又中又英 | Trillionaire | 褚簡寧

　　Who wants to be a trillionaire? What would you do with US$1 trillion if you won it in a TV game show? Buy a private plane, a luxury yacht, a Mediterranean island to build a huge mansion where you can have parties with friends, and live a retired life of luxury? There are no game shows with US$1 trillion as prize money. One trillion is one million multiplied by one million, or 1,000,000,000,000. Just imagining so much money makes my eyes pop. If something makes your eyes pop, it means you are so shocked that your eyes open wide.

　　There are no trillionaires now. But there is one person who can make US$1 trillion in just ten years if he plays his cards right. That person is Elon Musk, already the world's richest person with a net worth of about US$400 billion. To play your cards right means to do things intelligently and carefully to achieve success. Musk co-founded the electric vehicle company Tesla and is the CEO. Tesla’s board has proposed a pay package using only Tesla shares for Musk that could make him the world's first trillionaire.

　　But to fully qualify for Tesla’s proposed package, which is like a king’s ransom even to billionaires, Musk must increase Tesla’s stock eight times over the next decade. A ransom is the money paid in exchange for someone who is a prisoner or has been kidnapped. A king’s ransom means a large amount of money. Tesla’s current stock market value is about US$1.1 trillion. Musk must increase it to US$8.5 trillion in ten years to qualify for the pay package. Can he succeed or is it mission impossible?

　　誰想做萬億富翁？要是你在一個電視遊戲節目中贏了一萬億（trillion）美元，你會怎樣做？買一架私人飛機，一艘豪華遊艇，一個地中海小島然後在上面建一幢大宅，得以跟朋友們開派對尋歡作樂，過一個奢華的退休生活？不過，世上沒有一個遊戲節目的獎金會有一萬億（trillion）美元。One trillion是100萬乘100萬，或1,000,000,000,000。單單想像這麼多錢，已makes my eyes pop——若某事物makes your eyes pop，意即你驚訝得眼睛都瞪大了。

　　現在並沒有萬億富翁，但有一個人若能辦事得當（plays his cards right），其身家便能在僅僅10年內達到一萬億（trillion）美元。那人就是伊隆．馬斯克，他現在已是世上最富有的人，淨資產值有約4000億美元。To play your cards right的意思是高明而謹慎地辦事，以達致成功。馬斯克跟別人共同創辦了電動汽車公司特斯拉，現在是該公司的行政總裁。特斯拉的董事會提議了一個單用特斯拉股票結算給馬斯克的薪酬方案，這會令他成為世界上首位萬億富翁。

　　然而，要完全符合特斯拉所提議的薪酬，就是對億萬富翁來說仍是一筆巨款（a king’s ransom）的方案，馬斯克必須在未來10年內增加特斯拉股價8倍。A ransom就是贖回一個囚犯又或被綁架的人的贖金；a king’s ransom是一大筆錢。特斯拉現時的股價市值若為1.1萬億（trillion）美元。馬斯克要符合取得那薪酬方案的資格，必須在10年內將它推高至8.5萬億（trillion）美元。他到底能否成功，抑或那只是不可能的任務？

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