李嘉誠時代落幕 | 紐約時報

HONG KONG — Li Ka-shing, a high school dropout who got his start selling plastic flowers, will retire from the empire that made him Hong Kong』s richest man, he said , bringing a symbolic end to an era when the road to China』s riches went through the onetime British colony.

靠賣塑料花起家的高中輟學生李嘉誠表示，自己將從讓他成為香港首富的商業帝國退休，這標誌著通過曾經的英國殖民地成為中國富人時代的結束。

Mr. Li, 89, who some called Superman for his business acumen, grew his plastic manufacturing business into a sprawling conglomerate. He did so just as Hong Kong was undergoing a transformation from a British trading post into a beating heart of capitalism and the entry point into China, which was then closed off from the world.

89歲的李嘉誠因商業頭腦精明而被稱為「超人」，他將塑料花作坊做大成為涉足廣泛的龐大商業集團。在香港從英國的貿易口岸轉型為資本主義的泵血心臟和進入中國的跳板這一過程中，他獲得了成功。當時中國內地還對外封閉。

But as China grew, Hong Kong tycoons like Mr. Li faded in importance and a new generation of mainland Chinese businesses sprang up. Today, the region』s richest people areChinese internet titansand property moguls, whileHong Kongover the years has felt the growing influence of mainland money.

但隨著中國的發展，李嘉誠等香港大佬影響力下降，新一代中國內地商人階層崛起。今天，最富裕的人是中國的互聯網大佬和地產大亨，過去一些年中，香港日益受到內地資本影響。

「It has now been nearly 78 years since, as a 12-year-old, I escaped from a war to try to find work in Hong Kong so that I could provide for my family,」 Mr. Li said in a filing Friday that announced his retirement, referring to his escape from war-torn China in 1940.

「到現在差不多七十八年了，當時我12歲，逃避戰亂來到香港謀生養家，」李嘉誠在周五的退休聲明中說，1940年他從內地避亂逃出。

He said that he planned to focus on his charity,the Li Ka Shing Foundation.

他說計劃未來專心搞慈善，做好李嘉誠基金。

Mr. Li will hand over his conglomerate, which includes CK Hutchison and CK Asset Holdings, to his son Victor Li, but will remain a senior adviser. Mr. Li』s retirement will take effect after CK Hutchison』s annual meeting in May, the filing said.

李嘉誠將包括長江和記和長江實業在內的企業集團交給兒子李澤鉅，自己仍然是高級顧問。文件顯示，李嘉誠將在5月長江和記年會時退休。

Mr. Li started his plastics company at the age of 22, quickly turning it into a conglomerate that today cuts across the media, hotels, shipping, grocery stores and oil and reaches 50 countries.

李嘉誠22歲時開辦了塑料公司，很快發展成企業集團，如今涉足媒體、酒店、航運、零售和石油，生意遍布五十多個國家。

He once said that each time he entered a new industry, he would buy books about it to educate himself. When he started his plastics company, he bought a copy of an American trade magazine, Modern Plastics, each month. 「There was so much information in it,」 he said in a recent Bloomberg Television interview.

他曾說，每次進入一個新行業，都會買書自學。開塑料廠時，他每月購買美國貿易雜誌《現代塑料》。「裡面有很多東西，」他最近接受彭博電視台採訪時說。

He went into real estate in the 1960s and 』70s, eventually owning more Hong Kong property than any other entity but the British government. Mr. Li owns some of the most iconic — and expensive — buildings in the city, which together are worth billions of dollars.

他上世紀六七十年代進軍地產，最終比除港英政府外的任何實體擁有的香港地產都多。李嘉誠擁有一些最具象徵性、也最為昂貴的城市建築，價值數十億美元。

But it was his acquisition in 1979 of an old British trading house, Hutchison, that really elevated Mr. Li. He bought a controlling stake in the business from HSBC, which had bailed out the company as it struggled under large debt. It was the first time a Chinese person had taken over a British company, and it marked an important moment in Hong Kong』s changing power structures.

但1979年兼并老牌英國商行和記真正讓李嘉誠出頭。他從滙豐銀行購買了控制性股權，當時和記擔負巨債，李嘉誠出資幫助它擺脫困境。這是中國人第一次接受英國公司，也是香港權力結構轉變的重要時刻。

It is nearly impossible to live in Hong Kong today without buying something from one of Mr. Li』s grocery stores or pharmacies, renting one of his apartments, or using electricity from his conglomerate』s utility company.

要是不從李嘉誠的便利店或藥店買東西、租他的公寓或用他集團下屬市政公司的電，你幾乎不可能在香港生活。

Most of Mr. Li』s assets are tied up in CK Hutchison and Cheung Kong Properties. The name Cheung Kong is Cantonese for the Yangtze River.Over the years, Mr. Li has made money navigating both China and the outside world. He was one of the first Hong Kong tycoons to plow money into China.

李嘉誠多數資產在長江和記和長江實業地產下。這些年來，李嘉誠在中國和全世界各處賺錢。他是第一批投資中國內地的香港大亨。

When Mr. Li sold some of his assets in China in 2015, People』s Daily, accused him of 「immoral misconduct」 and called the move 「particularly brazen.」

他2015年出售部分中國資產時，有媒體指責他「不道德」，認為這種行為尤其無所顧忌。

With a net worth estimated at about $36 billion, built in part off rapidly rising property prices, Mr. Li has also become a symbol of Hong Kong』s wealth disparity. At times he has been a lightning rod for criticism aboutrising property prices.

他凈資產超過350億美元，部分原因是房產價格快速上漲，李嘉誠也是香港貧富不公的象徵。他有時會成為人們批評房價上漲的靶子。

Mr. Li』s announcement was timed to an annual news conference providing updates on his conglomerate』s financial status. Over the years, the event has becomean open session for gauging the tycoon』s viewson everything from rising real estate prices to the business landscape.

李嘉誠宣布退休正值集團公布年度財報。這些年來，這個場合成為外界觀察這位大亨對所有問題看法的公開時機，包括房產價格和商業走向。

The news conference suggested that Mr. Li is unlikely to remain too far removed from his empire. When one reporter directed a question to Victor Li about the company』s future investments, Mr. Li interrupted as his son was reaching for the microphone. 「I』ll answer for him,」 he said.

新聞發布會表明，李嘉誠不可能完全脫離他的商業帝國。一個人問李澤鉅關於公司的未來投資，李嘉誠打斷兒子湊到麥克風前說：「我替他回答」。

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