盖茨第17次登顶福布斯全美富豪榜

    Things are on the up for US billionaires（亿万富翁） with more than half of them adding to their net worth in a year which once again saw Bill Gates as the richest of them all, Forbes（福布斯） magazine said on Wednesday.
    Gates, founder¹ of Microsoft, was the richest person in the United States for the 17th year in a row with an estimated worth of $54 billion, up $4 billion from last year.
    No. 2 on the list was investor² Warren Buffett, worth $45 billion, up $5 billion. Oracle（甲骨文） founder Larry Ellison's net worth was unchanged, in third place, at $27 billion. Christy Walton, heir to Walmart founder Sam Walton's fortune（财富）, was in fourth place with $24 billion, up $2.5 billion.
    In stark³ contrast to the 2009 Forbes 400 list, 217 of the tycoons⁵ are now worth more than they were a year ago. Just 84 of the billionaires had a decrease in wealth.
    In 2009 a whopping（巨大的） 314 members of the exclusive club had experienced a decrease in their wealth.
    The top 10 gained $24.9 billion. The same group had shed almost $40 billion last year.
    The total wealth of the group is up 8 percent, besting the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which measured a stock market increase of just 1 percent, Forbes said.
    The Forbes 400 are worth a combined $1.37 trillion, compared with $1.27 trillion last year.
    The price of admission to the list is back up to $1 billion from 2009 when $950 million was enough to make the top 400.
    There are no new entries or drop-offs in the top 10 but the list shuffled⁶. The Koch brothers, heads of energy and manufacturing giant Koch Industries, now rank above three other members of the Walton family and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of news and information company Bloomberg LP, who round out the top 10.
    Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, No. 35, saw the largest relative increase, more than tripling his fortune to $6.9 billion from $2 billion. Fellow Facebook co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin join the list with fortunes of $1.4 billion and $1.15 billion, respectively. Born eight days after Zuckerberg, 26-year-old Moskovitz is the world's youngest billionaire.
    The oldest tycoon⁴ on the list is David Rockefeller Sr., 95, worth $2.4 billion.
    Media magnate Oprah Winfrey comes in at No. 130 and is one of 42 women on the list.
    Automobile⁷ heir William Ford⁸ Sr. made the list for the first time since 2005, at the 385th spot with $1 billion after Ford Motors Co's stock rose 50 percent and hit a 5-year-high.
    California is the state with the most billionaires -- 83 -- among them No. 332 Meg Whitman, worth $1.2 billion, the Republican candidate for governor of the state in November elections.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

 

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

4 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

5 tycoons   

大君( tycoon的名词复数 )； 将军； 企业巨头； 大亨

参考例句：

• The great tycoons were fierce competitors, single-minded in their pursuit of financial success and power. 企业巨头都是激烈的竞争者，他们一心追求钱财和权势。
• Tycoons and their conglomerates are even raising money again on international markets. 企业大亨们以及他们的企业甚至正再次从国际市场上筹集资金。

6 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。