The Tyrant Billionaire

Victor was a shrewd person. He knew this trip to England was his opportunity and observed the situation there. He knew the WWII damages were intense on the continent, with many people fleeing to England, causing a population influx.

The boss said land would appreciate, and Victor now firmly believed it, admiring the boss even more for predicting this from thousands of miles away.

He also gathered much other information, sending a telegram to headquarters every week to report his findings. Each telegram would reach Hardy. One of them mentioned that he found the price of penicillin in England to be extremely high, with some people paying 30 dollars for a bottle.

At that time, the US dollar was pegged to gold, and 30 dollars was equivalent to 24 grams of gold.

If he could get a batch of penicillin over there, he would make a lot of money. As for why others didn't sell it to England, it was simple: information asymmetry. Information was not as developed as in later generations, and few Americans paid attention to anything outside the U.S market.

Since the currently famine and devastated Europe didn't really have enough money to buy food let alone present a market for the fast developing U.S technology.

Even if a few people knew, they would keep the information to themselves because widely known information couldn't fetch high prices.

Merck Pharmaceuticals was one of the companies designated by the US government to produce penicillin during World War II, including Pfizer. Seeing the owner of Merck reminded Hardy of this matter. Perhaps he could buy a batch of penicillin from him.

Penicillin had no patent. Setting up a penicillin production line and building a factory in England could sustain the business for decades and save many lives, and even if Merck was interested in the European market there is still the underdeveloped Japanese market that no one has payed attention to it yet.

"Mr. David Merck, hello," Hardy said, raising his glass with a smile.

"Mr. Hardy, hello. I wanted to come over to chat with you, but you were surrounded by too many people. When do you think would be a good time to talk about the MGM Casino?" Merck said.

He was also one of the new casino investors. Buying penicillin from him wouldn't be an issue.

Hardy and David Merck were chatting about the casino, with Merck most concerned about future customer traffic. Hardy laughed and said, "It's simple. Turn Las Vegas into a paradise for men, and naturally, customers will come."

"A paradise for men?"

"Gambling, alcohol, women, all kinds of performances, everything men like is here. This place is all about enjoyment, coming here feels like coming to a man's paradise."

"Las Vegas will also host the Miss World pageant, Victoria's Secret model contest, lingerie shows, boxing matches, and horse and dog racing. These events will attract many tourists."

David Merck nodded with a smile, "You're making me want to go already."

Hardy seemed to remember something and said, "David, I have friends in England who said they lack penicillin. I was wondering if I could buy a batch from you."

"Penicillin is currently in short supply domestically. We haven't formally supplied Europe yet as they're too poor. But since your friends need it, no problem, I can allocate some for you."

"How much can you give me?"

Merck thought for a moment and said "How about 50,000 bottles per month?"

Hardy quickly did some calculations. The wholesale price of 200,000 units of powdered penicillin is $1 per bottle, sold at $2-3 per bottle in U.S. hospitals. In the U.K hospitals, the price is about $10 per bottle, and the black market price is as high as $30.

Buying 50,000 bottles would cost him $50,000. Selling them to U.K hospitals would bring $500,000, and on the black market, it would be $1.5 million. Huge profit.

"50,000 bottles is too little," Hardy said.

Merck spread his hands, "Hardy, you need to understand, I'm giving you this batch because you're my friend and partner. No one else could get it."

Merck leaned closer to Hardy and said, "There's another reason for not exporting penicillin in large quantities to Europe yet. The government has a secret restriction order."

Hardy finally understood. With the acumen of these capitalists, they wouldn't miss out on making money from the Europeans unless they were under surveillance by the government.

Americans businesses already make them enough money. Disobeying the government's temporary export restrictions to Europe could lead to penalties, which would not be worth it for a large pharmaceutical company.

"100,000 bottles, or it's not worth doing the business," Hardy said.

Merck thought for a moment. Hardy had a gang under him that could easily smuggle Penicillin, Exposing his brand to Europeans in large quantities before the restrictions were lifted could build some kind of brand awareness before his competitors were allowed to enter the market, which was worth it. "Okay, agreed."

Hardy smiled and shook hands with Merck.

"Why not set up a pharmaceutical factory in Europe?" Hardy asked.

Merck smiled, "I thought about it before, but it's too far and the market isn't developed yet. It's not as profitable as developing the American market."

"David, how about this: we partner to build a pharmaceutical factory in the U.K. You handle the technology, and I handle construction and sales. The first product will be penicillin," Hardy suggested.

Merck looked at Hardy seriously, "You're optimistic about Europe?"

Hardy shrugged, "The American market is too crowded. Europe, on the other hand, is still a blank slate. People may not pay attention to it for now since they are still poor, but don't forget Europe's technology and products are less than a decade behind that of the U.S, it won't take them long before catching up to us.

Besides, don't look at just the western side of Europe, there is east Europe, which has a huge population. It's a huge market free for grabs before the European companies start to recover."

Merck thought seriously, "We can partner on the factory. I'll provide the technology and take a 30% stake. The rest is up to you."

He had nothing to lose, Hardy would invest the money. If it failed, Hardy would bear the losses. At worst, he'd just withdraw his technicians.

"Deal. I'll have my people contact Merck Pharmaceuticals," Hardy said with a smile.