资本家如何让后人怀念

　　我们可能并非所有人都希望流芳百世，但我相信，任何一个人都不希望自己死后被人遗忘。这并非仅仅是虚荣，而是一种深沉、本能的愿望。对于我们多数人而言，这种渴望因为生育子女、并看着我们的基因越过不同的时代传递下去而得到满足。

　　But others, especially ambitious men, seek to leave a material mark on the world. No doubt this is because they cannot give birth; so they seek to create something else as a substitute. I suspect entrepreneurs fall into this category – as a breed, they possess a powerful desire that their accomplishments⁶ outlive them. They agree with Pope John XXIII's advice: "Do not walk through time without leaving worthy⁷ evidence of your passage."

　　但还有一些人，尤其是雄心勃勃的男人，希望在世界上留下重要记号。无疑，这是因为他们无法生育；因此，他们希望创造一些其他的事物来代替。我猜，企业家就属于这一类，他们强烈希望他们的成就超越自己的生命。他们认同教皇约翰二十三世(Pope John XXIII)的箴言："不要度过人生长河而不留下值得追忆的证据。"

　　Yet most tycoons⁸ fail in this aspiration⁹, because their business empires tend not to survive for long after their demise¹⁰. And often they are more famous for amassing¹¹ a fortune rather than making the world a better place.

　　然而，多数大亨未能实现这一愿望，因为他们的企业帝国往往不会在他们死后长久地存活下去。他们出名通常更多是因为所聚集的财富，而不是让这个世界变得更美好。

　　One industrialist¹² who avoided that fate was Alfred Nobel, the Swedish explosives magnate. In 1888, he was mistakenly reported dead and a French newspaper published a damning obituary¹³, dismissing him as a "merchant of death". Nobel read this indictment¹⁴, and decided¹⁵ to dedicate the bulk of his estate to the funding of the Nobel Prizes to escape such a fate. Even though he made money inventing dynamite¹⁶ and gelignite, he is today remembered for honouring great scientists not as a munitions¹⁷ and arms maker¹⁸.

　　一位避免了这一命运的实业家是瑞典炸药巨擘阿尔弗雷德?诺贝尔(Alfred Nobel)。1888年，他被人误报去世，一家法国报纸发布了一篇谴责性讣告，称他为"死亡贩子"。诺贝尔读到了这一指责，并决定将他的大部分遗产用于为诺贝尔奖(Nobel Prizes)提供资金，以摆脱这一命运。尽管他通过发明炸药和爆炸胶赚取了大量财富，但他如今因为向伟大的科学家授予荣耀而被世人所铭记，而非作为一个军火和武器制造商。

　　Inventors in general have a far better chance of being commemorated¹⁹ than those who are simply good at business. Quite a few of the greatest technical geniuses died penniless but are still honoured. Charles Goodyear patented the vulcanised rubber process yet never profited from his innovation; Nikola Tesla saw the advantages of AC electricity before others but was a ruined man on his death; and Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press but died bankrupt. Others benefited financially from the insights of Goodyear, Teslaand Gutenberg, but those exploiters have been consigned²⁰ to oblivion by history, while the real pioneers are recalled.

　　总体而言，与仅仅擅长经商的人相比，发明家被人们铭记的可能性要大得多。很多最伟大的技术天才在去世时一文不名，但现在仍受人尊重。查尔斯?固特异(Charles Goodyear)申请了硫化橡胶工艺专利，但从未从这一创新中获利；尼古拉?特斯拉(Nikola Tesla)先于其他人发现了交流电的好处，但去世时却倾家荡产；约翰内斯?谷登堡(Johannes Gutenberg)发明了印刷机，但死时惨遭破产。其他人从经济上受益于固特异、特斯拉和谷登堡的发明，但这些利益剥削者却被历史遗忘，而那些真正的先驱则被世人铭记。

　　Certain entrepreneurs are imaginative enough to forge their commercial empires into institutions that can outlive them and prosper²¹ long into the future. Perhaps this deprives their descendants of inherited wealth, but it means their life's work is more likely to endure.

