John Arnold has made billions as an energy-trading phenom. But the rules of his game are about to change.
翻譯:年輕有為的天然氣商人
約翰-阿落德已經在天然氣交易中賺到將近10億. 但是他們的遊戲規則正在發生改變.
(Fortune Magazine) -- You could hear John Arnold trying to choose his words carefully. Seated at a conference table inside a drab government building in Washington, D.C., in August, Arnold hardly fit the stereotype of a swaggering, 35-year-old billionaire natural-gas trader.
翻譯: (財富雜誌)--- 妳可以聽到約翰-阿羅德小心翼翼的選擇自己的用詞. 他正在參加壹個會議,這個會議在位於美國華盛頓的壹個土褐色的政府大樓裏召開. 在8月, 約翰-阿羅德幾乎成為壹個35歲進行天然氣貿易的億萬富翁.
He wrung his hands as he waited to speak and twisted his wedding band. He filled, and refilled, and re-refilled his water glass. Then he stuttered a bit before he gained momentum and politely advocated rules that would restrict others while allowing him to keep doing what he does.
翻譯:他扭動著他的手和他的領結,正在等待著發言. 他幾次用水加滿了他的杯子,接著,他結結巴巴的說了壹些話,客氣的提倡著壹些規則,這些規則是限制其他人,從而允許他繼續他的工作.
It was a rare public appearance for one of the least-known billionaires in the U.S. But the stakes were high. Arnold was testifying at a hearing of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
翻譯:在美國對於壹個億萬富翁來說,在街頭路面是十分罕見的.但是,樹莊太高,阿羅德試圖證明壹種美國商品期貨交易委員會的說法.
Commodity prices have been especially volatile in recent years -- skyrocketing and then crashing to earth -- and the federal regulator is considering dramatic rule changes to rein in speculators, whom many blame for the gyrating prices.
翻譯:日用品價格變得十分不穩定,特別是最近幾年---開始是天價,接著有暴跌回原來的價格---聯邦官員正在考慮改變壹些的規則去控制這些讓價格異常波動的投機者.
Arnold would tell you -- if he were inclined to tell you anything (and he rarely is) -- that he's a speculator. He might say, though, that that's not a bad thing to be. But call him what you want -- nobody has profited more when it comes to natural-gas trading in recent years.
翻譯:阿羅德會告訴妳---他會傾向於告訴妳壹些事情---他是壹個投機者. 他可能會說,會想做壹個投機者不是壹件壞的事情. 但是在最近幾年沒有人再能獲得更多的利益當天然氣貿易變成了國家天然氣貿易.
His Houston-based hedge fund, Centaurus Energy, which manages more than $5 billion in assets, has never returned less than 50% in seven years of business.
翻譯:他擁有休撕頓的人馬座能源基金,這個基金掌握著超過50億的資產,並且在7年的生意中沒有低於其50%的價值.
Arnold's wealth reportedly constitutes a large chunk of the fund, which would make him the second-youngest self-made multibillionaire in the U.S. -- behind Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg (assuming you believe the social-networking company's theoretical valuation).
翻譯:劇報道阿羅德的財富可以建立壹個十分巨大的基金,這使他成為在美國第2年輕的白手起家的億萬富翁---在他前面的是FACKBOOK的創始人馬克(妳可以相信社會人際網絡公司的理論財富)
Arnold has the brain of an economist, the experience of a veteran gas man, and the iron stomach of a riverboat gambler. Perhaps most notable, though, is his uncanny ability to extract colossal profits from catastrophic circumstances.
翻譯:阿羅德擁有經濟學家的大腦,老道的天然氣貿易商的經驗,以及賭徒般巨大的胃口. 也許最值得關註的是,他讓人吃驚的能力,這個能力能在災難的環境中吸收財富.
He began his career as a wunderkind twentysomething trader at Enron -- and escaped that disaster not only with his reputation intact but also with the biggest bonus given to any employee, which he used to seed a new fund.
翻譯:他開始他的職業是作為壹個20幾歲的貿易商在ENRON---當時他不但能從災難中完好無損的逃離出來,並且提供了壹大筆獎金給他的員工,這樣使他種下了新的基金.
A few years later he earned $1 billion betting that natural-gas prices would go down just as a reputedly brilliant gas trader at Amaranth made a spectacularly disastrous bet in the opposite direction. More recently, as the commodities bubble burst in 2008, taking even more fund managers with it, Arnold foresaw the looming collapse and once again nearly doubled his money.
翻譯:在幾年以後,他打賭天然氣的價格會下降,是因為聽說壹些天然氣投資者做了壹個相反的決定,使這些人損失慘重;因此,阿羅德賺到了10億.最近幾年,由於2008年的日用品刨沫的突然出現,壹些基金投資商破產了.然而,阿羅德再次預測到這個海市蜃樓般的崩潰,並使他的資產翻了兩翻.
But now he faces the biggest test of his career. His mojo relies on his ability to make enormous bets. The CFTC, however, has vowed to impose trading limits that would target the industry's largest players. That, say observers, could be a dose of kryptonite for the supertrader.
翻譯中...