The true story of Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel, a top hedge fund on Wall Street, who, on the eve of the 2007 financial crisis, ate $30 billion overnight through extreme execution and decisive decision-making: 1. Crisis outbreak: Boston giant's life-saving phone call On a Sunday morning in 2007, Ken Griffin's partner suddenly received an emergency call for help. The phone call comes from a long-standing competitor in Boston - Sowood Asset Management. At that time, this institution held an extremely large and complex portfolio of credit derivatives, with assets of up to $30 billion. However, as the market credit situation rapidly deteriorated, their risk model became completely ineffective. In a very short period of time, Sowood lost hundreds of millions of dollars and his account funds were instantly depleted. Even more despairing, various creditors issued notices to demand payment of the deposit. If Sowood is unable to liquidate and deliver its assets before the market opens on Monday morning, it will declare bankruptcy within a few dozen hours. There is less than 24 hours left for their survival time. 2. Operation Lightning: A 50 member assault team and another investment bank After receiving the help, Ken Griffin showed no hesitation and immediately demonstrated his terrifying organizational and mobilization abilities. Citadel quickly assembled a surprise team of 50 top analysts and traders within a few hours. Among them, 8 core members were required to immediately fly directly to Boston on a private plane and enter Sowood's office overnight for complex due diligence and data analysis. Assessing and swallowing $30 billion in complex credit assets in one night is nothing short of a miracle in Wall Street history. In order to share risks or provide competitive solutions, another top Wall Street investment bank was also pulled into this emergency rescue operation at that time. The teams of the two institutions worked frantically until late at night amidst a mountain of data and risk assessment documents. 3. Greenwich Night: Pride and Madness Duel At midnight, the lower level teams of both institutions stayed up all night, and the most dramatic scene of this transaction occurred. The senior project manager of another major investment bank called Ken Griffin from his luxurious villa. The investment bank executive spoke leisurely to Griffin, saying: Listen, it's too late to finish tonight. I'm going to bed, and I'll have my men go home quickly. Let's get up tomorrow morning and continue cleaning up this mess Upon hearing that the other party was planning to give up staying up all night, Griffin responded coldly: Get up tomorrow morning, there won't be anything left for you to tidy up here. We will finalize this transaction tonight The investment bank executive sneered contemptuously on the phone, feeling that Griffin was bragging, and then hung up the phone to go to sleep. 4. Devouring the Jedi: The End at 6am After the investment bank executives hung up the phone, Griffin and his team not only did not rest, but also started to operate at their limit. They race against time, pricing and discounting each complex derivative at risk. At 6am, there are only a few hours left until the global financial market opens on Monday. The Citadel team invested heavily and purchased all of Sowood's $30 billion asset portfolio in one go, effectively resolving Sowood's bankruptcy crisis while also acquiring these high-quality core assets at an extremely low price. When the investment bank executive living in the Greenwich mansion woke up in the morning light and prepared to continue negotiations as planned, the $30 billion extravaganza had come to a complete end. He didn't even have a chance to get a share of the game. 5. The End of the Story: The Philosophy of the Running Man Afterwards, when summarizing the infamous "acquisition case" in the history of Wall Street, Ken Griffin quoted a quote he deeply loved, rumored to come from former US President Lincoln, to summarize Citadel's corporate soul: The person waiting may get something, but that's just the person running desperately picking out what's left Griffin proved to Wall Street through this night's action that in the cruel business game, ultimate execution and hunger for opportunities are the ultimate weapons that determine life and death.