A list of the most inspirational entrepreneurs is necessarily subjective, but the following is a list of some risk-takers who really left their marks, often despite challenging upbringings.
現(xiàn)如今海內(nèi)外全民創(chuàng)業(yè),人潮涌動,各種創(chuàng)業(yè)家排行榜俯拾皆是,諸如“最具影響力的企業(yè)家”之類的排行榜更是難免沾染主觀色彩。不過,下面看東西為你帶來的這組企業(yè)家,可是真真正正地青史留名的探險者,盡管成長背景并不優(yōu)越,但這絲毫沒有阻擋他們成功的腳步。
ANDREW CARNEGIE, THE SELF-MADE PHILANTHROPIST
安德魯·卡內(nèi)基:自力更生的富一代暨大慈善家
As a Scottish immigrant in the 19th century, Carnegie arrived in America as a poor teenager and worked his way through the ranks, starting with a daily 12-hour job changing spools. He eventually made a fortune as an investor during the Civil War, including a single $40,000 investment in the oil-rich Story Farm, which earned him $1 million in dividends by the end of the year. After the war, he launched Carnegie Steel Corporation, which he later sold to J. P. Morgan for $480 million. He increased his wealth and fame with his writing, including his “Gospel of Wealth” describing the philanthropic responsibilities of the self-made rich, and he became well-known for his own philanthropy, including millions of dollars of donations to the New York Public Library, the establishment of the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (Carnegie-Mellon University today), and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
19世紀時,卡內(nèi)基作為蘇格蘭移民[微博]來到美利堅,那時的他還是一個窮酸小青年;從一份每天12小時更換線軸的工作開始,他一步一步逆襲走上人生贏家之路。最終,在美國南北戰(zhàn)爭期間,他作為一名投資者發(fā)了大財,這其中包括投資價值40,000美金的儲油豐富的Story Farm,一年之后這筆投資就讓卡內(nèi)基獲得了一百萬美金的分紅。戰(zhàn)后他成立了卡內(nèi)基鋼鐵公司,之后以4億美元的價格賣給了JP摩根。此外,卡內(nèi)基還通過寫作出書不斷斬獲名利,包括著名的《財富的福音》,在書中卡內(nèi)基講述了“富一代”們的慈善責(zé)任,從此他也開始因自己的慈善事業(yè)聞名。他不僅向紐約公共圖書館捐贈百萬美金,還成立了匹茲堡卡內(nèi)基工學(xué)院(今天的卡內(nèi)基梅隆大學(xué);譯者注:卡內(nèi)基梅隆大學(xué)是一所位于美國賓夕法尼亞州匹茲堡的大學(xué),其前身卡內(nèi)基理工學(xué)院與梅隆工業(yè)研究院于1967年合并后成立卡內(nèi)基梅隆大學(xué))和卡內(nèi)基國際和平基金會。
HENRY FORD, REVOLUTIONIZING AMERICAN LIFESTYLES
亨利·福特:推動美利堅生活方式改革的那個人
Born into a family of farmers, Ford worked as an engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company before resigning to form his own company. Although his first company failed and his second company almost went under, Ford Motor Company changed American lifestyles by making affordable automobiles and industry by introducing the moving assembly line.
出生在務(wù)農(nóng)之家的福特,起先加入了愛迪生照明公司,之后又辭掉工作創(chuàng)立自己的公司。雖然他的第一次嘗試失敗了,第二個公司差點破產(chǎn),但他的福特汽車公司卻實實在在地改變了美國人的生活,讓汽車的價格變得更親民更大眾,同時還為整個行業(yè)建立了流水線操作標準。
STEVE JOBS, THE BACKYARD BILLIONAIRE OF THE PERSONAL COMPUTER REVOLUTION
斯蒂夫·喬布斯:在自家后院發(fā)動全球個人電腦革命的巨富
Raised by adoptive parents who did not graduate from college, Jobs tinkered with electronics at a young age with his father, who worked as a mechanic and carpenter. After dropping out of college, traveling and working, Jobs and high school friend Steve Wozniak formed Apple Computer from Jobs’s parents’ garage. From there, Jobs was influential in the personal computer revolution, as well as in other consumer electronics including smartphones, music and movies, and Apple eventually became the world’s most valuable publicly traded company in 2011.
