Chapter 204: First Meeting with Buffett

Since Xie Jingxing donated two million US dollars to Columbia University last year, he has received three greeting emails so far, including an explanation of the use of funds, Christmas greetings, and the most recent one inviting him to return to his alma mater to participate in activities.

Thousands of words can be summed up in one sentence: donate more quickly.

If a graduate is not doing well and earns 3,000 yuan a month driving an online ride-hailing car, his alma mater is still proud of him, and he does not need to return to the school to participate in the greeting activities. If necessary, his alma mater can donate some money to him.

Therefore, those who were invited back to participate in the event today are all outstanding alumni. The parking spaces are filled with various luxury cars, and their figures can be seen appearing in the news from time to time.

This also includes parents of current students, celebrities, barristers, well-known doctors, and senior politicians. In fact, a large part of the strong social influence of top universities comes from this.

Students and schools achieve mutual success and form social circles of common interests. Moreover, due to the special attributes of the school, social relationships are often slightly purer.

"Thank you, come back, you should come back and continue your studies!" A student not far away shouted enthusiastically with his hands cupped to his mouth.

"Reliving exam week torture?"

Xie Jing Xing waved his hand: "Guys, I've experienced it, enjoy it."

The students suddenly started shouting in surprise. This was a tradition during exam week, where they released stress by shouting in front of the school library, which had a comic effect of everyone trying to be bad together.

Xie Jingxing happily interacted with the students, took Cui Yunxiu's arm, and walked into the auditorium for the event.

"Thank you, welcome back." The professors and administrative staff who acted as greeters were responsible for the reception.

Xie Jingxing shook hands with the professor in front of him: "I hope I'm not late."

"The timing is just right. You have never been late for my class." The professor recalled the past with emotion.

Former students have become research sponsors. Although this is very common at Columbia University, the speed of identity change is indeed a bit fast.

After a few pleasantries, he kindly reminded: "There are many alumni working on Wall Street here today, and Mr. Buffett will be here later."

"That's great. Maybe I should try to chat with Mr. Buffett." Xie Jingxing expressed his gratitude with a delighted look.

Choi Yun-soo saw this and wondered who said “Fuck Buffett”.

But this has nothing to do with her. Today she attended the event as a female companion, targeting alumni working on Wall Street and the high-net-worth parents of students.

The title of manager of investor relations and North American university resources at Grapefruit American Capital was a substantial reward she received for sending Zhou Fenglan home on the night of the cocktail party a few days ago.

The $1.5 million for the second phase venture fund is not a small number. The Zhejiang business faction headed by Mr. Ma will take up almost 0.5 million shares; the Columbia University endowment fund with a size of over billion will follow up with an investment of million shares.

The rest of the funds will be raised publicly, except for some investment from Qiangdong, who is about to make a fortune from the IPO, and his friends in Silicon Valley.

The minimum investment amount for a single transaction is US$200 million, the closed period is seven years, and there is no minimum bet agreement.

The job was outsourced to Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, who said they could get it done within three months and would postpone the cut in commissions.

After all, Choi Yun-soo came from Wells Fargo and is very familiar with Goldman Sachs's style of doing things, so it is necessary for him to personally conduct a sampling survey of small and medium-sized investors.

There was soothing background music playing in the auditorium. She was flitting back and forth like a butterfly, holding a champagne glass, socializing diligently.

On the other side, Xie Jingxing was approached by a middle-aged man with a hooked nose and a deep temperament.

“David Cohen, from CCPM.”

He briefly introduced himself and got straight to the point: "I heard that your fund is raising funds and the investment will mainly focus on the Chinese Internet sector?"

"That's right, this fund will participate in mid- and late-stage projects." Xie Jingxing perked up.

David Cohen asked bluntly: "For example, start-ups in the ride-hailing and food delivery industries?"

"I can't make such a promise." Xie Jingxing shrugged.

David Cohen raised his glass and said, "I understand. $2000 million. If it's convenient for you, you can come to my office to talk."

"No problem." Xie Jingxing nodded slightly.

"See you later."

David Cohen handed him a business card and strode toward his next social target.

Xie Jingxing took a sip of wine in confusion. CCPM Capital was originally a private equity business under JPMorgan Chase, and an old investment institution of the same era as KKR. At that time, the American business circle was much more intense in forming cliques and factions than the current domestic Internet industry.

The term "barbarians at the gate" refers to a group of investment institutions that have made their fortunes by relying on ultra-high leverage to engage in hostile takeovers. This kind of offending people is very harmful to investment banks, and they do not make much money in comparison.

