Chapter 5: Tycoon Julie

† September 2019.

Skipping the pink Corvette, Julie was commuting to her job in her new Honda CR-V (a compact SUV). Nate had made some phone calls the day after her “middle school team” threats and suggested her for an accounting position at one of his firm’s affiliated companies.

Plunging into her new job like a demon, she exceeded her supervisor’s expectations in every way. They canceled her probationary period after only five weeks and advanced her to a next-level position. And from there, she earned more promotions at a fast pace.

Sadly, Julie’s parents (Gina and Alan Lehman) had died tragically while traveling together with a retiree group. The sponsors of the trip were liable, and their insurance settled with the heirs of the accident victims for substantial sums. Julie received a check for $418,000 and put it temporarily in a separate account, after discussing it with Nate.

“Julie, that money is for you. You know, I believe you could have won a lot more from them in a lawsuit. But that would have taken forever, and then even more time after winning to collect from their corporate carcasses. They would appeal, taking years before they would pay.

“Besides, your new salary and my big promotion in January has raised our joint monthly income pretty high. And, we don’t have mortgage payments, thanks to my dad. I already know how you’re so good with money. Let’s have separate accounts for your investing and see how well you can do with that settlement.”

Julie would not leave the funds stuck in a single bank account, because the FDIC insurance limit is only $250,000. Instead, she spread the funds around, diversifying into several unrelated investments. One of her more speculative plays was to buy six Bitcoins at about $8,000 each, almost $50,000 worth.

† April 2021.

After an insane amount of appreciation, Bitcoin values started to drop slightly. Julie decided to quit while she was ahead, and she sold all six of them. In 19 months, her $48,000 investment had become more than $315,000!

By then, the Lehman’s estate (her parents) had been settled, and their debts were all paid. With the proceeds from selling their property, Julie was now in sole control of almost $2 million in assets.