Chapter 17
Until the year 2000, Ryan had carefully remained in the shadows.
Although he controlled massive investments through Nova Investments and owned significant shares in several major companies, his name rarely appeared in public discussions.
Most of the world believed Nova Tech was simply run by experienced executives.
Only a handful of people knew the truth.
But Ryan knew that this situation could not continue forever.
If he wanted to influence the future of technology companies like Apple, Nvidia and Google, he could no longer remain hidden.
The moment had finally come to step into the light.
---
The first meeting took place at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino.
The Apple boardroom was filled with executives and senior board members. Several directors were discussing the company's long-term strategy when the door opened quietly.
Ryan walked in.
At first many people in the room assumed he was someone's assistant or intern.
After all, the person entering the room looked far too young to belong in a board meeting.
But then Steve Jobs stood up.
The room fell silent.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Jobs said calmly, "this is Ryan Giri."
A few seconds of silence followed.
Then Jobs continued.
"He is our largest individual shareholder."
Several board members immediately looked shocked.
They had heard the name before in investment reports, but almost no one had ever met the person behind Nova Investments.
And they certainly had not expected him to be a fifteen-year-old teenager.
Ryan calmly took his seat.
The meeting continued, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
Every person in the room now understood that the young man sitting at the table controlled more than thirty percent of Apple.
---
A similar scene played out a few days later at Nvidia's board meeting.
The executives there were already aware of Nova Investments, but seeing Ryan appear in person still surprised many of them.
The fact that a teenager held over a third of the company's shares was something none of them had expected.
Ryan did not speak much during the meeting.
But when he did, his insights about graphics technology, gaming hardware and future computing markets immediately impressed everyone in the room.
Several executives later admitted that the young investor understood the industry better than many experienced engineers.
---
The final appearance happened at Google's early investor meeting.
At that time Google was still a young company, but Ryan had already invested heavily in its potential.
When the founders saw him for the first time, they were just as shocked as the others.
Word of these meetings began spreading quickly.
Within days the media discovered the story.
And once the story reached the press, everything exploded.
---
Newspapers and television channels began publishing headlines everywhere.
"World's Youngest Billionaire Revealed"
"Teen Genius Behind Billion-Dollar Tech Empire"
"15-Year-Old Controls Billions in Silicon Valley Investments"
Reporters quickly uncovered Ryan's connection to Nova Tech, Nova Investments, Apple and Nvidia.
The story fascinated the public.
A teenager running a gaming empire while secretly controlling massive stakes in major technology companies sounded almost unbelievable.
Ryan's name suddenly appeared everywhere.
Business magazines praised him as a financial prodigy.
Technology analysts called him a visionary investor.
Some journalists even compared him to the greatest entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley.
---
Of course, the news also reached Ryan's school.
The reaction there was chaotic.
Students who had barely paid attention to him before suddenly realized that their classmate was one of the richest people in the country.
Teachers were just as shocked.
But the most surprised people were Ryan's friends.
Raj stared at the newspaper in disbelief.
"You… you're a billionaire?"
Ryan shrugged slightly.
"Something like that."
Chandler looked at him for several seconds before shaking his head.
"You know," he said, "this explains a lot."
Rachel already knew most of the truth, so she simply laughed at the reactions around them.
Mia, however, looked completely stunned.
"You never told me it was this big," she said quietly.
Ryan smiled slightly.
"I didn't think it mattered."
---
But the sudden fame brought new problems.
Reporters began following Ryan everywhere.
Some people even tried approaching him outside school or near his house.
For the first time, Ryan realized that his life would no longer be as private as before.
His family quickly decided to increase security.
Ryan purchased a large villa in San Francisco located in a quiet, gated neighborhood.
Professional security guards were hired to protect both him and his family.
The change in lifestyle happened quickly.
Ryan also began using several luxury vehicles for transportation.
Among them were Bentley sedans for daily travel and a collection of sports cars that quickly became the subject of gossip among students at school.
Despite all the luxury, Ryan remained surprisingly calm about the situation.
For him, wealth had always been a tool rather than a goal.
Still, he understood that his life had entered a completely different stage.
He was no longer the mysterious investor operating in the shadows.
Now the world knew his name.
And this was only the beginning.