So around the millennium, CCPM was gradually separated from JPMorgan Chase and became independent, investing in many large projects in Asia, but it showed little interest in China and took no action.

Such a colleague came up and invested 2000 million US dollars in Xiyou without saying a word, simply because he was optimistic about Didi and Ele.me?

It can't be that she is just extremely charming. If it was a white girl with blonde hair, blue eyes and a hot body, he would be willing to admit it.

Xie Jingxing was thinking nonsense when the soothing music paused and the buzz of idle chatter echoed in the auditorium before disappearing into the silence of the entire place.

An old man with a sly smile slowly stood up to the podium, and the audience immediately burst into warm applause.

Obviously, the only person who could receive such treatment was Buffett. He exhaled and pointed at the podium: "My God, for decades, the school has always invited me to participate in charity events in this way, even though some of you have donated more than me."

There were noisy and friendly laughter. The stock god Buffett, the Federal Reserve Czar Greenspan, and the current President Hussein, this school has trained so many elites for society.

Judging by the amount of the donation, does Hussein have to stand in the audience and listen to lectures next time he returns to school? He might have to wait two years before retiring and coming back.

After the old man's worldly opening, he started talking some meaningless nonsense. There were no students at the scene, and they were all profit-seeking creatures. The most useful thing for them was exchanging business cards and taking photos.

Xie Jingxing stood in the audience, listening attentively and meticulously, and was the first to applaud when the speech ended.

"You look very young. When I was your age, I was still studying with teachers, but you have already appeared in the school donation activities. It is outstanding young people like you who make me always proud of Columbia University."

When taking a group photo, Buffett stood in the center and said something polite to the yellow-skinned young boy who was pushed by everyone to stand next to him.

He didn't know who this little guy was, but judging by the reactions of the crowd, he probably had some background, just like when he visited the Goldman Sachs headquarters as a child - the next generation of elites who were being carefully trained.

He had seen this kind of thing too many times, so he just tried to be friendly and put his hand on the young boy's shoulder to show encouragement.

The young boy was slightly stunned, and Buffett responded with a kind smile. The golden value of this photo could help him get a good start when he went to Wall Street for an internship.

"Mr. Buffett, thank you very much for your speech. I benefited a lot from it."

After taking the group photo, Xie Jingxing expressed his gratitude. Buffett was slightly disappointed and said perfunctorily, "Really? I'm honored."

"You have provided me with a very good learning opportunity. Next time I am invited to participate in a school charity event in this form, I can be more relaxed." Xie Jingxing laughed.

Buffett blinked his eyes, looked around at the people around him who were sure no one would interrupt him, and keenly realized that the identity of the ambitious yellow-skinned young boy in front of him might be different from what he had guessed.

"Very good. The future belongs to the young. I will definitely be able to learn more from your speech then."

There was a little more sincerity in his smile: "Uh, I'm sorry, can I get to know you formally?"

"Xie Jingxing, from China, a 2013 graduate of Columbia University CC College."

Xie Jingxing did not introduce himself otherwise. The old man's attitude towards the Internet industry was well known, and he needed to create more brilliant works in order to be truly recognized by the old man.

"Then you should call me senior," Buffett said kindly.

Xie Jingxing smiled knowingly: "Of course, my mentor is also a Nobel Prize winner."

Many alumni around couldn't help but applaud and cheer, several school professors and administrative staff twitched their lips, and the vice president in charge of the event secretly covered his face.

Columbia University was originally a college with roots that can be traced back to the British royal family. Later, as it began to admit female students and war veterans, it was renamed a university and opened three other undergraduate colleges.

To the extent that they now offer various master's degree programs to make money, 80% of international students in statistics majors are from China, and the school is ridiculed by the public as a "water school."

For historical reasons, Columbia University took over Barnard College as a disguised way of recruiting female students, and set up a special college to provide adult re-education for veterans, including opening its arms to Chinese students in recent years.

The core factor is that it is the birthplace of left-wing and left-wing thought in American colleges and universities, and there is no shortage of martyrs and defenders of the left in any era.

A few years ago, when a plane hit a building in the 911/ incident, the US government blamed it on the Middle East terrorist attacks and almost named Iran.

As a result, Columbia University invited the then-President of Iran to give a lecture at the school. Regardless of the public demonstrations and bombings, Columbia University had a passionate debate on human rights topics with the President of Iran on the campus lawn in front of thousands of students.

