又中又英 | Ｍinimalist lifestyle | 褚简宁

　　In my previous column I said Elon Musk, the world's richest person, now has a chance to be the world's first trillionaire. Musk’s wealth is about US$400 billion, which is US$400,000,000,000 in numbers. US$1trillion is US$1,000,000,000,000 in numbers. That means he must add one more zero to the money he already has! Musk is the co-founder and CEO of electric vehicle company Tesla. As I said previously, Tesla’s board has offered him a pay package of US$1 trillion. That amount is out of this world! If something is out of this world, it means it is extremely impressive.

　　But there's a catch. The expression "there's a catch" used this way means there is a difficult condition. Musk must increase Tesla’s stock market value eight times, from the current US$1.1 trillion to US$8.5 trillion, within ten years to qualify for the pay package. Even Musk must be unsure if he can multiply Tesla’s stock by that much. But don't expect him to buy more luxury mansions or mega yachts if he becomes a trillionaire. Many people may be surprised to know that Musk doesn't have mega yachts and no longer owns luxury mansions.

　　He sold all his mansions some years ago and now rents a modest 3-bedroom house that's worth only US$50,000 in Texas near his SpaceX aerospace headquarters. He does own several private planes for his business trips. He said he prefers a minimalist lifestyle so he can focus on his businesses. A minimalist lifestyle means choosing to live a simple life with only the minimal necessities. People who choose such a lifestyle say it reduces stress and makes them happier.

　　在上一篇文章中我提及，世上最富有的马斯克，现在有机会成为全球第一个万亿富翁。马斯克的身家有约4000亿美元，即是US$400,000,000,000。一万亿美元就是US$1,000,000,000,000。这意味着他需要在自己已有的钱上再加一个零！马斯克是电动车公司特斯拉的共同创办人以及行政总裁。正如我之前说过的，特斯拉的董事会已向他提出一个一万亿美元的薪酬方案，这个数字是out of this world！若某事是out of this world，意即不同凡响的。

　　可是，there's a catch——习语there's a catch在这里是指当中有一个棘手的条件。马斯克必须在10年内将特斯拉股价市值增加8倍，就是从现时的1.1万亿美元增至8.5万亿美元，才能符合这个薪酬方案的领取资格。即使是马斯克自己，也必不确定自己是否能让特斯拉的股票如此翻倍。然而，若他真的成为万亿富翁，可不用指望他会买更多的豪宅或超级游艇。马斯克并没有超级游艇，也不再拥有豪华大宅，许多人知道的时候都会感到惊讶。

　　他在好些年前已经卖掉他所有大宅，现在于德州他那太空探索技术公司SpaceX的太空飞行总部附近，租用了一个简朴的3间睡房大屋，市值仅5万美元。他确实拥有几架私人飞机，作商务公干之用。他说，他偏好简约主义的生活方式（minimalist lifestyle），以至可以专注于他的事业之上。A minimalist lifestyle的意思是去选择过一个简约的生活，只需要最小限度的必需品。那些选择过这种生活的人说，这能减少压力，令自己更快乐。

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