Cooperation was all well and good, but Pierre had no interest in Italian banks whatsoever.
Even without North Borneo, he wouldn't be interested in Italy. How could investing in Italy compare to investing in Germany?
Germany—that was the real ruin, littered with… gold!
Italy…
In the end, it was all about capital. If he, like Morgan, controlled billions or even tens of billions of dollars, he would certainly invest everywhere.
But for now, the best steel had to be used for the sharpest blade.
Very soon, the feast of dividing up the spoils began. Thanks to Mussolini's two decades of state investment, the Italian government owned a huge amount of official assets. Although a large portion was in the north, there were still plenty of high-quality assets in the south. For example, Taranto Port—the most important port in southern Italy—was snapped up by an American company for a mere $3 million.
