Inside the bedchamber, Victor Emmanuel III tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Umberto’s words kept lingering in his mind, refusing to fade away.
Disturbed by his restlessness, Elena sat up.
“If you can’t sleep, you can go talk to our son.
Over the past dozen years or so, he has revealed far too little to us, leaving you without any real understanding of him.” Elena did not want father and son to remain at odds with each other.
Instead, she hoped they could work together to govern Italy.
“If he wanted to talk, he would have spoken long ago.” Victor Emmanuel III’s anger had not completely subsided.
“He spends all day at the Prime Minister’s Office.
When would he have the time?” Elena rolled her eyes.
“Your Majesty, I’ll accompany you.” “As it happens, I also want to see just how much of a family fortune our son has secretly accumulated.” Elena began putting on her clothes as she spoke.
Victor Emmanuel III still did not want to move, stubbornly resisting the idea.
“How capable could a young man possibly be?
Could he really have accumulated more wealth than the entire royal family?” The royal family’s hundreds of thousands of hectares of land alone were worth three to four billion lire, not even counting its real estate, jewelry, artwork, and other assets.
“That’s not necessarily true.
Someone who could produce 500,000 pounds more than a decade ago, someone who could build an entire new city with his own hands—I believe our son’s abilities are extraordinary.” Elena handed her husband his clothes, gracefully giving him a way to back down.
“Hmph.
Talk is cheap.
I’ll go along and hear what he has to say.” Victor Emmanuel III reluctantly put on his clothes.
Bickering along the way, the couple arrived at Umberto’s room, only to find the door open.
After asking a valet, they learned that he was out on the balcony.
The moonlight was bright that night.
Seeing Umberto standing there all alone, the couple instead began to worry.
Elena hurried over first and called out softly, “Child, are you alright?” Hearing his mother’s voice, Umberto immediately turned around and saw that his father was there as well.
“Mother, I’m fine.
It’s still early, and I just couldn’t fall asleep.” “More like you couldn’t sleep at all.” Victor Emmanuel III sat down on a nearby stool.
“At such a young age, you don’t smoke, you don’t like drinking, yet you enjoy standing around staring at the moon.” “Father is worrying too much.” Umberto genuinely felt no pressure.
He simply couldn’t sleep.
“Enough.
Stop pretending.” Victor Emmanuel III was convinced that his son was under tremendous pressure.
“Answer me this first.
Over the past decade or so, just how many things have you done behind our backs?” “This…” Umberto was somewhat dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Why were they suddenly so interested in his past?
“Child, tell us about it.” Elena encouraged him.
“Mother wants to hear about your glorious achievements and see whether it was my intelligence and wit that you inherited.” Looking into their expectant eyes, Umberto sighed helplessly and sat down.
“Alright, then I’ll keep it brief.” “First of all, I must make one thing clear: I am under no pressure.” “When I was four years old, I used Mother’s identity to open an anonymous account in Switzerland for investment purposes.
Later, during the rubber bubble, I made a staggering 10 million pounds.
“Aside from the 500,000 pounds I gave Mother and the 400,000 pounds I used to repay the original capital, I reinvested everything else.
“Before the war, I aggressively purchased gold and acquired stakes in or outright control of high-quality assets throughout Europe and the United States, including military industries, shipping companies, grain businesses, mines, and land.
“I also shorted the mark and the lira, making another fortune after the war.
“My investments went exceptionally smoothly.
“With the money I earned, I purchased land north of Rome, built a new city, and cultivated talent across various industries.
“That is why I had the resources to thwart Mussolini.” “How in the world did you predict the rubber bubble and the outbreak of war?” Victor Emmanuel III swallowed hard.
The more he thought about it, the more unbelievable—and even frightening—it seemed.
“Naturally, by analyzing competition over resources, geopolitical conflicts, market competition, and public sentiment.
“You could say that I have a natural sensitivity toward politics.
“For example, I’ve been watching Mussolini for a long time and had already predicted the path he would eventually take.” Umberto calmly spouted nonsense.
“You also predicted Italy’s postwar changes?” “They were well within my expectations.
That’s why I shorted the lira and made a tidy sum.” “You unfilial son!” Victor Emmanuel III felt his heart ache.
What a filial son he had raised!
