father’s wardrobe, they’re the ones his father grew out of long ago. He wears them casually buttoned over T-shirts. He owns one pair of jeans and one pair of shoes. He’s always cold in the winter, but he always looks good. Maybe he looks best of all when he’s freezing cold. When he hunches his shoulders with his arms pressed tightly against his body. You have to stop yourself throwing your arms around him.
Where Diddi got the money to invest in Mauri’s share dealing Mauri doesn’t know. He tells himself it’s not his concern. Later, when Mauri worked out how a pissed, slurring Diddi could go into the toilets in the bar and come out a short while later on top of the world, he wondered where Diddi got the money for his habits. He has his own ideas about that. Once when they were out, an older man came over and started chatting. He hadn’t got past hello when Diddi got up and just disappeared. Mauri sensed that it was absolutely taboo to ask who he was.
Diddi likes money. All his life he’s seen money, hung out with people who have money, but never had any himself. His hunger has grown. It doesn’t take long before he starts to take out more and more of his profits from the trading. Then it’s Mauri’s turn to shrug his shoulders. That isn’t his concern either. Diddi’s share in their simple company falls.
Diddi starts to disappear for long periods, traveling to the Riviera and to Paris. His pockets are full of money.
Everybody has to be crushed at some point. Soon it will be Diddi’s turn. And soon Mauri will get to meet Diddi’s sister.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : You call him master.
I NNA W ATTRANG : We are his curs, after all.
M AURI K ALLIS [ smiling and shaking his head slightly ]: They’ve stolen that from Jan Stenbeck, the financier. His employees used to call him master. I don’t know whether I should be flattered or insulted.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : Are they your curs?
M AURI K ALLIS: If we’re sticking with the animal theme, then of course I’d prefer to work with starving cats.
D IDDI W ATTRANG : And we’re fat…
I NNA W ATTRANG :…and lazy.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : So, tell me about it. A very unusual friendship seems to have developed between the three of you. Inna and Diddi Wattrang were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and you’re what’s known as a “superkid,” succeeding against all the odds; is that a fair comment?
M AURI K ALLIS: Yes.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : So it must be you who’s the starving cat. What is it that makes the three of you such a good team?
M AURI K ALLIS: Diddi and Inna complement me. A major part of this enterprise involves finding people who are prepared to gamble, who are prepared to take a big risk for the chance of bringing off a big profit. And who can afford to do it. Who don’t have to sell a stock holding when it hits rock bottom, but who can afford to stay in a company that’s losing money until I’ve brought in a winning project. Because it always comes along. Sooner or later. But you have to be able to wait. That’s why we never float our companies on the stock exchange; we prefer private investments so you have some idea of who’s buying. It’s the same thing with, for example, mining in Uganda. Just at the moment, things are so unstable down there that we can’t actually do any business. But it’s a long-term project, and I believe in it. And the last thing I need is a gang of shareholders breathing down my neck and wanting to see profits within six months. Diddi and Inna find the right kind of investors for different projects. And they’re very good at selling. They find adventurous investors and gamblers for risky projects, and patient investors without liquidity problems for long-term projects. They’re much more socially adept than I am. They have that financial magnetism. And now we’re running a number of mines within the group, I’m delighted to have them working with the
Where Diddi got the money to invest in Mauri’s share dealing Mauri doesn’t know. He tells himself it’s not his concern. Later, when Mauri worked out how a pissed, slurring Diddi could go into the toilets in the bar and come out a short while later on top of the world, he wondered where Diddi got the money for his habits. He has his own ideas about that. Once when they were out, an older man came over and started chatting. He hadn’t got past hello when Diddi got up and just disappeared. Mauri sensed that it was absolutely taboo to ask who he was.
Diddi likes money. All his life he’s seen money, hung out with people who have money, but never had any himself. His hunger has grown. It doesn’t take long before he starts to take out more and more of his profits from the trading. Then it’s Mauri’s turn to shrug his shoulders. That isn’t his concern either. Diddi’s share in their simple company falls.
Diddi starts to disappear for long periods, traveling to the Riviera and to Paris. His pockets are full of money.
Everybody has to be crushed at some point. Soon it will be Diddi’s turn. And soon Mauri will get to meet Diddi’s sister.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : You call him master.
I NNA W ATTRANG : We are his curs, after all.
M AURI K ALLIS [ smiling and shaking his head slightly ]: They’ve stolen that from Jan Stenbeck, the financier. His employees used to call him master. I don’t know whether I should be flattered or insulted.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : Are they your curs?
M AURI K ALLIS: If we’re sticking with the animal theme, then of course I’d prefer to work with starving cats.
D IDDI W ATTRANG : And we’re fat…
I NNA W ATTRANG :…and lazy.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : So, tell me about it. A very unusual friendship seems to have developed between the three of you. Inna and Diddi Wattrang were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and you’re what’s known as a “superkid,” succeeding against all the odds; is that a fair comment?
M AURI K ALLIS: Yes.
M ALOU VON S IVERS : So it must be you who’s the starving cat. What is it that makes the three of you such a good team?
M AURI K ALLIS: Diddi and Inna complement me. A major part of this enterprise involves finding people who are prepared to gamble, who are prepared to take a big risk for the chance of bringing off a big profit. And who can afford to do it. Who don’t have to sell a stock holding when it hits rock bottom, but who can afford to stay in a company that’s losing money until I’ve brought in a winning project. Because it always comes along. Sooner or later. But you have to be able to wait. That’s why we never float our companies on the stock exchange; we prefer private investments so you have some idea of who’s buying. It’s the same thing with, for example, mining in Uganda. Just at the moment, things are so unstable down there that we can’t actually do any business. But it’s a long-term project, and I believe in it. And the last thing I need is a gang of shareholders breathing down my neck and wanting to see profits within six months. Diddi and Inna find the right kind of investors for different projects. And they’re very good at selling. They find adventurous investors and gamblers for risky projects, and patient investors without liquidity problems for long-term projects. They’re much more socially adept than I am. They have that financial magnetism. And now we’re running a number of mines within the group, I’m delighted to have them working with the
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