又中又英｜Rich people

Most people either dislike or admire rich people. Elon Musk, who runs Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter (now called X), is the world's richest person. US President Donald Trump has given him an outsized role in cutting federal government expenditure. I admire Musk for the spaceships and reusable rockets SpaceX developed, but dislike him for eliminating or shrinking government agencies, such as those that provide foreign aid to the poor and free education to low-income households. The expression "outsized role" means a very large role in doing something.

Amazon owner Jeff Bezos is the world's second richest person. I interviewed him briefly in the 1990s when I worked in Seattle. He was not among the world's richest at the time because Amazon was just finding its feet. To find your feet means to begin to be confident or successful. During my time in Seattle, I once sat at the same table with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates during a media lunch at his headquarters. He was the world's richest person at the time but is now at sixth place.

I have no reason to either dislike or admire Bezos, but I greatly admire Gates for donating much of his huge wealth to needy causes, such as finding cures for diseases. I also admire Warren Buffett, the world’s fifth richest person and chief executive of Omaha-headquartered Berkshire Hathaway. He is nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha for often beating the market. To "beat the market" means to outperform the stock market. He shocked the world last week by telling shareholders he plans to retire. Like Gates, he donates much of his wealth. I hope he will continue to donate when he retires.

大多数人要不是不喜欢富豪，就是仰慕富豪。伊隆．马斯克，就是经营特斯拉、太空探索技术公司SpaceX以及推特（现称为X）的，是现今世上最富有的人。美国总统唐纳德．特朗普也给了他一个特大的职位（outsized role），去削减联邦政府的开支。我欣赏马斯克的SpaceX研发太空船和重用的火箭，但不喜欢他淘汰或缩减政府机构，例如那些为贫穷人士提供额外援助，以及为低收入家庭提供免费教育的机构。习语outsized role是指一个特别重大的角色去做某些任务。

亚玛逊老板谢夫．贝索斯是世上第二富有的人。1990年代我在西雅图工作时，就曾简单访问过他。他那时候仍未位列世界首富，因为亚玛逊当时还在finding its feet——to find your feet是指立足、站稳脚跟，开始感觉自信或成功。我在西雅图的时候，有次跟微软的共同创办人比尔．盖茨同坐一桌，那是在他总部的一场传媒午宴。那时他是世界首富，但现在退居第6位。

我没有特别缘由去讨厌或欣赏贝索斯，但我就十分钦佩盖茨将自己许多的财富捐给有需要的事情，例如为疾病寻找治愈之法。我也非常欣赏华伦．巴菲特——世界首富第5位，以及位于奥马哈的控股公司巴郡．哈萨威的行政总裁。他被暱称为“奥马哈的先知”，因为他常打赢大市（beating the market）。To "beat the market"是指在表现上胜过股票市场。他上星期告诉股东他计划退休，消息震惊全球。就像盖茨一样，他将自己很多的身家都捐出来。我希望他退休时仍会继续捐款。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