喬布斯在收養(yǎng)家庭里長大,養(yǎng)父母大學(xué)肄業(yè),爸爸是機械工兼木匠,從孩童時期起,喬布斯就開始跟著養(yǎng)父一起圍著電子器件修修補補。大學(xué)輟學(xué)后,喬布斯一邊旅行一邊工作,和自己的高中朋友斯蒂夫·沃茲尼亞克在自家的車庫里創(chuàng)建了蘋果電腦公司。從那之后,喬布斯就一發(fā)不可收拾,除了領(lǐng)銜全球個人電腦革命之外,也順便顛覆了其他電子消費品領(lǐng)域,例如智能手機、音樂、電影等,蘋果也在2011年的時候成為了最具價值的公開上市公司。
OPRAH WINFREY, THE TEENAGE MOTHER WHO BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME
奧普拉·溫弗瑞:從少齡媽媽到家喻戶曉
Oprah was born into poverty with a single teenage mother and experienced a tough childhood, becoming a teenage mother herself at 14 and losing that son shortly after. In high school she got involved with radio, and at 19 she began co-anchoring the local evening news. After working in a daytime talk show, which went from last-ranked to the top-ranked talk show in Chicago during her time there, she started The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her show, which started as a tabloid talk show, eventually expanded to broader topics, including celebrity interviews: her 1993 prime-time interview of Michael Jackson became the most watched interview ever. When her show went national, Oprah became a millionaire at 32, and today she is a billionaire.
奧普拉出生于一個貧窮的單身未成年母親家庭,自小就經(jīng)歷不少困難,14歲的時候奧普拉自己也成為了一名少齡母親,而不久后又失去了這個兒子。在高中時,奧普拉就開始嘗試播音,19歲開始在當?shù)赝黹g新聞?chuàng)温?lián)合主播。之后她在一檔日間脫口秀欄目工作,其間,這檔節(jié)目的排名從芝加哥地區(qū)的墊底行列直升至榜首;在這之后,奧普拉就成立了與自己同名的《奧普拉·溫弗瑞脫口秀》。這檔節(jié)目最開始還只是小打小鬧,做一些小型節(jié)目,但是之后其涉及的話題范圍越來越廣,也包括名人訪談:她在1993年對邁克爾·杰克遜的采訪于黃金時段播出,成為了迄今為止收視率最高的訪談。隨著她的脫口秀走向全國,奧普拉在32歲年紀輕輕的時候就成為了百萬富翁,今天,她已經(jīng)是十億級的富婆了。
ELON MUSK, THE MAN WHO IS DOING IT ALL
伊隆·馬斯克:全能型人生贏家亮瞎你的眼
Born in South Africa, Musk taught himself computer programming at a young age. At 24, he started a web software company with his brother, and a few years later he founded an online financial services and email payment company that became Paypal. He is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX, which focuses on advancing rocket technology; the chairman of Solar City, the second largest provider of solar power systems in the US; and the CEO and co-founder of Tesla Motors, an electric car company.
馬斯克出生于南非,小時候就自學(xué)電腦編程。24歲時,他和兄弟成立了一家網(wǎng)絡(luò)軟件公司,幾年之后,他又成立了一家在線金融服務(wù)和電郵支付公司,也就是我們現(xiàn)在熟知的Paypal。他還創(chuàng)建了致力于推動火箭科技的高科技公司SpaceX,并擔(dān)任CEO;也是美國第二大太陽能系統(tǒng)提供商Solar City的主席;還沒完,他也是電力汽車公司特斯拉的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼CEO。