Reborn Russia As An Oligarch

Hovchenko bent over, put his arms on his knees, held his chin with his right hand, looked at Wang Ye with bright eyes and said:

"Misha, after recently traveling around remote border areas, I was greatly touched!

Originally, I thought that even if ordinary people's lives were not that rich, they would not be much worse. After all, our country's economic development has been pretty good in recent years.

But after this field trip, I really realized that those places and Moscow are completely different worlds...

People in remote areas live a very difficult life!

So I was thinking about why this phenomenon occurs. "

This was a relatively big question, and Wang Ye found it difficult to answer it for a while. He could only smile bitterly and said: "There is no way to do this. We can only take it slowly."

The problem mentioned by Hovchenko is indeed troublesome. The country has such a vast land area and a small population, which is basically concentrated in and around a few big cities.

Therefore, border areas are sparsely populated, and some so-called remote small towns may only have a few hundred people, and are thousands of kilometers away from major cities.

Under such circumstances, let alone the fact that Da Mao has not become rich in recent years, even if it were rich, it would not be necessary to build supporting facilities such as highways, railways, and airports for such a small number of people.

And without complete transportation conditions and with such a small population, it’s no wonder these small towns are so wealthy.

So, this is an unsolvable problem.

Perhaps the situation will be better when Wang Ye starts to promote the urbanization process in the future, slowly concentrate the population in big cities, and eliminate those small towns and villages.

When Hovchenko said this, he obviously felt it and was not blaming Wang Ye.

He sighed deeply and continued: "After seeing this, I suddenly felt that my previous so-called ideals were too far away from reality. Compared with the so-called business environment and the so-called freedom, the lives of the people at the bottom are more It deserves my attention."

Wang Ye was a little confused about what Hovchenko was thinking. Could it be that the old man was stimulated by something?

He asked tentatively: "Uncle, what do you think should be done to change the current situation?"

Hovchenko smiled, straightened up and said:

"How you politicians think about it and improve it is your business and I have no control over it.

Maybe you will think that the country has other more important things to do, and improving the lives of the people at the bottom is not that important. But I can do what I can.

In this regard, I think Abu is better than me.

Although I didn’t understand why he was running for governor of Chukotka at first, I also thought that he spent his own money to build infrastructure for Chukotka to cultivate his own reputation and to gain fame.

But after I went to Chukotka to investigate, I found that no matter what Abu’s purpose was, he really changed the lives of the locals.

Chukotka is located in an extremely remote area. It is said that the life of the local people should be very difficult, but because Abu invested a lot of money there, the quality of life of the people there is still good.

I just thought, what is the use of making so much money after so many years in business.

My family and I will definitely not be able to spend all that money. Can we use it to do something more meaningful?

For example, spend enough money to help poor people, not to mention making them rich, but at least they can have enough food and clothing.

I feel that doing such a thing is more meaningful than joining the political arena to engage in intrigues and intrigues.

After all, I’m not good at that either, but you are more suitable for political development than me, haha..."

Wang Ye was overjoyed, Hovchenko had figured it out!

All along, what he was most worried about was that Kovchenko was determined to take over the Kremlin and conflict with the interests of the huge Klaviko Group. Then he would be caught in the middle and it would be difficult to be a human being.

Now Hovchenko suddenly said that he wanted to devote himself to public welfare undertakings, and that he wanted to expand the scale of public welfare undertakings, no longer limited to education, but to expand to the livelihood issues of the people at the bottom.

There is no doubt that this is a bottomless pit...

Not only does it require a huge investment of capital, but it also requires a lot of time and energy.

Since Hovchenko proposed it so solemnly, it is obvious that he intends to devote all his future time to this cause.

As a result, he naturally has no time and energy to develop in the political arena. This is equivalent to him officially announcing that he has given up his original plan and will no longer compete for the position of Kremlin...

For Wang Ye, this is naturally great news!

It can be said that from this moment on, he has no worries anymore.

You can completely let go and do whatever you want without worrying so much.

…………

Wang Ye immediately said with a smile on his face: "Uncle, if you think so, I think it is simply... great! I will definitely support you fully. If you need me to do anything, just tell me directly."

Obviously, Hovchenko specifically called Wang Ye to say these words today, not only to get his understanding, but also for something else that needed his help.

Hovchenko did not beat around the bush and said frankly: "I need money, a lot of money!"

This is normal. After all, what he plans to do will require a lot of funds. If there is no money, how can we help the poor...

Wang Ye immediately said bluntly: "After a while, several of my Internet companies will be listed on the market, and I should be able to cash out a lot of money by then. I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hovchenko interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"No, no, I don't need you to contribute money yet. I know that compared to poverty alleviation and public welfare, you are more willing to invest money in supporting important industries.

How should I put it? You are taking a long-term view. When those industries develop, they will be of greater significance to the entire country.

But I don’t have such a long-term vision, so I want to start solving some problems immediately.

So your money will continue to be invested in industrial development, while my money will be used for poverty alleviation and charity.

Besides, although your net worth is indeed higher than mine, none of your assets can be cashed out. If it comes to cash, you are not as rich as me, haha. "

Wang Ye also admits this. Net worth and disposable cash are two different things.

At present, among the many oligarchs in Da Mao, the one with the highest net worth is naturally Wang Ye. By rough estimation, his net worth should already exceed 50 billion US dollars!

As for the specific number, no one can say clearly.

But in terms of cash, Wang Ye is not as good as other oligarchs because he can't keep money in his hands...

After getting some money from dividends at the end of each year, he invested it immediately. There were so many "bottomless pits" under the banner waiting for him to fill them.

