特朗普也有偶像？來了解一下他的故事
William c. Rempel
2018-03-03
《紐約時報》稱科克·科克里安“交易之神”，唐納德·特朗普稱其為“王者”。Chris Week—FilmMagic via Getty Images
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說起唐納德·特朗普在商界的偶像，可能會讓人吃驚。很少有人得聞其名，他也素來行事低調。二戰時他曾是勇猛的飛行員。在交易領域，他的風格與后來登上總統之位的特朗普截然相反——極為自律，在壓力下還能保持謙遜文雅。 科克·科克里安是一位白手起家的億萬富翁，主要從事酒店開發。他從加州起步，當時身無分文，還是八年級輟學生，后來卻變成好萊塢電影巨頭，拉斯維加斯賭場大亨，躋身全美最富有的人之一。他總是低調做慈善，也是美國最慷慨的大佬之一。 在很多方面科克里安跟特朗普行事風格不一，然而特朗普對他一直非常景仰。科克里安快90歲時，《紐約時報》一位專欄作家稱他為“交易之神”，特朗普也叫他“國王”，還公開宣稱：“我特別喜歡這人。” 兩位億萬富翁的發家史有明顯的相似之處，但更有趣的或許是，兩人實現了相似的現代美國夢，途徑卻如此不同。 2015年，98歲高齡的科克里安去世時，拉斯維加斯大道上大部分主要的酒店和賭場都在他名下。但沒有一家冠以他的名字。雖然他一手改造了美國賭博圣地，但沒有一處能看到他的大名，不管是路牌，公園還是私人停車位。 然而拉斯維加斯的天際線里，64層的特朗普國際酒店樓頂能看到巨大的金色字母，拼著特朗普的名字“T-R-U-M-P”。 科克里安向來寡言少語，也不與媒體接觸。他拒絕大多數采訪，按照自己的規則生活，以免泄露有關個人生活或商業利益的信息。科克里安遵守的頭號戒條就是：言多必失。第二條是：不要談論自己。 進入政界之前，特朗普就出了名地愛吹噓自己。就任全國頭號推特用戶之前，他就經常自己當公關，直接向媒體發布各種私人和商務信息。1989年他還差點擠進《福布斯》富豪榜，但很快被發現虛報凈值——雜志編輯審核時發現實際上“差了幾個零”。 |
One of Donald Trump’s idols in the business world may come as a surprise. He was little known, and liked it that way. He was a daring pilot during World War II. And on the playing fields of deal-making, he was the future president’s polar opposite—the very embodiment of self-discipline, humility and grace under pressure. Kirk Kerkorian, self-made billionaire and fellow hotel developer, started out as a penniless eighth-grade dropout from California before becoming a Hollywood movie mogul, a Las Vegas casino magnate, and one of America’s richest men. His largely unheralded charitable giving also made him one of the country’s most generous tycoons. In many ways, he was the un-Donald, yet Trump regarded Kerkorian as business royalty. When a New York Times columnist was calling Kerkorian—then in his late 80s—“the god of all deal makers,” Trump was likewise calling him “the King” and publicly declared: “I love that guy.” The stories of the two fellow billionaires have obvious parallels, but perhaps more interesting than that, is how vastly they diverged in their approaches to achieving remarkably similar versions of the modern American dream. By the time Kerkorian died at age 98 in 2015, he owned most of the major hotels and casinos on The Strip. But his name was on none of them. And though he transformed the American gambling mecca, Kerkorian’s name never appeared on a street sign, a park site or so much as a private parking spot. The Las Vegas skyline does, however, have the giant gold letters T-R-U-M-P atop the 64-story Trump International Hotel. The reticent Kerkorian avoided media engagement. He declined most interviews and lived by his own rule against divulging anything about his personal or business interests. The first Kirk commandment was: don’t talk too much. His second was: never talk about yourself. Trump was notorious for self-promotion well before entering politics. Even before becoming the nation’s Tweeter-in-Chief, he sometimes posed as his own public relations guy to pass along all kinds of personal and business information to the press. In 1989 he even talked his way onto a Forbes list of billionaires, only to be summarily dumped for inflating his net worth—found to be “in hailing distance of zero” upon review by magazine editors. |
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雖然商界競爭激烈，但科克里安從不招人怨恨。哪怕經歷過激烈的談判，科克里安的競爭對手常常能變成朋友。貼身助手表示，他從不說別人的壞話。相比之下，特朗普對落選福布斯榜單的反應也非常典型，他咒罵說，已故的雜志發行人馬爾科姆·福布斯“躺在墳墓里還要報復我。” 科克里安刻意避免攀附名人，也不愿卷進政治活動。但他對特朗普輕松掌控觀眾的能力還是頗為欣賞，甚至有些羨慕。科克里安生性靦腆，父輩是大字不識的美國移民，幾乎完全不會公開演講。“真希望我能像特朗普一樣說話，”他曾告訴朋友。 但如果科克里安能活到2016年，親眼看看特朗普如何參加總統競選，估計還是會驚訝。戰爭時代科克里安是英雄飛行員，后來是大膽的賭徒，他曾一把骰子賭上100萬美元，也曾不只一次用身家下注拉斯維加斯的發展前景。他喜歡大賭，不管結果是輸是贏，對他來說，競選總統爭當白宮主人肯定算得上一次值得稱道的豪賭。 話說回來，科克里安是有可能稱贊特朗普競選總統，但對特朗普推特治國估計也得皺眉。（財富中文網） 作者威廉·C·倫佩爾是《賭徒傳奇：身無分文的肄業生科克·科克里安如何成為資本史上最偉大的交易大師》。 譯者：馮豐 審稿：夏林 |
Though fiercely competitive, Kerkorian carried no grudges. Even after intense negotiations, Kerkorian’s business competitors often ended up as social friends. His closest associates said he never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Trump’s response to his Forbes list demotion was also typically Trumpian—accusing deceased magazine publisher Malcolm Forbes of “finally getting back at me from the grave.” Kerkorian studiously avoided both the trappings of celebrity and any involvement in political activism. But he also admired, perhaps even envied, Trump for his easy command of audiences. The naturally shy son of illiterate Armenian immigrants was almost paralytic about public speaking. “I wish I could talk like Trump,” he told friends. And, had Kerkorian lived to see it, he almost certainly would have been impressed with the audacity of Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. For Kerkorian, a heroic wartime aviator and seemingly fearless gambler—who once risked a million dollars on a single roll of the dice, who wagered his fortune more than once on major Las Vegas developments, and who favored big bets, win or lose—seeking the White House would definitely have qualified as a praise-worthy whale of a big bet. But although Kerkorian may have lauded Trump’s campaign, his tweeting—probably not so much. William C. Rempel is the author of THE GAMBLER: How Penniless Dropout Kirk Kerkorian Became the Greatest Deal Maker in Capitalist History. |
