《福布斯》杂志公布世界富豪榜

 

Forbes Magazine Lists World's Wealthiest People

《福布斯》杂志公布世界富豪榜

 

It's a Who's Who of who earned the most, and how much they are worth is almost too much to fathom¹. Forbes Associate Editor Luisa Kroll says she was surprised by the number of new, young, self-made billionaires on the list.

 

Luisa Kroll: China had its first young self-made billionaire, a guy who is only 35-years-old, Wong Kwong Yu, who made his fortune in appliance retailing², obviously taking advantage of that country's growing middle class.

 

A growing number of urban Chinese who've made their fortunes in business are dressed for success these days. If they want to refurbish their apartments, they might consult another billionaire on Forbes' list, American home decorating expert Martha Stewart, who made money even while she spent five months in a federal prison for insider stock trading.

 

Peter Newcomb (senior editor of Forbes): While in prison she saw her net worth almost triple, so she went into prison worth about $350 million, she emerged a billionaire, that's quite an interesting story.

 

At the top of the Forbes list for the 11th straight year: Microsoft founder³ Bill Gates. He's worth more than $46 billion and gives much of his money away to charity. Coming in second, American investor⁴ Warren Buffett. Third on the list is Indian steel tycoon⁵ Lakshmi Mittal, shown last year at the wedding in France of his daughter.

 

It was also a very good year for Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, the Swedish discount  furniture chain. Bargain shopping put the chairman of Wal-Mart, S. Robson Walton, among the top ten billionaires.  Four other Waltons were right behind him. The five Walton family members are worth more than $90 billion.

 

There were more than 100 new billionaires on the Forbes list this year. The total net worth of their holdings: a stunning⁶ $2.2 trillion. It was a good year to be in Internet technology, if your names are Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the two young founders⁷ of Google.

 

While Martha Stewart made a profit from her cell, another wealthy inmate⁸ was one of this year's biggest losers.  Russia's embattled head of Yukos Oil, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, went to jail on charges of fraud and forgery⁹ and saw his fortune plunge¹⁰.

 

Mr. Khodorkovsky can't be blamed if he's caught quoting the late Russian born-American singer Sophie Tucker: "I've been rich and I've been poor," she said, "and believe me, rich is better."

 

Melinda Smith, VOA news.

 

注释：

billionaire [biljE5nZE] n. 亿万富翁

retailing [5ri:teIlIN] n. 零售业

triple [5tripl] adj. 三倍的

emerge [i5mE:dV] vi. 形成

tycoon [tai5ku:n] n. 企业大亨

forgery [5fC:dVEri] n. 伪造

 

1 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

2 retailing   

n.零售业v.零售(retail的现在分词)

参考例句：

• career opportunities in retailing 零售业的职业机会
• He is fond of retailing the news. 他喜欢传播消息。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

6 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

7 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

8 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

9 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

10 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。