The Tyrant Billionaire

Two days later, Andy returned to Los Angeles.

"Boss, what was so urgent that you needed me back?" Andy asked.

"Columbus found a large gold mine in Australia. I sent Jason to handle the paperwork, and he informed me that the Western Australian government is selling a massive amount of land. I intend to purchase a significant portion, so I called you back to help with this," Hardy explained.

Andy knew that if Hardy had called him back, it wasn't just for a small acquisition. A few million, or even tens of millions, wouldn't have required his involvement.

"I'm planning to purchase 1 million square kilometers of land, with a total price of around 4 millions US dollars," Hardy said.

Andy's eyes widened in shock.

"1 million square kilometers? That's equivalent to two times the size of France or four times the size of the UK!"

"The Western Australian government is willing to sell that much land in one go? That doesn't seem to align with typical government development policies," Andy remarked, still astonished.

"They are selling mostly wilderness, barren hills, and wasteland, with no development potential except for mining."

"I had Jason look into it. Apparently, the current Western Australian government is in a bit of a dispute with the federal government. A few years ago, they even held a referendum for independence, but it didn't pass. The large scale land sale seems to be organized by the opposition party it's an internal issue."

"Selling the land isn't unusual, but offering so much all at once is a bit surprising." Enjoy more content from empire

After considering the 400 millions dollar investment, Andy turned to Hardy and asked, "What's your plan, boss?"

"I intend to inflate Wash Mining's stock and use the funds from that to buy the land." Hardy then outlined the plan he had devised over the past couple of days.

After hearing it, Andy nodded in agreement. "I think your plan is feasible, boss!"

"Good, I'll leave it to you to handle," Hardy said with a smile.

The next day.

Andy first approached the bank. Wash Mining had previously mortgaged some stock to the Los Angeles City Bank for funding, but this time, they took it all back.

In the stock market, they began slowly acquiring the remaining circulating shares of Wash Mining.

People soon noticed that Wash Mining, which had previously shown mediocre performance, was steadily climbing. While it wasn't immediately obvious, by the end of the week, the price had risen significantly, reaching about 1.5 dollars per share.

Many began to speculate about the reasons behind the rise. Was someone attempting to manipulate the stock for a quick profit?

However, people quickly dismissed this idea.

The companies that manipulated stocks were usually small players, and none of them dared to play games with Hardy Group. Hardy Group was incredibly powerful, a core family within the California consortium. Even Wall Street wouldn't be foolish enough to provoke such a powerful entity.

So, there were only two possible reasons.

Either Hardy Group was raising the price to sell off stock, or there was good news, and Hardy Group was quietly buying more shares.

Selling off stock didn't make much sense for Hardy Group, leaving only the possibility of good news. Given that Wash Mining was a mining company, it was reasonable to expect that something big was about to happen. Many speculated that Wash Mining had likely discovered a large mineral deposit.

And they were right.

Before long, rumors began circulating. Some whispered at the stock exchange:

"I heard from a friend of a friend that Wash Mining's exploration team found a large gold deposit in Australia. I've also heard they've already sent the company's vice president to Australia to secure the mining rights, which is why people are buying up Wash Mining stock."

As this rumor spread, more and more people began taking notice of Wash Mining.

Naturally, more investors jumped in, buying up Wash Mining shares, causing the stock price to rise further.

The stock price hit 1.8 dollars per share.

People were eager to verify the rumor but instead received an official announcement that Wash Mining was changing its name.

The official notification stated that Wash Mining was now Hardy Mining.

Many thought to themselves, Hardy Group has held onto Wash Mining for years without changing the name. Suddenly renaming the company? There must be some big moves planned.

A few days later.

Hardy Mining made an official public announcement, stating that their mining company had discovered a large gold deposit in Australia. They had already secured mining rights, and the gold ore was of high quality, with an estimated total reserve of 500 tons. Further exploration was ongoing.

Columbus had estimated 200 tons, but the public announcement slightly increased that figure. After all, it was just an estimate who could say for sure?

When this news broke, the market went wild.

No wonder!

Everyone suspected something big was going on with all the recent activity.

With a gold reserve of 500 tons, and the current fixed price of gold at 35 US dollars per ounce, the value of the deposit exceeded 600 million dollars.

Wash Mining's total market value had been only 10 million, but now they had a gold mine worth 600 million. Everyone could easily foresee Hardy Mining's stock price skyrocketing.

Countless investors scrambled to buy Hardy Mining stock. The stock price soared from 1.8 dollars per share to 11 dollars per share in just a few days, a sixfold increase, before finally slowing down.

Hardy Mining then announced a stock split each share would be split into four.

This stock split brought even more positive momentum.

The stock price surged again, rising from 2.75 dollars after the split to 3.3 dollars.

A few days later.

Hardy Mining made another official announcement, stating that further exploration had revealed that the gold ore contained around 10 grams of gold per ton, with total reserves potentially exceeding 800 tons making it a highly profitable mine.

At the same time, Hardy Mining announced the establishment of an Australian subsidiary to fully develop the gold mining business. Hearing this, the stock price of Hardy Mining soared once more.

Hardy's strategy was simple: drive up the mining company's stock price, allowing the company to generate its own capital, and use that money to buy land.

Using the mining company's money to buy land and mine gold was the most legitimate operation imaginable.