Oprah asked with some seriousness, "Alright, we've all received your guarantee, William. You must keep your word. So why do you think the stock market will continue to fall?"
She knew it was inappropriate to say such things at a time when most people were in despair, but for the sake of the show's topic, she had to ask. After all, today's theme was to talk with William about the stock market.
William thought for a moment, then shook his head. He had said enough. He was only here today to explain that he would not enter the futures market again in the near future. There was no need to offend those capitalists who were making money.
After he figured it out, he said, "I'm not a professional analyst. I can only speak according to my own understanding. First, there's no money left in the market. Second, the market has lost confidence. As long as the stock market rises a little, it will be suppressed by those who want to get out of their predicament and repay loans. So, confidence is very important."
Seeing that William didn't want to be too clear, Oprah didn't dwell on the question. She also didn't want to get too entangled in it. "So, William, do you have any advice for everyone? After all, you are one of the few people who made a lot of money in this stock market crash."
William said with a smile, "I won't give you any advice, because even if I did, no one would believe it. After all, I'm very young, and people always think I got lucky to make such a large sum of money."
"Hahaha!" Everyone in the audience burst into laughter. In their eyes, William, the wealthy man, making fun of himself was quite humorous.
"I don't really think I'm smarter than others, or that I should point fingers at others. That would only make people dislike me.
I just followed Buffett's advice: get out when others are crazy. So I sold my game and moved into the futures market.
Now I'm in America, following his second piece of advice: enter when others are retreating. So what I want to tell you is that although the market is still in a dark period, its prospects are still very bright, I'm sure of it."
"Clap, clap!" Enthusiastic applause erupted in the audience. Hearing this, everyone immediately felt a strong sense of goodwill towards William. Although he had just said some things they didn't like to hear, overall, his humble, cautious, and unassuming personality was very good for someone who had made a lot of money.
If he had made our money and then acted arrogantly, that would be truly annoying. William's attribution of his success to God and Buffett had already taken effect, as evidenced by the fact that many middle-aged people in the audience no longer looked disgusted as they had before.
After the audience quieted down, Oprah said with a smile, "Thank you, William. You are a good boy, a smart guy. Perhaps Mr. Buffett will invite you to a Buffett lunch after watching the show."
"Oh, really?" William's face showed a surprised expression. "I do have a lot of questions I need to ask him. If I could really invite him to dinner, that would be my honor."
Damn the honor, William knew that old man had no interest in tech stocks at all. Asking him for advice was not as good as talking to the CEOs of tech companies. In these difficult times, William might even be able to directly buy shares of tech companies he liked. Not much, just 5% to start.
He was even willing to give the voting rights of the shares to the founders, as long as the founders agreed to share equal rights with him. This would prevent the founders from pulling any tricks midway.
Oprah and the audience were amused by William's expression. "Of course, William. I've talked with Mr. Buffett, and he's a loyal viewer of my show."
"Next question, William. I heard you made over 2 billion US dollars in Japan. Is that true?"
Upon hearing this question, the audience gasped. 2 billion, good heavens, how much money is that? They thought William was just a billionaire, but from Oprah's words, it seemed William had made far more than 1 billion in this stock market crash.
"Alright, I knew you'd ask that question," William said after a few seconds of thought. "I do have a sum of money that is 2 billion, but—"
The audience didn't wait for William to finish speaking before they all erupted in an uproar. William even heard some people cursing.
William had called his private banking manager in Switzerland, Phillips, yesterday when he received Oprah's show script. He only spoke about it on the show after confirming that there would be no issues with this 2 billion US dollars.
If he were to invest in the future, people would still know about this money. Rather than letting people speculate and be suspicious, it was better for him to say it himself, as this money was legal anyway.
Even if there were disputes, they would be handled by lawyers. The amount of money he spent annually on the Monthstar Law Firm was not for nothing. The lawyers had already prepared everything when filing his taxes.
His private lawyer, Anthony, had guaranteed him with a pat on the chest.
"Quiet, thank you, everyone, please be quiet and let's hear William finish, okay?" Oprah had to remind the audience to quiet down.
After the audience quieted down, Oprah said, "Okay, William, you can continue."
William nodded in thanks to the audience and said, "Thank you, I know people are very curious about where I made this money, how I made it, whether I need to pay taxes, and how much. But I'm sorry, I have to commend the Swiss National Bank here. They are truly the best bank in the world.
This money of mine wasn't earned in Japan. These 2 billion US dollars were made from a futures bet between me and the National Bank in the British Virgin Islands. Simply put, this money was earned from the bank and has nothing to do with anyone else. Thank you."
Oprah said in surprise, "So that means the money was traded directly in an offshore island, without going through any other country, so you don't have to pay any taxes?"
William nodded and said,
"That's roughly the idea. That's what my lawyer and my private bank manager told me. It's a legal transaction."
"Alright, this surprises me, William. Can I ask you how much money you made in total during this stock market crash?"
This question made him ponder. After the 2 billion US dollars were leaked from Japan, he knew that people could probably guess how much money he had made. There was no need to hide it anymore.
The first time he bought long, he made 82 million US dollars in futures. The second time he bought short, he made 3.416 billion US dollars. Adding them up, it was just under 3.5 billion US dollars, plus his principal of 3.5 billion.
"It's probably around 3.5 billion US dollars. The exact amount will only be known after taxes are paid," William said uncertainly.
"You son of a gun, you're robbing money! You've robbed the money of ordinary shareholders all over the world! You should go to hell, William Devlin!" a middle-aged man suddenly stood up and yelled at William.
"No, I don't think I robbed ordinary shareholders. You have to know, buddy, that those who bet against me in futures are all institutions and financial companies. To prevent ordinary shareholders from betting against banks, the minimum trade in my betting agreement with the National Bank is 100 lots.
I don't think ordinary shareholders can afford 100 lots of stock index futures. Do you know how much 100 lots is? I'll tell you, it's 1.262 billion US dollars."
The guy who had just been cursing him thought for a moment and then shouted, "So that means your futures contracts exceeded 11 billion US dollars! God, are you crazy? And are the banks crazy too? How dare they give you 33 times leverage to short in March? God, this is truly insane! No wonder you could make 3.5 billion US dollars. If it were me, I could make that much too. God, you truly are his illegitimate child!"
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