關注社會:資本家如何讓後人懷念?

We may not all yearn to be immortal but I don't believe anyone wants to be forgotten after they die. This isn't simply vanity but a deep, instinctive urge. For most of us, this longing is satisfied by having children and seeing our genes passed on through the ages.

我們可能並非所有人都希望流芳百世，但我相信，任何一個人都不希望自己死後被人遺忘。這並非僅僅是虛榮，而是一種深沉、本能的願望。對於我們多數人而言，這種渴望因爲生育子女、並看着我們的基因越過不同的時代傳遞下去而得到滿足。

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 accomplishments outlive them. They agree with Pope John XXIII's advice: "Do not walk through time without leaving worthy evidence of your passage."

但還有一些人，尤其是雄心勃勃的男人，希望在世界上留下重要記號。無疑，這是因爲他們無法生育；因此，他們希望創造一些其他的事物來代替。我猜，企業家就屬於這一類，他們強烈希望他們的成就超越自己的生命。他們認同教皇約翰二十三世(Pope John XXIII)的箴言："不要度過人生長河而不留下值得追憶的證據。"

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

然而，多數大亨未能實現這一願望，因爲他們的企業帝國往往不會在他們死後長久地存活下去。他們出名通常更多是因爲所聚集的財富，而不是讓這個世界變得更美好。

One industrialist 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 obituary, dismissing him as a "merchant of death". Nobel read this indictment, and decided 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 dynamite and gelignite, he is today remembered for honouring great scientists not as a munitions and arms maker.

一位避免了這一命運的實業家是瑞典炸藥巨擘阿爾弗雷德•諾貝爾(Alfred Nobel)。1888年，他被人誤報去世，一家法國報紙發佈了一篇譴責性訃告，稱他爲"死亡販子"。諾貝爾讀到了這一指責，並決定將他的大部分遺產用於爲諾貝爾獎(Nobel Prizes)提供資金，以擺脫這一命運。儘管他通過發明炸藥和爆炸膠賺取了大量財富，但他如今因爲向偉大的科學家授予榮耀而被世人所銘記，而非作爲一個軍火和武器製造商。

Inventors in general have a far better chance of being commemorated 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 consigned to oblivion by history, while the real pioneers are recalled.

總體而言，與僅僅擅長經商的人相比，發明家被人們銘記的可能性要大得多。很多最偉大的技術天才在去世時一文不名，但現在仍受人尊重。查爾斯•固特異(Charles Goodyear)申請了硫化橡膠工藝專利，但從未從這一創新中獲利；尼古拉•特斯拉(Nikola Tesla)先於其他人發現了交流電的好處，但去世時卻傾家蕩產；約翰內斯•谷登堡(Johannes Gutenberg)發明了印刷機，但死時慘遭破產。其他人從經濟上受益於固特異、特斯拉和谷登堡的發明，但這些利益剝削者卻被歷史遺忘，而那些真正的先驅則被世人銘記。

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

一些企業傢俱備足夠豐富的想象力，他們把自己的商業帝國打造爲壽命超過他們自己、而且可以在未來很長時間內蓬勃發展的企業。或許，這剝奪了他們後裔的財富繼承，但這意味着，他們一生的事業更有可能長久。

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

約翰•史派登•路易斯(John Spedan Lewis)就是一個經典的例子：他創建John Lewis Partnership的原因是他信奉員工持股，於是他把這家零售企業的控股權轉讓給了員工。類似地，亨利•維康(Henry Wellcome)在遺囑中將其龐大製藥康采恩的全部股本投入維康信託(Wellcome Trust)，該信託現在大概是全球最大生物醫學慈善組織，這源於他的慷慨和遠見。在路易斯和維康的例子裏，他們的慈善事業之所以成功，是因爲他們的企業在他們死後大規模壯大。

Other rich entrepreneurs sell up and simply use their wealth for dedicated 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 vein, I suspect one day Bill Gates will be better known for his charitable activities than for co-founding Microsoft.

還有一些富有企業家出售企業並將自己的財富投入崇高事業。19世紀末，安德魯•卡內基(Andrew Carnegie)創建了全球鋼鐵行業中最具盈利能力的公司。他將該公司出售給摩根大通(JPMorgan)變現，並將幾乎全部收益用於捐贈，金額相當於現在的數十億美元，他用這些錢創辦了數千家圖書館，併爲教育機構提供捐贈。他寫道："死得富有則死得恥辱。"類似地，我猜，比爾•蓋茨(Bill Gates)將更多因爲慈善活動被銘記，而非作爲微軟(Microsoft)的聯合創始人。

I've no doubt that great composers, artists, writers and performers are more likely to be celebrated 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 founders.

與商業領袖相比，偉大的作曲家、藝術家、作家和演員更有可能在死後被人們紀念，我對此毫不質疑。但通過創建企業提供就業、爲股東創造財富以及銷售改善人們生活的產品，資本家也可以爲自己的努力建造一座意義遠遠大於墓碑的紀念碑。流傳數代仍然繁榮的家族企業是創始人才華的活生生的墓誌銘。

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

依照本性，企業家會打破現狀，改變現有的秩序。與那些唯唯諾諾、隨波逐流的人相比，這些打破常規的人物往往在死後更爲出名。正如麥克阿瑟將軍(General MacArthur)所言："你會因你打破的規則而被人銘記。"

Posterity judges risk takers more kindly than their contemporaries do.

與同時代的人相比，後人對冒險者的評判更爲友好。

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，並擔任StartUp Britain主席