Under Ferdinand's butterfly effect, the rubber crisis that erupted in 1911 did not develop into a global economic crisis.
The reason was rather amusing: the economic crisis that had begun in the United States in 1907 had not fully ended until 1909.
Under the natural law of survival of the fittest, the economic crisis of 1907 had already eliminated a great deal of excess capacity. The capitalist world economy was now in a period of recovery.
Apart from a few individual sectors, most industries did not suffer from overproduction. And since relatively few industries had been dragged in by the rubber stock market, an economic crisis naturally did not erupt.
Thus, in this feast of capital, Ferdinand had not reaped all that much—far less than the Jewish capitalists who had shorted on a massive scale. The aftereffect, however, was that the anti-Semitic movement once again surged across continental Europe!
Oh, that "not much" was merely Ferdinand's own assessment. In truth, the gains from this operation had still been exceedingly generous.
"Little Karl, tally up our gains," Ferdinand said calmly.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Little Karl replied.
"Beginning in 1902, we began positioning ourselves in the rubber market ahead of time. Altogether, we invested 15 million lev—roughly 600,000 pounds—establishing thirty-eight rubber companies of varying sizes. We acquired 186 rubber plantations throughout Southeast Asia, with a total rubber-growing area of 10,000 hectares.
"After our operations, the companies were listed in London, Shanghai, New York, Paris, and elsewhere. At their peak, their combined market capitalization approached 30 million pounds.
"Before the stock market crash broke out, we sold off shares and liquidated 8 million pounds. Previously, our companies had raised approximately 3.8 million pounds through share issuance. After deducting costs and expenses, our total profit came to 10.36 million pounds!
"Later, we spent nearly