If you really want to talk about it, Abu may have the most cash in hand.

That guy calmly cashed out almost all of his assets. He even sold most of his shares in Rusal Group, and the assets he controlled were an airline and a media group.

Wang Ye estimates that the cash in Abu's hands now should be tens of billions of dollars!

Secondly, Hovchenko should have the second most cash on hand. In the past two years, he transferred part of the Yukos Group shares to Wang Ye and cashed out part of it, getting billions of dollars.

Although a lot of money was spent on establishing my own faction and doing educational charity, there was still a lot left over.

Hearing that Hovchenko did not want to pay for it himself, Wang Ye was a little puzzled and asked: "Uncle, what do you mean..."

Hovchenko said with a smile: "Although I don't plan to ask you to donate, the money will still have to come out, and there will be a lot of it!"

This made Wang Ye even more confused, wondering what Hovchenko meant.

Fortunately, Hovchenko directly revealed the answer, "I plan to cash out all the properties in my hands! Of course, I will retain the shares of Polar Bear Investment. As for the remaining shares of Yukos Group and the bank, they will be sold to Forget it. Then use the cashed out money to do what you want to do. This money should be enough for a while."

Wang Ye suddenly realized that this was how he was asked to "pay"...

The assets in Hovchenko's hands now, excluding cash, can be divided into three parts.

The first part is naturally the shares of Yukos Group. Although many of them have been transferred to Wang Ye in the past few years, he still retains a lot of shares himself, about 25%.

According to the current scale of Yukos Group, this share must be worth a lot of money!

The second part is his bank, called "First United Bank", which is considered a large private bank and one of the top five banks in Russia.

There are more than 200 outlets across the country, covering cities of all sizes.

Wang Ye doesn't have a clear idea of ​​how much this bank is worth, but it must be worth billions of dollars...

The third part, of course, is the shares of Polar Bear Investments.

There were only two shareholders in that investment company, namely Wang Ye and Hovchenko. At first, Hovchenko didn't take the investment company seriously at all, and just put some money to let Wang Ye go "little trouble".

As a result, he suddenly discovered recently that the most valuable asset in his hands was not the shares of Yukos Group or First United Bank, but this little-known Polar Bear Investment Company!

From Hovchenko's perspective, after thinking about it for a while, he found that the value of this polar bear investment company was still not fully reflected, and there was still a lot of room for growth in the future!

So when he sold off his assets this time, Hovchenko sold everything else, but still retained his shares in Polar Bear Investment Company.

This can be regarded as a "escape path" he left for himself!

Perhaps at some point in the future, when Hovchenko believes that the value of polar bear investment has reached its peak, he will choose to cash out and leave.

Of course, if Wang Ye wants to take over that part of the shares, he will not refuse.

It doesn’t even matter if it’s half sold and half given away. After all, this investment company was built entirely by Wang Ye...

…………

Wang Ye pondered for a moment and then readily agreed.

"Okay uncle, the shares of Yukos Group and First United Bank have been transferred to me, but it will take a few months for the money to be paid to you."

If you want to take over these assets from Hovchenko, it will take a lot of money.

As a rough estimate, it costs about 10 billion U.S. dollars, and this is a friendly price...

Sure enough, Hovchenko had no intention of "cheating" Wang Ye. He nodded and said simply: "The 25% shares of Yukos plus First United Bank will be packaged for 10 billion U.S. dollars, and this money I'll give it to you whenever you have it, so there's no rush. Anyway, I can't spend all that money in a year or two, and I still have a lot of cash in my personal account, which is enough to last for a long time. It’s time.”

In just a few words, the two of them sealed a deal worth tens of billions of dollars!

If it were a normal commercial merger and acquisition, such a large acquisition would probably not be negotiated for a year or two.

But the nature is different after all. Hovchenko would rather suffer some losses himself, but also put his assets in the hands of Wang Ye. After all, this is his own nephew!

When he really needs Wang Ye's help in the future, he will definitely not sit idly by and ignore it.

In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that what he was doing required a lot of money, Hovchenko wouldn’t even ask for 10 billion U.S. dollars, and he might even give it away for nothing…

At their level and the relationship between the two, talking about money is a bit vulgar!

…………

Regarding Hovchenko’s intention to stay away from politics and devote himself to public welfare, although it has not been made public for the time being, it is obviously not something that can be hidden from those who are interested.

Within a few days, Gebrev found an excuse to invite Wang Ye to have dinner at Turandot Restaurant. When they talked about this matter, he probably wanted to verify it.

"Your uncle...really plans to liquidate all his assets and then invest in poverty alleviation like Abu did?" Gebrev felt a little unbelievable.

Because it sounds outrageous.

It is understandable that Abu did that. Chukotka is his hometown, and it is normal for him to give back to his fellow villagers after he has made a fortune.

Moreover, there are very few people in Chukotka and the city is very small, so it does not require much investment.

It is said that in Chukotka, Abramovich has spent no more than $500 million in total over the years.

Compared to his tens of billions of dollars, it's really nothing.

Secondly, Abu is the governor of Chukotka!

Although this state has a low status in the federation and has a small number of votes, its status as an elected governor still brings a lot to Abu.

At the very least, anyone must consider his identity before touching him.

But Kovchenko is different. He is completely a "political amateur". Even if he does charity and spends billions or tens of billions of dollars, in addition to gaining popular reputation, what else can he get?

In other words, he is preparing for the general election in a few years...

Maybe this was the real reason why Gurbrev met with Wang Ye today. He had to find out what Hovchenko really thought.