億萬富翁布恩•皮肯斯的發家史
Back when he was an oil drill worker in the 1950s, T. Boone Pickens earned just $5,000 annually. Fast-forward about eight IPOs and 15 corporate raids and takeovers later, and the 85-year-old is now worth about $950 million-down from $4 billion before the market collapsed in 2008 and losses in wind-energy investments. But he's not pinching pennies yet: 'I'm back trying to make another billion,' he tells us. Here's how he did it the first time around. -Jen Wieczner
在上世紀50年代當石油鑽探工人的時候，布恩?皮肯斯(T. Boone Pickens)每年只賺5,000美元。歷經8次首次公開募股(IPO)和15次公司狙擊以及收購之後，這位現年85歲的老人的身家大約有9.5億美元，低於市場在2008年崩盤、風能投資打了水漂前的40億美元。但是他仍未開始精打細算過日子。他說，我又開始嘗試再賺10億美元。下面是他第一次發家的經歷：1. At the age of 10 in Oklahoma, agrees to mow his grandma's lawns but grossly underestimates their size. 'It was a very bad deal,' he says,'but she made me stick with it.'
1. 10歲，在俄克拉荷馬州，他同意爲奶奶修剪草坪，但大大低估了工作量。他說，這筆交易很糟糕，但是奶奶不許我反悔。2. Starts delivering newspapers to 28 homes; acquires more routes and reaches 156 houses. 'From that point forward, I always had money in my pocket.'
2. 開始給28戶家庭送報紙；隨後獲得更多路線，將業務拓展到156戶家庭。他說，從這時候開始，我兜裏總是有錢的。
3. Roughnecks on oil rigs (like on right), at age 16. Loses his $25-per-month college basketball scholarship but tutors for $1 an hour (for a C grade) up to $3 (for an A).
3. 16歲，在石油鑽井平臺當工人。雖然損失了每月25美元的大學籃球獎學金，但是做家教每小時可以賺到1美元（輔導成績拿到C）至3美元（輔導成績拿到A）。4. Works for Phillips Petroleum on wildcat wells but then resigns just a few years later to strike out on his own.
4. 在Phillips Petroleum公司的初探井上工作，但是後來沒幾年就辭職自己幹了。5. Spends $2,500 in 1956 to start what becomes Mesa Petroleum (named after Texas area above). But blows two years, and $2 million, on a dry well. 'Every loss is a learning experience.'
5. 在1956年，花2,500美元開了一家公司――後來的Mesa Petroleum。但他在一口貧井上白白耗費了兩年時間和200萬美元。他說，吃一塹長一智。6. Takes Mesa Petroleum public in 1964, then later merges with Hugoton Production Co., which is 20 times bigger. Runs the ship, but his stake sinks from 23% to 1.5%. 'For 20 years, I had no investment other than in the company,' he says. 'I bet on myself.'
6. 在1964年讓Mesa Petroleum上市，後來與Hugoton Production Co.合併；後者的規模爲前者的20倍。雖然他仍是掌舵人，但是持股比例從23%降至了1.5%。他說，在那20年中自己除了這家公司外別無任何投資，賭注都押在自己身上。7. Starts acquisition spree, multiplying his company's revenues 15-fold, to nearly $200 million in four years, and discovers oil jackpot in the North Sea (above). Withdraws from Mesa, with his $78 million net worth, and founds energy-focused hedge fund BP Capital Management in 1997.
7. 開始大肆收購，四年內公司收入增長了14倍，至近2億美元，然後在北海找到了石油大發現。退出Mesa，依託自己的7,800萬美元淨值，在1997年創立了專注於能源行業的對衝基金BP Capital Management。8. Starts donating $1 billion, with some money going to universities (right) and hospitals. Sees wealth peak at about $4 billion in 2007.
8. 開始捐獻10億美元，一些資金捐給了大學和醫院。財富在2007年膨脹到了大約40億美元的頂點。9. Loses half of his net worth during the financial crisis- leaving him around $1 billion then. 'I always feel like if I made a billion, I'll make two, three, five, whatever.'
9. 在金融危機期間淨值損失了一半，剩下10億美元左右。他說，我總是感覺如果自己賺到了10億美元，未來就將賺到20億、30億、50億什麼的。10. To the surprise of some, he becomes a poster boy for alternative energy, championing wind farms over old-fashioned oil. Now argues wind power only works if natural-gas costs soar. Otherwise, he adds, 'it puts you out of business.'
10. 令一些人感到驚訝的是，他變成了一個極度熱衷替代能源的人，大力支持用風電場取代石油這種傳統能源。現在他認爲，只有天然氣成本飆升，風電才能大行其道，否則它只會讓你破產。
