France, Guardian of Égalité, Leads the List of Ultrarich 強調平等精神?法國卻成超級富豪聚集地


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2023/05/26 第434期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份
 
 
紐時周報精選 France, Guardian of Égalité, Leads the List of Ultrarich 強調平等精神?法國卻成超級富豪聚集地
Ukraine Prepares Assault With Fresh Weapons but Weary Troops 烏克蘭獲新武器醞釀大反攻 軍隊士氣受考驗
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France, Guardian of Égalité, Leads the List of Ultrarich 強調平等精神?法國卻成超級富豪聚集地
文/Liz Alderman
譯/羅方妤

強調平等精神?法國卻成超級富豪聚集地

France, which has been riven lately by angry protests over income inequality, can now claim to have the world's richest man and woman: Bernard Arnault, CEO of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury empire, and Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers, heir of global cosmetics giant L'Oréal.

近來因收入不平等引發憤怒抗議的法國,現在可以聲稱擁有世界最富裕的男人和女人:精品帝國酩悅.軒尼詩─路易.威登集團(LVMH)執行長阿諾德,及全球美妝品牌巨頭萊雅集團繼承人梅耶爾。

Their combined net worth is nearly $300 billion, according to Forbes' latest tally.

「富比世」最新統計數據顯示,他們的淨資產相加將近3000億美元。

Arnault, 74, whose worldwide domain encompasses 75 brands, including Louis Vuitton handbags, Tiffany diamond rings, Christian Dior dresses and Sephora high-end cosmetics, leaped past American technology titans with a fortune estimated at $211 billion as of March 10, when the Forbes figures were tallied.

74歲的阿諾德在全球擁有75個品牌,包括LV手提包、蒂芙尼鑽戒、迪奧的裙子和絲芙蘭高端化妝品;富比世統計數據出爐時顯示,截至3月10日,他的財富超越美國眾多科技巨頭,達2110億美元。

Bettencourt-Meyers, 69, who has led the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest women for three straight years, had an estimated net worth of $80.5 billion. A granddaughter of L'Oréal's founder, she is on the company's board and together with her husband makes many of the controlling decisions. Her company's international cosmetics brands include Kiehl's, Lancôme, Maybelline New York and Essie.

69歲的梅耶爾連續3年位居富比世排行榜上全球最富有的女性,她的淨資產約805億美元。她是萊雅集團創辦人的孫女,也是該集團董事會成員,並與丈夫做出許多控管決策。她的公司旗下國際美妝品牌包括契爾氏、蘭蔻、媚比琳和Essie。

The eye-popping figures, which include the billionaires' personal holdings of company stocks, testify to the resilience of wealthy consumers against a cost-of-living crisis, as high earners continued to splurge on luxury goods — especially in the wake of pandemic lockdowns. L'Oréal had global sales of more than $38 billion last year, while LVMH had record revenue of $80 billion.

這些令人吃驚的數據,包括這些億萬富豪對公司的個人持股,證明富裕消費者面對生活成本危機時的韌性,高收入者持續揮霍金錢購買奢侈品,特別是在新冠疫情封鎖過後。萊雅集團去年全球銷售額超過380億美元,LVMH收入則達創紀錄的800億美元。

"More people are flocking to spending on luxury goods after having survived COVID lockdowns," said Luca Solca, chief luxury goods analyst at Bernstein. "The middle class did suffer and is hollowing out. But the wealthy were untouched, and the upper middle class is spending on all fronts."

聯博資產管理公司奢侈品首席分析師索卡表示:「經歷新冠封鎖後,更多人蜂擁購買奢侈品。中產階級確實蒙受損失且正被掏空。但富人未受影響,中上階級正在各方面花錢。」

High-flying technology companies, on the other hand, have faced a major reckoning over the past year amid a surge in interest rates, high inflation and uncertain economic conditions. Rapid growth during the pandemic has been followed by widespread layoffs, and a nearly 30% slump in tech shares last year cut sharply into the fortunes of Elon Musk, owner of Twitter and Tesla, and Amazon's executive chair, Jeff Bezos. Musk slipped to second place in Forbes' rankings, with an estimated fortune of $180 billion, and Bezos came in third with $114 billion.

