A groundbreaking 2019 study by four economists, “Capitalists in the Twenty-First Century,” analyzed de-identified data of the complete universe of American taxpayers to determine who dominated the top 0.1 percent of earners. The study didn’t tell us about the small number of well-known tech and shopping billionaires but instead about the more than 140,000 Americans who earn more than $1.58 million per year. The researchers found that the typical rich American is, in their words, the owner of a “regional business,” such as an “auto dealer” or a “beverage distributor.”
在2019年进行的一项开创性研究“21世纪的资本家”中，四位经济学家分析了美国全体纳税人去除身份信息后的数据，以确定最富有的0.1%人群中主要是些什么人。这项研究说明的不是科技和销售界少数知名亿万富翁的情况，而是关于年收入超过158万美元的逾14万名美国人。研究人员发现，用他们的话说，典型的美国富人是“区域性企业”的所有者，比如“汽车经销商”或“饮品经销商”。
What are the lessons from the data on rich earners? First, rich people own. Among members of the top 0.1 percent, the researchers found, about three times as many make the majority of their income from owning a business as from being paid awage. Salaries don’t make people rich nearly as often asequitydoes.
从关于富人的数据中我们可以学到什么？首先，富人拥有产权。翻译划线句，长按文末小程序码打卡，答案下期公布~工资使人致富的效率远不及股权。
Second, rich people tend to own unsexy businesses. A different study, by the statisticians Tian Luo and Philip B. Stark, examined which businesses were most likely tofoldfastest. The kind most likely to go out of business most quickly is a record store. The average record store lasts just 2.5 years. (For comparison, the average dentist’s office lasts more than 19.5 years.) Other businesses that fold quickly include toy stores (3.25 years), clothing stores (3.75 years) and cosmetics stores (4.0 years).
其次，富人拥有的往往是不那么引人注目的企业。另一项由统计学家罗田和菲利普·斯塔克进行的研究调查了哪些企业最有可能最快倒闭。最容易倒闭的是唱片店，其平均寿命只有2.5年。（相比之下，牙医诊所的平均寿命超过19.5年）。其他可能迅速倒闭的还包括玩具店（3.25年）、服装店（3.75年）、化妆品店（4.0年）。
There are, however, plenty of unsexy businesses from which a few people are getting rich. These include auto repair shops, gas stations and business equipment contractors. The third important factor in gaining wealth is some way to avoid ruthless price competition, to build a local monopoly. The prevalence of owners of auto dealerships among the top 0.1 percent gives a clue to what it takes to get rich.
而许多并不引人注目的行业却令少数人从中致富，包括汽车修理店、加油站和商务设备承包商。获得财富的第三个重要因素是设法避免无情的价格竞争，建立本地垄断。最富有的0.1%人群中，汽车经销商的比例很高，这给我们提供了致富的线索。
If pop culture is right, getting rich is a path to happiness. Is that true? Does money actually make people happy? Money is not a reliable path to happiness. Matthew Killingsworth of the University of Pennsylvania has studied data from more than 30,000 adults, far larger than previous studies of money and happiness. Hedebunkeda popular myth that there is no effect of money on happiness beyond $75,000 per year, but he did confirm a law of diminishing returns to money. In the end, Dr. Killingsworth found, the effects of moneylevel off: You need to keep doubling your income to get the same happiness boost.
在流行文化里，致富是通往幸福的道路。这是真的吗？钱真的能让人快乐吗？金钱并不是通往幸福的可靠途径。宾夕法尼亚大学的马修·基林斯沃斯研究了3万多名成年人的数据，规模远远大于此前对金钱与幸福关系的研究。他戳穿了一个流行的迷思，即年收入超过7.5万美元后，金钱对幸福就没有影响了，但他也确实证实了金钱回报递减的规律。最终，基林斯沃斯发现，金钱的影响曲线趋于平稳：你需要不断将收入翻倍，才能获得同样的幸福感提升。
