Even in California, Liang Yao has never disclosed his assets to the public. It is remarkable that his assets can be estimated at US$30 million from very limited information.

Although Liang Yao's assets are actually higher than the US$30 million figure, the estimate on the rich list is already quite accurate.

Liang Yao remembers the name of the creator of this list, Moses Yale Bichi. This Bichi indeed has two brushes.

In addition to Liang Yao, Bichi's estimates of the assets of Vanderbilt, Jeremiah, Theodore, and Van Daze, other wealthy New Yorkers whom Liang Yao knew, were also relatively accurate without much deviation.

In addition to the people Liang Yao knew, Liang Yao also noticed two names on the list.

One is Charlie, whose assets are as high as 2 million US dollars. Logically speaking, a mere 2 million US dollars is not enough to catch Liang Yao's eyes.

Liang Yao pays attention to the name Charlie because of Bichi's evaluation of Charlie, which is the main business of the rich people on the list.

Liang Yao is rated as the number one gold tycoon and the king of California on this list, followed closely by Vanderbilt and Backhouse as the shipping tycoon and the largest landowner in the United States respectively.

Charlie is rated as a mysterious Wall Street robber on this list, and this person has just been on the list, which means that he has harvested at least more than 1 million US dollars in wealth on Wall Street in a very short period of time.

Liang Yao still knows a thing or two about the history of Wall Street.

Historically, there were not many people who could be called robbers and devils on Wall Street. In Liang Yao's impression, there was no such person as Charlie among the robbers and devils on Wall Street.

Could it be Jay Gould, the Wall Street devil who makes Wall Street investors avoid him?

This idea was quickly rejected by Liang Yao. Although Gould had shown considerable talent in financial speculation since he was a child, Gould's real reputation came after the Civil War in 1851.

De was only fifteen or sixteen years old, so it was unlikely that he would cause such a big disturbance on Wall Street.

Another name that caught Liang Yao's attention was Alexander Turney Stewart.

Stewart is on the list as a retail giant, and its representative asset is the new favorite of New York consumers: the New York Mall, also known as New York's supermarket.

Liang Yaoyou and Fan Daze had the idea of ​​opening a supermarket in New York in partnership. New York's population and market could support a large shopping mall.

Unexpectedly, someone has already entered this industry first. It seems that Liang Yao needs to carefully consider and re-evaluate the issue of opening a supermarket in New York.

Vanderbilt sat at the walnut table and looked at the papers in his hands.

The documents in his hand were information about railroad companies collected from Wall Street and other sources.

Thanks to the incentives provided by governments at all levels in the United States for the construction of railways, such as building railways, you can automatically obtain the land along the railway line and the priority development rights of minerals along the line, as well as some tax exemptions.

Since 1835, American railroad companies have ushered in a stage of barbaric growth. In 1835, there were only three railroad companies listed on Wall Street, in 1840 there were 10, and now there are more than 100.

Vanderbilt now had ample cash flow, and he had an idea for these railroad companies.

Direct acquisition of existing railway companies is undoubtedly a shortcut to quickly grow your own railway company in a short period of time.

However, in Vanderbilt's view, the securities prices of these railway companies were too high and not worth the price. He planned to short the stocks of some railway companies and then annex them at a relatively low price.

He already has a plan in mind.

"If it were you and you wanted to annex several high-quality railway companies, which railway companies would you choose to annex?"

Vanderbilt walked up to Liang Yao and handed the railway company information he collected to Liang Yao.

"Except for California Railroad, are there any high-quality railway companies in the United States today?" Liang Yao said with a smile.

Liang Yao has also done research on American railway companies and learned about these railway companies.

To be honest, Liang Yao is quite disappointed with American railway companies in general. They need technology but not technology, they need credit but not credit, they need conscience but not conscience, and they need capital, but they still have capital.

There will always be people flocking to industries that can make money in the United States, and there will be no shortage of capital.

The most valuable asset of American railroad companies is the land on both sides of their tracks.

The railroad industry in the United States has been spoiled by the federal and state governments. It is time for a disruptor to appear and disrupt the U.S. railroad transportation industry that has been in decline for a long time.

"Just think of it as picking the taller one from the shorter ones."

Vanderbilt said somewhat helplessly.

He is also aware of this situation in the American rail transportation industry.

Liang Yao's eyes lingered on the document handed to him by Vanderbilt for a while, and he said without hesitation.

"Erie Railroad Company."

This is not a difficult choice.

More than 30 years ago, the construction of the Erie Canal connecting the Great Lakes and New York saved the American financial market, saved Wall Street, and revitalized the American economy.

Today, more than 30 years later, the railway, a new mode of transportation, can naturally do the same.

The Erie Railway really grew up after the Civil War. Before the war, the Erie Railway Company was in the right place at the right time and failed to accumulate the technology and strength to match the resources it had. In the final analysis, the Erie Railway was too prosperous.

The Erie Railroad connects cities in the Great Lakes region with New York. The most famous and most promising railway line under the Erie Railroad Company is the railway line between Chicago and New York.

This is also a railway line that Liang Yao is very coveted.

The nature of capital is to pursue profits and avoid disadvantages. The Erie Railroad Company was founded in 1832. It was one of the earliest railroad companies established in the United States. It took the lead in the industry and obtained the railway between New York and the Great Lakes.

Authorization.

This means that the shareholders of the Yili Railway Company can just sit back and make money. Although the quality of the railways is poor, there are serious safety hazards, and the locomotive technology has lagged behind the times, it is not unusable.

In the event of a safety accident, as long as the person who dies is not the president or a highly respected and influential congressman, the Erie Railway only needs to spend some money on public relations to offset the negative impression caused by the accident.

The cost of spending money on public relations is far lower than rebuilding the railway.

However, Liang Yao is not very interested in the Erie Railway Company. The reason is very simple. As the current leading railway company in the United States, the price of more than 10 million US dollars for the Erie Railway Company is too high.

In Liang Yao's view, it is not worth spending more than 10 million US dollars to acquire such a railway company that is not enterprising and has complicated interests.

"The members of the board of directors of the Erie Railroad Company are too complex and have a lot of energy. It will be very troublesome to eat them. I'm afraid I will be involved in a lawsuit before I eat the Erie Railroad Company." Vanderbilt frowned.

"As a second best, the New York Central Railroad and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad are also good choices."

Liang Yao held his chin, thought carefully and then said.

If the existing railway lines of the two companies, the New York Central Railroad Company and the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company, could be connected, they could also open up the railway network from New York to the Great Lakes region and compete with the Erie Railroad Company.

If he were Vanderbilt, he would choose to annex these two railroad companies.

Although the combined strength of these two railroad companies is still not as strong as the Erie Railroad, Vanderbilt now also owns the Stonington Railroad Company and the New York & Harlem Railroad Company.

The combined strength of the four railway companies is still considerable.

What's more, Vanderbilt also has the patent authorization for Liang Yao's new rails, Pioneer locomotives and related carriages. This is also Vanderbilt's current advantage in the railway industry.
Chapter completed!