the end of November, and autumn is already deep.
Zhao Chen is sitting in Henglong Headquarters's office. A thin layer of mist floats on the Two Rivers Confluence river outside the window.
Su Wantang brewed him a pot of newly arrived Pu'er, Tea Soup glowed with amber luster in the cup.
Chen Xi is sitting on the sofa with a laptop on his lap, checking the latest position and profit data of Henglong Capital.
Zhang Qingxue just came back from Shanghai, and Board of Directors, the last Board of Directors before Bubble Mary went on the market, had just finished, and her face was still tired from catching a plane all night.
When Liu Mingyu opened the door and came in, he was holding a Kraft Paper Envelope in his hand with a slightly subtle expression.
"The editor of Zhao Zong, Forbes Chinese Website contacted us."
He put the envelope in front of Zhao Chen,
"They said that the final ranking of Forbes China Rich List in 2019 will be announced in the next Zhou Zheng format.
According to the data they currently have,
Your personal net worth is approximately between 15 billion and 16 billion US Dollar, and you are expected to rank fifteenth on the list."
The office was quiet for a moment. Chen Xi's fingers stopped on the keyboard.
Zhang Qingxue The hand holding the tea is hanging in mid-air.
Su Wantang stood behind Zhao Chen, still holding a teapot in his hand, and his eyes fell on Liu Mingyu's face.
"Sixteen billion US Dollar."
Zhao Chen repeated the number in a low voice, as if he was weighing a data that had little to do with him.
"How did they figure it out?"
"Mainly Era Vanguard."
Liu Mingyu opened the notebook and recorded the caliber provided by the Forbes editorial team.
"They traced the 13D filing Era Vanguard submitted to the SEC,
Know that Era Vanguard holds approximately 15.5% of the shares of Nvidia, approximately 14.8% of the shares of Tesla, and approximately 5.4% of the shares of SpaceX.
In addition, Henglong Group 64% of the shares, Bubble Mary 31.2%, Green Energy Technology 32%, Yunnan Agriculture Group 20%--
Adding these together, the conservative valuation range they gave is 12 billion to 15 billion US Dollar."
"Conservative?"
Zhang Qingxue put down the tea cup and frowned slightly.
"This is no longer conservative. Do they know that our Henglong stock is still pledged?
Do you know that the lever on Era Vanguard on Tesla has not been completely removed?"
"They know."
Liu Mingyu Turn to the next page,
"But Forbes's caliber is 'net assets' - they only calculate the net worth after total assets minus total liabilities.
The liabilities of pledge financing will not be listed separately.
As for the leverage of Era Vanguard, they believe that our position cost on Tesla is low enough.
The leverage ratio is within control, so there is no separate deduction."
Chen Xi Close the laptop and lean on the armrest of the sofa.
She has been studying investment since college, and is no stranger to the editorial logic of the Forbes list--
That list was never an accurate asset valuation report.
It is an approximate estimate based on publicly available information.
But its influence on the domestic media and public far exceeds any professional financial analysis.
Once Zhao Chen's name appears in the top twenty of the list,
Domestic Financial Media will chase every move of Henglong like crazy,
Interpretations from the self-media will be overwhelming, and invitations from his alma mater, government, chambers of commerce, and various forums will fly into Henglong Headquarters's mailbox like snowflakes.
"Fifteenth."
Zhao Chen picked up the tea cup and took a sip. The tea was already a little cold, "Who is in front of me?"
Liu Mingyu looked down at the notebook:
"The reference given by Forbes is - the one in front of you,
It is probably the range between Qiangdong and NetEase Ding Sanshi of Beijing West, and the estimated difference is within hundreds of millions of US Dollar.
The people behind you should be those New Energy Vehicle Startups. They are all in the range of 8 billion to 10 billion US Dollar.
You are the only one under the age of 30 among the top 20,
He is also the youngest self-made billionaire in Asia."
Zhao Chen put down the tea cup and looked out the window.
He suddenly remembered that autumn in 2016 when he was just reborn -
At that time, he was standing in Zhengfa University's class, struggling to find the spare money in his pocket to buy a single stock.
And now, Forbes has put his name in the top fifteen list in the country, and uses the quantifier "Ten-Billion-US-Dollar" to measure his wealth.
Three years passed between these two events, but it was like a deep valley that he had climbed step by step from Jiangbeizui.
"Zhao Zong, Forbes hopes that we can cooperate in providing a copy of Asset Confirmation Letter.
It is not necessary, but if we cooperate, the ranking accuracy will be higher.
If we don't cooperate, they will make estimates based on existing public data."
Liu Mingyu pulled out the document from the envelope. It was Asset Confirmation Form with Forbes Logo printed on it.
Each line contains the position details of Henglong and Era Vanguard, waiting for Zhao Chen to sign for confirmation.
"Reply to them."
Zhao Chen scanned the form from beginning to end, picked up the pen, and signed his name at the end of the form.
"There is no need to change the data, just calculate it according to their calculations. I only have one sentence, tell them for me--"
"What words?"
"The numbers are dynamic. I only care about the long-term value of Henglong and Era Vanguard. The ranking on the list does not mean anything."
Su Wantang stood behind him. When he heard this sentence, the hand holding the tea paused slightly.
The tone when Zhao Chen said this was exactly the same as when he signed the Stock Exchange announcement and wrote in the SEC inquiry letter reply--
It's not deliberately low-key, it's just stating the facts.
For him, wealth has never been a number to show off, but a tool to measure risks and opportunities.
He may not read the list, but he must read every piece of news on Bloomberg Terminal that affects his position;
He may not care about the ranking, but he cannot care about whether Era Vanguard's position on Nvidia is safe or not.
Whether the asset structure of Henglong is healthy, and whether the listing pace of Bubble Mary and Green Energy Technology can be advanced on time.
"This is the Zhao Chen I know."
Chen Xi turned the laptop back on and regained his usual calmness typical of a data analyst.
"However, the Forbes list also has its value.
When ranking itself becomes a credibility endorsement tool, it has an impact on your negotiating opponents and partners.
Before Green Energy Technology Series C raises money, if any investors are hesitant, if you put the Forbes list on the table, Zhou Bingcheng's back will become even harder."
"Someone else has to hold it, not me."
Zhao Chen glanced at her,
"The list is Forbes's list, not Henglong's list. Henglong's credit does not need to be stamped by Forbes."
Lin Shicheng, who is far away from New York, also sent an encrypted text message to Zhao Chen.
The message was only a few lines long--
"SEC received an inquiry from Forbes Reporter requesting materials.
According to the procedure, I informed the other party that they can only make judgments based on the published 13D and HSR Filing."
Zhao Chen Flip the phone screen and place it on the coffee table.
It should be already early morning on the Hudson River. Those people on Short Sellers Club may be refreshing the preview page of Forbes official website.
Looking at the rows of asset data about to be updated on the web page,
Crush the last remaining Short Selling obsession bit by bit into the increasingly shallow Whisky ice cubes in the cup.