另一方面,在利率飆升、高通膨率和經濟環境不確定之際,原本意氣風發的科技公司過去一年面臨大考驗。疫情期間快速增長後緊接而來是大規模裁員,去年科技股暴跌近3成,讓特斯拉和推特老闆馬斯克及亞馬遜執行董事長貝佐斯財富大減。馬斯克在富比世排名落居第2,財富估計1800億美元,位居第3的貝佐斯則是1140億美元。

 

 
Ukraine Prepares Assault With Fresh Weapons but Weary Troops 烏克蘭獲新武器醞釀大反攻 軍隊士氣受考驗
文/Andrew E. Kramer
周辰陽/譯

烏克蘭獲新武器醞釀大反攻 軍隊士氣受考驗

In vicious but mostly static fighting in snowy, artillery-cratered fields and ruined cities, Ukraine rebuffed a Russian offensive over the winter. Now, it is Ukraine's turn to go on the attack.

在白雪皚皚、布滿砲彈彈坑的田野與城市廢墟,烏克蘭在猛烈但多半膠著的戰鬥中,制止了俄羅斯的冬季攻勢。現在,輪到烏克蘭進攻了。

Signs are everywhere that it is coming in the next month or so.

到處都有跡象顯示,反攻將在下個月左右登場。

New Western weapons that could prove critical in assaults, like German Leopard 2 tanks and U.S. mine-clearing vehicles, are arriving in Ukraine. Thousands of recruits are training in newly constituted units tailored for offensives. And the military command is holding back elite soldiers from the worst of the fighting in the east, in and around the city of Bakhmut, to throw them instead into the coming campaign.

可能在進攻時至關重要的新式西方武器,如德國豹2式戰車跟美國掃雷載具,正運抵烏克蘭。數以千計新兵正在專門為攻勢新編的單位訓練。而軍事指揮部正在保留精英部隊,不讓他們參與東部巴赫姆特市內及周邊的最惡劣戰事,以便把他們投入即將到來的戰役。

After more than a year of war, Ukraine is battle hardened. "We are covered in three centimeters of stone," one fighter, Lt. Ilya Samoilenko, said in a recent interview.

經歷超過一年的戰爭,烏克蘭是久經沙場了。一位戰士、薩莫伊連科中尉在最近一次訪問中表示,「我們被3公分厚的石頭覆蓋」。

But that toughness has come at a steep cost. Ukraine has lost thousands of its most experienced fighters. Now Samoilenko, a veteran commander and survivor of the siege of the city of Mariupol, is using his experience to train new recruits.

不過,這種堅韌付出了高昂的代價。烏克蘭失去了數以千計最老練的戰士。現在,身為馬立波市圍城戰倖存者與老資格指揮官,薩莫伊連科正利用他的經驗訓練新兵。

The new Ukrainian campaign, when it comes, will be a test of its army's ability to re-arm and reconstitute battalions while maintaining the motivation and maneuvering skills that gave it an edge in three previous counteroffensives.

烏克蘭的新戰役一旦登場,將考驗其軍隊重新武裝與重編各營的能力,同時要維持在前三次反攻賦予其優勢的動力與機動技術。

The timing is critical. Success for Ukraine in the battles on the southeastern plains would drive home to the world the declining military might of Russia, ease concerns that the war has settled into a quagmire and most likely encourage Ukraine's allies to further arm and finance Kyiv in the war.

時機非常重要。烏克蘭在東南部平原的戰鬥取得勝利,將讓世界了解俄羅斯軍事實力的衰退,減輕戰爭已經陷入泥淖的擔憂,並且極有可能鼓勵烏克蘭的盟邦在這場戰爭進一步武裝與資助基輔。

Western support has been solid so far but is not guaranteed. The U.S. budget for military assistance, for example, is now expected to run out by around September, and a senior American defense official recently described the latest tranche of artillery rounds and rockets sent to Ukraine as a "last-ditch effort."

西方的支持迄今一直牢靠,但並不能保證。例如,美國的軍事援助預算現在預計將於9月前後耗盡,一位美國高層國防官員近來把最新一批送往烏克蘭的砲彈跟火箭稱作「最後的努力」。

"The key point in the eyes of Washington elites — and Washington elites are the judge and jury on this — is that Ukraine has to be seen as having gained significant land in the coming offensive," Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group, a political risk assessment firm in Washington, said in an interview.

華府政治風險評估公司「歐亞集團」董事長庫克昌指出,「在這件事情上,華府菁英是法官與陪審團。華府菁英眼裡的重點在於,烏克蘭必須展現在即將到來的攻勢收復大量土地」。

 

 
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