范例欣赏

1. 范例欣赏 Forbes 400 Wealthiest Lose Money

2. The rich are getting less rich in America. For the second straight year but only the fourth time in 20 years of rankings, the combined net worth of Forbes magazine’s 400 wealthiest Americans declined this year, reflecting the economy’s continuing troubles. Their total net worth of $872 billion was down from $946 billion in 2001 and $1.2 trillion in 2000. 美国富翁们的身价大幅度缩水的情况20年来一共只出现了四次，其中的两次接连发生在去年和今年。根据《福布斯》杂志最新发布的美国富豪榜，400名最富有的美国人的总资产净值已经显著减少。从这一点上也可以看出美国经济出现的一系列问题。 2000年这些富豪们的净产值总额为1.2万亿美元，去年降至9460亿美元，今年更仅为8720亿美元。

3. Even the benchmark for being ranked dropped. The 2002 survey included individuals with a minimum net worth of $550 million — down from the required $600 million in 2001. The top 10 remained the same, with some reshuffling of the order. 更甚的是，连进入排名的标准也降低了。今年入围者个人资产的最低值是5.5亿美元，而在去年，起码得有6亿的家产才能被《福布斯》列入考虑之列。 尽管富豪榜上的前10名仍然没有易主，但排名顺序有了一些变动

4. The biggest loser on the list was also the richest person: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Gates lost $11 billion for a net worth of $43 billion. He now has lost $20 billion since the tech meltdown began in 2000, due largely to the drop in value of his Microsoft shares. The biggest winner was investor Warren Buffett, who remained No.2 on the list. His net worth increased — to $36 billion from $33.2 billion. 排名首位的仍然是微软公司的创始人之一比尔 · 盖茨，不过他也是身价缩水最为严重的富豪。他的资产净值为430亿美元，比去年减少了110亿。由于科技产业泡沫的破裂，他所持有的微软股票也难逃贬值的厄运。从2000年到现在，他的资产共损失了200亿。 而超级投资者沃伦 · 巴菲特这次则成为了最大的赢家，他不但坐稳了排名榜上第二的位置，而且资产净值还从332亿增加到了360亿。

5. Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison, who fell from second in 2000 to fourth in 2001, dropped to ninth this year. He’s now worth $15.2 billion, down from $21.9 billion last year. Forty-six women made the list, including the three granddaughters of oilman J. Paul Getty. They each inherited $400 million in 1986. 继在名单上的位次从2000年的第二跌到去年的第四，美国最大的数据库软件制造商甲骨文公司（Oracle Corp.）的创始人拉里 · 埃里森今年更是直线下滑到第九。其资产总值从去年的219亿落至了现在的152亿。 今年的富豪榜上共有64位女性，其中包括石油大亨J · 保罗 · 盖提的三位孙女。她们于1986年分别继承了40亿财产。

6. The youngest among the 400 was 30-year-old Daniel Ziff, who shares a $1.2 billion inheritance from his father William Ziff Jr. with his two brothers, ages 34 and 38. The oldest person on the survey is 94-year-old Max Fisher, who made his fortune in oil and steel, “I’m not a billionaire,” ha said. But he’s not that far from it, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $750 million. 400位富豪中最年轻的是30岁的丹尼尔 · 齐夫，他和两个哥哥一同继承了其父――IT媒体出版业巨头威廉姆 · 齐夫的财产，丹尼尔获得了其中的12亿。 榜上年龄最大的则是94岁的前石油和钢铁大亨马克斯 · 菲什。他曾经说自己的财产达不到10亿美元，但其实也差不了多少。据《福布斯》统计，他的总资产已经达到了7.5亿美元。

7. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen also maintained his ranking-third — but saw his net worth fall to $21 billion from $28.2 billion. Five relatives of the late Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., tied of fourth. Their net worth increased to $18.8 billion each from $17.5 billion in 2001, thanks to strong consumer spending. 排在第三位的仍然是微软公司的另一位创业元勋保罗 · 艾伦，但他的资产从282亿下降到210亿。 已故沃尔玛公司（Wal-Mart Stores Inc.）创办人山姆 · 沃尔顿的五位家族成员共同排在了第四位的位置。得益于旺盛的市场购买力，他们每个人的总资产从2001年的175亿增加到188亿。