VOA常速英语2007年-India's Super Wealthy Become Wealthier Due to S

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
18 November 2007

India's super-rich now make up one of the wealthiest groups in Asia. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi on how a growing economy and booming stock markets continue to produce great wealth - for a very few.

Forbes Magazine says India's billionaires constitute one of the wealthiest groups in Asia. Their collective net worth has surged to $351 billion - nearly double that of last year.

Forbes lists 54 U.S. dollar billionaires in India. That is the second highest number in Asia after China, which now has the second highest number in the world, after the United States. According to Forbes, China has 66 billionaires, while the Hurun Report, a respected chronicler of such things, puts the number in China at more than 100.

India has moved past Japan, which for nearly two decades had boasted the largest number of billionaires in Asia.

Anjan Roy, an economist¹ with the Federation² of Indian Chambers³ of Commerce and Industry, says individual wealth in India is rising rapidly because the country's economic growth is driven largely by the private sector⁴ and many of the top private Indian companies are family-owned businesses.

"Many of these companies are owned by individuals, not corporations, and they are prominent shareholders⁵, fully⁶ owned or private limited companies. So these people are getting enriched very fast," said Roy.

The owners of these companies are becoming richer largely due to a record stock market rally that has seen Mumbai's Sensex rise by 44 percent this year.

For example, the net worth of India's second richest man, Mukesh Ambani increased by two and a half times as share prices of his Reliance Industries more than doubled in the past year.

The Indian currency's sharp 12 percent appreciation⁷ against the dollar has also helped increase individual fortunes in dollar terms.

 

China's billionaires, likewise, have gained their wealth largely through rising stock market and real estate valuations.

The Indian list of billionaires also includes a new name: Kushal pal⁸ Singh. Forbes says he has become the world's richest real estate developer after he listed his company, DLF Ltd.

 

And from all accounts, the super-wealthy are learning to spend their money. Newspapers have carried reports of dream mansions⁹ being planned, and luxury private jets being snapped up by the billionaires.

 

Their wealth is in stark¹⁰ contrast to the poverty in the rest of the country. Four hundred million Indians, almost 40 percent of the population, still live on less than a dollar a day.

1 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

4 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

5 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

8 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

9 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 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。