The country had suffered a national disaster, and his own son had made a fortune from it.
“That’s called going with the flow.” Umberto chuckled cheerfully.
“How much are your assets worth?” Victor Emmanuel III no longer wanted to hear about his son’s other achievements.
The more he listened, the angrier he became.
“I haven’t calculated it precisely, but I should have at least a few hundred million pounds.” Umberto deliberately gave only a vague figure and did not reveal the true amount.
The real figure was simply too enormous.
Around one billion pounds.
And that did not even include the vast sums he had already spent.
That was merely the current value of his assets.
To put it simply, Umberto had fulfilled the grand dream of his previous life.
He had become wealthier than an entire nation.
Moreover, Umberto had not even told them about the profits he expected to make in 1923 and 1929.
If he did, he would probably frighten them to death.
At present, the investments held through his private and corporate accounts were mainly concentrated in two places: Germany and the United States.
In Germany, the primary strategy was shorting the mark.
The operation had already been underway for some time, with the scale gradually increasing to avoid attracting the attention of foreign governments and major financial interests.
The plan was to continue shorting the mark until the following year, after which he would aggressively purchase German assets once their prices had collapsed to rock bottom.
In the United States, his investments were concentrated in industries such as automobiles, radio, media, energy, aviation, and chemicals.
In Umberto’s memory, the stock price of the Radio Corporation of America would rise by as much as fifty times between 1923 and 1928.
General Electric not only supplied equipment to the radio industry but also held shares in radio companies.
General Motors had adopted an installment-payment sales model, and by 1929, its stock price could rise by as much as tenfold.
As for American real estate, Umberto had little interest in it, since he considered it primarily a short-term speculative opportunity.
His American investments would gradually be withdrawn in early 1929, allowing him to escape safely near the peak.
Looking at his dumbfounded parents, Umberto felt somewhat embarrassed.
It seemed he really had frightened them.
“Father, Mother, are you alright?” “Fine, fine.” Victor Emmanuel III finally snapped back to his senses and repeatedly waved his hand, though inwardly he remained deeply unconvinced.
The total value of the royal family’s assets was estimated at around 10 billion lire.
Yet all of it combined could not compare with even a fraction of Umberto’s fortune.
How infuriating!
No wonder his son was always so unbelievably confident.
With money, who wouldn’t be confident?
With such enormous wealth behind him, who wouldn’t dare seize power?
“Umberto, I’ll give you the land, but you must give me an equivalent value in pounds.” Even between father and son, accounts had to be settled clearly.
Victor Emmanuel III had no intention of making a losing deal.
“…” Umberto was speechless.
“Father, we’re family.” “What family?
When you had this much money, did you ever think about me, your mother, or your sisters?” “I did.
I give all of you plenty of gifts and money every year.” “That’s nothing but a drizzle compared with what you have.” “That won’t do.
The country is undergoing reforms and needs an emergency reserve.
“Britain, France, and the United States may not necessarily grant us international loans.
This money may ultimately have to be brought back into Italy.” Umberto stubbornly refused to give in.
“Half.” Victor Emmanuel III took a step back.
“Transfer half to my account first.
When the country genuinely needs it, I’ll lend it back to you.” Considering that his son was thinking about the country, he had already made a considerable concession.
“No.
Tomorrow I’ll publicly announce that I’m donating all the land directly to the people.
Let’s see if you still dare argue against it.” Umberto had never realized his father was such a money-grubber.
Could temporarily losing political power really change someone’s personality this much?
“You!” Victor Emmanuel III realized that he could not win against his son unless they genuinely fell out with each other.
But that was impossible.
After tonight, he had already decided that he would leave political power in Umberto’s hands while retreating to the background and supporting him from behind.
With a son capable of predicting the future so accurately, how bad could Italy’s fortunes possibly become?
Seeing his father’s indignant expression, Umberto finally compromised.
“Twenty million pounds, but you must publicly announce the donation of the royal lands.
It’ll greatly improve your image among the people.” “That’s more like it!” Victor Emmanuel III immediately smiled, his face practically blooming like a flower.
Standing nearby, Elena watched the cheerful father and son and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Ever since he was little, Umberto had cherished a harmonious family and had always acted with that goal in mind.
With such a considerate son, she truly wondered which country’s princess would be fortunate enough to marry him.