　　一些企业家具备足够丰富的想象力，他们把自己的商业帝国打造为寿命超过他们自己、而且可以在未来很长时间内蓬勃发展的企业。或许，这剥夺了他们后裔的财富继承，但这意味着，他们一生的事业更有可能长久。

　　John Spedan Lewis is a classic example: he founded the John Lewis Partnership²² because he believed in employee ownership, transferring control of the retailer²³ to its staff. Similarly, Henry Wellcome's will vested the entire share capital of his huge pharmaceutical²⁴ concern in the Wellcome Trust, now perhaps the world's largest biomedical charity – thanks to his generosity²⁵ and foresight²⁶. In the cases of Lewis and Wellcome, their philanthropy succeeded because their businesses grew enormously after their deaths.

　　约翰?史派登?路易斯(John Spedan Lewis)就是一个经典的例子：他创建John Lewis Partnership的原因是他信奉员工持股，于是他把这家零售企业的控股权转让给了员工。类似地，亨利?维康(Henry Wellcome)在遗嘱中将其庞大制药康采恩的全部股本投入维康信托(Wellcome Trust)，该信托现在大概是全球最大生物医学慈善组织，这源于他的慷慨和远见。在路易斯和维康的例子里，他们的慈善事业之所以成功，是因为他们的企业在他们死后大规模壮大。

　　Other rich entrepreneurs sell up and simply use their wealth for dedicated²⁷ good causes. Andrew Carnegie built the world's most profitable corporation in the steel trade in the late 19th century. He sold it for cash to JPMorgan, and proceeded to give almost the entire amount away, the equivalent today of billions of dollars, constructing thousands of libraries and endowing educational establishments. He wrote: "A man who dies thus rich dies disgraced." In a similar vein²⁸, I suspect one day Bill Gates will be better known for his charitable activities than for co-founding Microsoft.

　　还有一些富有企业家出售企业并将自己的财富投入崇高事业。19世纪末，安德鲁?卡内基(Andrew Carnegie)创建了全球钢铁行业中最具盈利能力的公司。他将该公司出售给摩根大通(JPMorgan)变现，并将几乎全部收益用于捐赠，金额相当于现在的数十亿美元，他用这些钱创办了数千家图书馆，并为教育机构提供捐赠。他写道："死得富有则死得耻辱。"类似地，我猜，比尔?盖茨(Bill Gates)将更多因为慈善活动被铭记，而非作为微软(Microsoft)的联合创始人。

　　I've no doubt that great composers, artists, writers and performers are more likely to be celebrated²⁹ after their deaths than any business leader. But by building companies that furnish jobs, that generate riches for stockholders and sell products that improve people's lives, capitalists can establish memorials to their efforts that are much more than tombstones. Prosperous family businesses passed down the generations are living epitaphs to the talents of their founders³⁰.

　　与商业领袖相比，伟大的作曲家、艺术家、作家和演员更有可能在死后被人们纪念，我对此毫不质疑。但通过创建企业提供就业、为股东创造财富以及销售改善人们生活的产品，资本家也可以为自己的努力建造一座意义远远大于墓碑的纪念碑。流传数代仍然繁荣的家族企业是创始人才华的活生生的墓志铭。

　　By their nature entrepreneurs upset the status quo, introducing change to the existing order. Such non-Establishment figures are often more renowned³¹ posthumously³² than those who meekly³³ conform all their lives. As General MacArthur put it: "You are remembered for the rules you break."

　　依照本性，企业家会打破现状，改变现有的秩序。与那些唯唯诺诺、随波逐流的人相比，这些打破常规的人物往往在死后更为出名。正如麦克阿瑟将军(General MacArthur)所言："你会因你打破的规则而被人铭记。"

　　Posterity³⁴ judges risk takers more kindly³⁵ than their contemporaries do.

　　与同时代的人相比，后人对冒险者的评判更为友好。

　　The writer runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and is chairman of StartUp Britain

　　本文作者管理着私人股本公司Risk Capital Partners，并担任StartUp Britain主席

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