又中又英 | Trillionaire | 褚简宁

　　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?

　　谁想做万亿富翁？要是你在一个电视游戏节目中赢了一万亿（trillion）美元，你会怎样做？买一架私人飞机，一艘豪华游艇，一个地中海小岛然后在上面建一幢大宅，得以跟朋友们开派对寻欢作乐，过一个奢华的退休生活？不过，世上没有一个游戏节目的奖金会有一万亿（trillion）美元。One trillion是100万乘100万，或1,000,000,000,000。单单想像这么多钱，已makes my eyes pop——若某事物makes your eyes pop，意即你惊讶得眼睛都瞪大了。

　　现在并没有万亿富翁，但有一个人若能办事得当（plays his cards right），其身家便能在仅仅10年内达到一万亿（trillion）美元。那人就是伊隆．马斯克，他现在已是世上最富有的人，净资产值有约4000亿美元。To play your cards right的意思是高明而谨慎地办事，以达致成功。马斯克跟别人共同创办了电动汽车公司特斯拉，现在是该公司的行政总裁。特斯拉的董事会提议了一个单用特斯拉股票结算给马斯克的薪酬方案，这会令他成为世界上首位万亿富翁。

　　然而，要完全符合特斯拉所提议的薪酬，就是对亿万富翁来说仍是一笔巨款（a king’s ransom）的方案，马斯克必须在未来10年内增加特斯拉股价8倍。A ransom就是赎回一个囚犯又或被绑架的人的赎金；a king’s ransom是一大笔钱。特斯拉现时的股价市值若为1.1万亿（trillion）美元。马斯克要符合取得那薪酬方案的资格，必须在10年内将它推高至8.5万亿（trillion）美元。他到底能否成功，抑或那只是不可能的任务？

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