“I like being the underdog so they don’t expect what’s going to happen. It pushes me to work harder and do the things I’m not doing better,” this was said by Kawhi Leonard before winning the 2019 NBA championship against a much superior opponent.
From being bullied to billionaire
Similar to Leonard, being an underdog is a familiar feeling also shared by the inconspicuous billionaire, James Richman.
James has been an underdog almost all his life. People who do not know him tend to write him off before even giving him a shot, or realizing the extent of his potential.
He grew up in Smarde, a small town from Tukums region in Latvia.
There, he had a troublesome childhood faced by bullying and a lack of encouragement. Growing up with Asperger’s syndrome that made him noticeably different from the rest of his peers as this often led to ridicule and name-calling not only from his peers, but sometimes also from a few of his teachers.
However, the reclusive and unassuming billionaire would not let these factors determine his fate. Instead, James painstakingly climbed his way to success. The road he had traveled has led him to different experiences which have made him stronger as a person. It has also helped him develop a keen eye for potential winners and underdogs with tremendous untapped capabilities.
Being one of the futurists and with his contrarian approach, the billionaire recognizes that Asia is an underdog in terms of economic power and technology. The positive thing about being an underdog is that it does not restrict you from harnessing your true potential.
He sees that Asia is at the brink of breaking the market. Despite being an underdog, marred by issues of hunger, poverty and extreme corruption. James Richman knows that Asia has all the makings of the next biggest investment opportunity.
Asia’s potential
Next year, by 2020, will mark the moment China dethrones the United States as the world’s top economy. This is according to a fresh report by the Standard Chartered Bank. These results were gathered by analysts who surveyed the countries’ purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates and nominal GDP.
This monumental change is due to the strengthening of the middle class in Asian countries, explains the report. “The global middle class is at a tipping point,” according to Madhur Jha, a Standard Chartered researcher. “By 2020, the majority of the world population will be classified as middle class. Asia will lead the increase in middle-class populations even as middle classes stagnate in the West.”
India: a real force of the future
India, meanwhile, is set to overtake the United States economy in the year 2030. This will be mainly because of the rapid and widespread urbanization.
Standard Chartered names India’s policies as the main proponent for this, saying, “India will likely be the main mover, with its trend growth accelerating to 7.8 percent by the 2020s partly due to ongoing reforms, including the introduction of a national goods and services tax (GST) and the Indian Bankruptcy Code.”
In comparison with China, India is the faster-growing country among the two. For three consecutive years, India has been outgrowing its neighbor to the North. In 2017, India had a gross domestic product growth of 7.5 percent compared to China’s 6.9 percent. The International Monetary Fund calculates that in 2018-2020 India’s GDP growth would average 7.7 percent per year as compared with the 6.3% of China.
Population leaders
China and India combine to make up 38.7 percent of the world’s population today. They have a total of 1.43 billion and 1.37 billion respectively. Although, UN’s 2019 World Population Prospects report sees that India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country by 2027.
This change is to be brought about by China’s death rate exceeds its birth rate. This has given them a forecast of a decrease in 31.4 million people between 2019 and 2050. Meanwhile, India’s people count is predicted to balloon to 1.5 billion in the same period.
Strong emerging markets
Both China and India have strong emerging markets. They are characterized by factors that support growth. Both of their populations are considerably young as compared to the Western powerhouses of today. A factor which may prove vital as the West’s dwindling workforce will further allow the Eastern giants to catch up.
Technology has been the strong suits of India and China for the past few years, with both countries able to produce world-class tech companies. China meanwhile has been taking the market by storm with its rapidly growing esports and video game industries.
Nonetheless, India sees itself moving from the back-end services provider for global corporations over the past couple of decades, to being a leader in innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Internet of Things (IoT).
Seeing beyond the obvious
What China and India present to the world is Asia’s unlimited potential. James Richman recognizes this untapped possibility. He has always shown a knack for uncovering diamonds in the rough.
His unconventional, yet effective methods of financial management has led to a decade of dominance in the market. This has allowed himself to gather a net worth in billions of US dollars., notwithstanding the value of the private fund that he manages. It is truly one of a kind how James correctly appreciates the value of these potential gold mines.
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