(1)A young man of humble origins came to New York from the Midwest to seek his fortune. He dreamed, in the American way,of becoming a millionaire. He tried his luck on Wall Street. He was diligent and shrewd and.when he had to be,devious.He put together the deal and he did some things with an electronics acquisition that wouldn t bear explaining. He succeeded even beyond his dream: he made twelve million dollars.
(2)At first the young man assumed that everything was working out splendidly. "Isn't it grand?"he said to his wife.once it was apparent that he had made twelve million dollars. His wife told him that it wasn't grand,and he was a nobody.
(3)"But that's impossible."the young man said. “I'm a rich person. We live in an era that celebrates rich people. Rich people are shown in the newspapers in the company of movie stars and famous novelists and distinguished dress designers. The names of the richest corporate raiders are known to every schoolboy. There are rich real estate sharks whose faces appear on the covers of glossy magazines. vBut his wife said that his face would not, because he was a nobody. When he stressed the fact that he had twelve million dollars.his wife retorted that a lot of people did.but they were still nobodies.
(4)"I could buy our way onto the committees of important charity balls,"the young man said."then we'd be mentioned in the columns.""Don't kid yourself,"his wife said. “The important committees are already filled up with people who are really rich. People like us would end up working on something like a dinner-dance to benefit the American Psoriasis(牛皮癣)Foundation."The young man mentioned that he owned a co-op apartment on Fifth Avenue that was worth two million dollars. His wife argued that,to a certain extent,two million dollar co-ops were a dime a dozen. Then The young man boasted of owning a stretch limousine and said it was twenty-one and a half feet long. His wife brushed the idea aside,saying that nobody famous had ever ridden in something like that. and neither Henry Kissinger nor Calvin Klein had ever heard of him,so he was still a nobody.
(5)The young man was silent for a while. "Are you disappointed in me?"he finally said to his wife."Of course I'm disappointed in you. vshe said. "When you asked me to marry you, you said you would surely amount to something. How was I to know that you'd turn out to be a nobody?"
(6)For a moment the young man looked defeated. Then he squared his shoulders and cleared his throat. “I'll make them pay attention,"he said, “I'll buy a professional football team and argue a lot with the coach in public. Ceiebrities will join me to watch big games from the owner's box. "The wife ridiculed him. saying that nobody could buy a professional football team for twelve million dollars.because professional football teams cost big bucks.
(7)"Then I'll buy a magazine and appoint myself chief columnist, "the young man said. "A tiny but exceedingly flattering picture of me will run next to my column every week. The owners of professional football teams will invite me to watch big games from the owner s box, "The wife believed that he might be able to buy one of those weekly-shoppers throwaways for twelve million dollars, but not a real magazine. One coulcln t buy a real magazine for chicken feed.
(8)The young man was very much hurt and asked his wife whether twelve million dollars were chicken feed. But his wife insisted,"it's not big bucks."
(9)"But that's not fair. Mthe young man said. "I'm a young man of humble origins who made twelve million dollars. I succeeded even beyond my dream. Some of those things you did with the electronics acquisition probably weren't fair either, "his wife said."Fair isn t being measured these days. What they measure is money."Then the young man said(10)But before the young man could make fifty million dollars a man from the Securities and Exchange Commission came and arrested him for having committed insider-trading violations in the electronics acquisition.
(11)The young man was taken away from his office in handcuffs. A picture on the front page of the afternoon paper showed him leaving his arraignment trying to hide his face behind an $ 850 Italian overcoat. A long article in the morning paper used him as an example of a new breed of Wall Street traders who were the victims of their own greed,probably because of their humble origins. His friends and associates avoided him.
(12)Only his wife stuck by him. She tried to see the bright side. “For someone with only twelve million dollars” she said to the young man,"you're getting to be pretty well known"
4....two million-dollar co-ops were a dime a dozen.