The race had begun long before it made history. From the time Mukesh was old enough to talk, his parents had filled his head with the platinum-paved streets of America. In this faraway fairy tale place, everybody was rich with equal opportunity to get richer. When the time was right, the family boarded the plane, as Destiny lifted welcoming arms to embrace its latest recruits. A boy of eight, a family of three, and fortunes not yet counted.
Mukesh could not remember why 447 had always been his lucky number. But when his 401K reached 445, the market began to tumble. Every breath he took had the singular goal of getting his money back. It was all he lived for. And so the count-up began, as the market slowly recouped its losses. Mukesh pulled out his iPad to check the balance on his account—$447,363.02—immediately setting his sights on half a million. He picked up the remote to hear the latest death toll. 447,000. Was that some kind of an omen? Seconds later, the hospital phoned. His wife, an “essential worker,” made 447 and one.
Mukesh could not remember why 447 had always been his lucky number. But when his 401K reached 445, the market began to tumble. Every breath he took had the singular goal of getting his money back. It was all he lived for. And so the count-up began, as the market slowly recouped its losses. Mukesh pulled out his iPad to check the balance on his account—$447,363.02—immediately setting his sights on half a million. He picked up the remote to hear the latest death toll. 447,000. Was that some kind of an omen? Seconds later, the hospital phoned. His wife, an “essential worker,” made 447 and one.
