双语新闻:杰克逊一朝荣华 得益于精明投资

【英文原文】

Savvy Deals Aided Jackson's Lavish Lifestyle

摘要：尽管迈克尔•杰克逊(Michael Jackson)的怪癖和大手大脚花钱的方式是出了名的，但他在商业上也有数项明智之举，否则他早就因奢侈古怪的生活方式而陷入了财务困境。

Despite Michael Jackson's well-earned reputation for eccentricity and free-spending ways, he made several savvy business moves that kept him financially afloat far longer than his lavish and bizarre lifestyle might otherwise have allowed.

At the time of his death, he was attempting to dig himself out of about $500 million in debt. Now, a fresh business drama could play out over his estate.

In 1985, Mr. Jackson paid $47.5 million for ATV Music Publishing, the owner of copyrights to the words and music of 251 Beatles songs, among other compositions.

That proved a shrewd move. In 1995, Mr. Jackson sold half of ATV to Sony Corp. for $150 million, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. The partnership's value grew explosively and likely exceeds $1 billion today.

As his singing career wound down, Mr. Jackson borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars against Sony/ATV and Neverland, his 2,600-acre estate near Santa Barbara, Calif. The loans were passed around among banks and Wall Street firms as Mr. Jackson repeatedly verged on default, only to refinance at even more onerous terms.

One loan, backed by a company that owns the copyrights to songs Mr. Jackson wrote, carried a 16.5% interest rate, according to people with knowledge of the loan.

Still, Mr. Jackson was making approximately $19 million a year at the time of his death, according to three people familiar with his finances, with around $12 million coming from album sales and $7 million generated by his stake in Sony/ATV.

With Mr. Jackson's debt load, even that level of income wasn't enough to keep his finances stable, according to people familiar with them. That is why he agreed to return to the stage in a series of 50 concerts at London's O2 arena that had been planned to kick off next month.

There were other signs that Mr. Jackson was starting to get his finances back in order. Just last week, he rehired John Branca, the high-profile Los Angeles entertainment attorney who struck many of the singer's most lucrative business deals, including the ATV acquisition and the joint venture with Sony.

It is unclear what will happen to Mr. Jackson's tangled finances as his estate is unwound. At one point, according to people familiar with his plans, he had intended to divide his estate among his three children and his mother. It is unclear if that arrangement was subsequently amended.

The stake in Sony/ATV is held in a trust that was designed to protect the singer from creditors. The degree to which Mr. Jackson's assets still exceed his towering liabilities, if at all, could take months to determine, according to people familiar with the situation.

【中文译文】

尽管迈克尔•杰克逊(Michael Jackson)的怪癖和大手大脚花钱的方式是出了名的，但他在商业上也有数项明智之举，否则他早就因奢侈古怪的生活方式而陷入了财务困境。

杰克逊在去世前正在努力把自己从约5亿美元的负债中拯救出来。现在，针对他的遗产可能上演一部全新的商战片。

1985年，杰克逊以4,750万美元的价格买下了ATV Music Publishing。该公司拥有251首“披头士乐队”(Beatles)歌曲的词曲版权，以及其他一些音乐作品的版权。

事实证明，此举非常明智。1995年，杰克逊把ATV一半的股权卖给了索尼公司(Sony Corp.)，套现1.50亿美元，创建了Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC。这个合资公司的价值实现了爆炸性增长，现在很可能超过了10亿美元。

随着杰克逊演唱生涯的结束，他用Sony/ATV和加州圣巴巴拉附近一座2,600英亩的地产“梦幻庄园”(Neverland)作担保，借款数十亿美元。在杰克逊一再濒临违约边缘之际，这些贷款在各个银行和华尔街公司之间转来转去，以更为苛刻的条款进行再融资。

知情人士说，其中有一笔贷款是由拥有杰克逊创作的歌曲版权的公司担保，利率为16.5%。

不过，据三位知情人士说，杰克逊去世前每年大约有1,900万美元的入帐，其中约有1,200万美元来自专辑销售，另外700万美元来自Sony/ATV的持股。

知情人士说，考虑到杰克逊的负债累累，即便是这个水平的收入也不足以让他的财务状况保持稳定。正因为如此，杰克逊同意重返舞台，在伦敦的O2 arena举办50场演唱会。演唱会原本计划下个月开始。

还有其他一些迹象显示杰克逊正开始使自己的财务状况恢复正常。就在上周，他重新聘用了布兰卡(John Branca)。此人是洛杉矶娱乐圈内一位有名的代理律师，杰克逊很多最赚钱的商业交易都是由他达成的，包括收购ATV、建立与索尼的合资公司。

随着杰克逊遗产问题的解决，他乱麻一样的财务状况将会怎样，这不得而知。知情人士透露说，杰克逊曾有一度打算把遗产分给自己的三个孩子和他的母亲。目前不清楚这个安排之后是否又修改了。

杰克逊在Sony/ATV的持股由一只信托管理，设立这只信托意在保护杰克逊免受债权人的追债。知情人士说，杰克逊的资产将比巨额负债高多少，抑或是资不抵债，这还要数月时间才能确定。

【词汇讲解】

1. eccentricity n. 古怪行为；反常

My wife has many eccentricities.
我妻子有很多怪癖。

2. afloat 未处于绝境地，幸存地

His business is facing difficulties, but it is staying afloat.
他的生意遇到一些困难，但还能维持。

3. lavish adj. 过分慷慨的；非常浪费的，太多的

She'd been a bit too lavish with the salt, so the soup didn't taste nice.
她放盐太多，因而汤的味道不太好。

4. bizarre 怪诞的

They saw a bizarre animal in the lake.
他们在湖中看见一个奇怪的动物。

5. estate 地产，财产；遗产

He owns a large estate in Scotland.
他在苏格兰有大量地产。

6. shrewd adj. 机灵的，精明的

He is a shrewd businessman.
他是一个精明的商人。

7. onerous adj. 困难的；沉重的；繁重的

This is the most onerous task I have ever undertaken.
这是我承担过的最艰巨的任务。

8. lucrative adj. 获利多的，赚钱的

She has a lucrative business selling leather goods.
她做皮货生意, 利润丰厚。

9. tangled 复杂的

All the figures are tangled up in his mind.
所有的数据他都搞混了。

10. liabilities 债务，负债

The remaining assets of a business after all liabilities have been deducted; net worth.
资产净值一个企业在扣除了所有的债务后所余资产。

【词组讲解】

verge on v. 接近于；接近，近乎