This school has always been the most friendly American university to Chinese students, from the generation of Hu Shi who studied abroad in the Republic of China to today.

Xie Jingxing's ability to make a grand introduction to Buffett and secure investment from the school's endowment fund all depended on this relationship.

In addition, in terms of reputation, there is also a chain of contempt among the undergraduate colleges within the school. Columbia University's orthodox school is in CC College, which has an extremely low admission rate comparable to Harvard and Yale and stands at the top of the contempt chain.

When graduates go for interviews, interviewers like to ask specifically which college they graduated from when they see that they graduated from Columbia University. This has been made into a joke and a funny plot for a TV series.

The outstanding alumni have long passed the stage of relying on their school resumes to speak for themselves and have fun with themselves, but the school officials are so annoyed that they have to smile awkwardly to cover it up.

"Do you remember the symbol of CC College?"

"Leo, unparalleled leadership, I see the light through your light."

"Very good, I will invest in your fund and look forward to your next speech on stage!"

A white old man with gray hair pointed his hand and said loudly and passionately: "Warren, Hussein, Columbia University will never lack leaders of the times, regardless of race or skin color. You and the students outside the auditorium at this moment are the leaders of this era and the pride of Columbia University!"

"By your light I can see the light."

Xie Jingxing placed one hand on his chest and repeated the school motto in Latin, bowing slightly: "Gentlemen, Columbia University is always proud of you!"

"Clap clap clap."

Buffett clapped his hands with a smile on his face, leading to a prolonged applause.

If Harvard and Yale have always maintained the purity of Anglo-Saxon orthodoxy, then Columbia University, which originated from the British royal family, has been permeated by the Jews.

The more Virgin Marys the better, and openness to diversity is very politically correct, at least for now.

After a long time, the charity banquet was about to end, and under the leadership of the white old man, many alumni made additional donations.

Xie Jingxing also wrote a check for $50 on the spot, donating a total of $100 million, once again gaining praise and goodwill.

"I wrote to you."

After the show, he and Buffett chatted for a few more words: "The earliest one seems to be in 2007 when Google CEO Larry Page announced his marriage. An alumnus who was in financial difficulties wrote him a letter to wish him well and expressed his hope for help."

"A few months later he received a reply with $1,000 in cash and a handwritten letter of encouragement from Larry Page."

Xie Jingxing couldn't help but laugh and continued, "Since then, it has become popular in school to write letters to the big names on the rich list. The letter I wrote to you was about the 'Black Monday' of the US stock market in the 1980s, but unfortunately I didn't get a reply."

"I'm getting old, and I have to wear reading glasses to handwrite letters like Larry Page. I'm receiving more and more letters, and my assistant has to stop me from doing that and selectively use a printer to reply on my behalf."

Buffett said sincerely: "It's a pity that I should have heard your name earlier."

Up to now, he had heard from others about what this young man, who was younger than his grandson, had done, and the extremely strong and iron-blooded merger case.

There had once been such a proud genius who appeared in his long life and was treated as a son or nephew by Paul Mellon and his wife.

Morgan and Rockefeller, the absolute "new blood" of the entire Wall Street group of Anglo-Saxon wasps, led the Anglo-Saxon whites to the brink of a split with the Wall Street Jewish financial groups.

"It's okay. I will write to you later and look forward to receiving your reply."

Xie Jing Xing raised his eyebrows: "Come to think of it, I occasionally receive letters now and then, and I often worry about how to reply to them."

"If you are seeking financial help, I suggest you don't reply."

Buffett joked helplessly that he had prepared a lot of $20 checks at the beginning, but later he received more and more letters asking for money.

This is unreasonable. Doing charity and supporting beggars are two different things.

"I will reply to their charity fund's contact information. There are also many letters asking me for money-making ideas. I suggest that they write to you for advice." Xie Jingxing finally complained.

Buffett laughed out loud: "I would advise them to ask God for advice."

Having also graduated from Columbia University, he respected him but did not look up to him. The face of the young genius inexplicably flashed through his mind. He finally glanced at Xie Jingxing, then left in a bored mood as he was escorted by bodyguards into the car.

"It was worth the trip. Roughly speaking, we can raise at least 3000 million US dollars through your alumni." Choi Yun-soo appeared out of nowhere.

Xie Jing Xing retracted his gaze, flexed his facial muscles, and asked, "Do I look like a student?"

"Well, Mr. Warren said he needs to wear reading glasses... Well, he really looks like him, full of energy and enviable..." Choi Yun-soo said truthfully.

(End of this chapter)