David Copperfield might be most famous for extravagant illusions that include making the Statue of liberty disappear and walking through the Great Wall of China. But perhaps his biggest feat yet is the enormous nine-figure fortune that the raven-haired 57-year old has quietly amassed over his three-decade career.
说到场面壮观的魔术大戏，大卫•科波菲尔(David Copperfield)恐怕是最出名的一位，比如让自由女神像不翼而飞和穿越中国的万里长城。但也许他最大的成就还要属9位数的巨额财富。它们全由这位57岁仍一头黑发魔术大师在30年的职业生涯中默默累积而来。
The famed illusionist is worth an estimated $800 million by FORBES’ count, thanks to a 13-year stint in Las Vegas, world tours, 20 television specials, a massive irreplaceable collection of magic memorabilia, and a real estate portfolio comprised of multimillion dollar trophy properties. That magical sum lands him on this year’s FORBES 400 list of Ones To Watch, a 15-person round-up of entrepreneurs, scions, and entertainers with nine-figure fortunes to their names.
据《福布斯》杂志估计，这位远近闻名的魔术师身家高达8亿美元。科波菲尔能如此富有应该归功于他在拉斯维加斯13年如一日的卖座表演、多次举办世界巡演、前后总共20次电视专场，并大量收集独一无二的魔术文物和藏品。此外它还主动出击房地产业，将价值数百万美元的不动产收入囊中。这样有如魔法一般迅速累积的财富使科波菲尔闯入今年美国富豪榜的“未来财富之星”观察名单，它包括了美国创业界、名门之后和娱乐界等领域15位名下财富已达到9位数的大腕。
At $800 million, Copperfield’s net worth places him in a rare and elite club of ultra-rich self-made celebrities poised to become billionaires in the near-future. Only one other entertainer has cracked the billion dollar club to join the FORBES 400 ranks: Oprah Winfrey (worth $2.9 billion). And among those up-and-comers we highlighted this year, only three other people fall into this category: pop queen Madonna ($500 million), pro golfer Phil Mickelson ($325 million), and country crooner Toby Keith ($320 million).
凭借8亿美元的净资产，科波菲尔成为娱乐名人中人数很少的精英俱乐部一员，这些人靠白手起家成为巨富，并有望在不远的未来头顶亿万富豪光环。放眼整个娱乐圈，到目前为止只有一位娱乐名人能够叩开亿万富豪俱乐部的大门，登上福布斯美国富豪榜，那人就是净资产达到29亿美元的奥普拉•温弗瑞(Oprah Winfrey)。在今年我们高度关注的“未来财富之星”中，除了科波菲尔外，只有其他三位娱乐名人入选：流行音乐天后麦当娜(净资产5亿美元)、职业高尔夫球手菲尔•米尔克森(Phil Mickelson)(3.25亿美元)和乡村乐歌手托比•凯斯(Toby Keith)(3.2亿美元)。
Over the course of his career, Copperfield has claimed 11 Guinness World Records, including one for the most tickets sold by a solo performer, trumping Madonna, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Combined, his world tours and Vegas shows have grossed $4 billion and counting. His television specials have earned 21 Emmy awards and reached a total worldwide audience of three billion. Dreams and Nightmares, his 1996 stage show, still holds the record for most Broadway tickets sold in a week, having grossed more than $6 million in its five-week run.
走上魔术师的职业道路以来，科波菲尔创造了11项吉尼斯世界纪录，其中包括单人表演的门票收入最高纪录，在这一点上，连麦当娜、迈克尔•杰克逊和“猫王”这样的乐坛巨星也甘拜下风。综合统计，科波菲尔的世界巡演和拉斯维加斯表演共创造了40亿美元的票房，并且这个数字还在不断增加。他的电视专场表演赢得了 21座艾美奖，收看节目的全球观众合计达到30亿人。科波菲尔1996年登上戏剧舞台，以一出《美梦与梦魇》(Dreams and Nightmares)创下百老汇单周门票最高销售纪录，至今无人打破。当时这出舞台剧连演五周，总票房超过600万美元。
A sizeable chunk of Copperfield’s wealth comes from his Vegas show at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. It has run nonstop for 13 years, with the illusionist performing as many as three shows a day seven days a week for 42 weeks each year. Ticket sales gross as much as $50 million annually, plus merchandising, which he owns. This summer the performer signed a three-year contract that will see see the casino’s Hollywood Theater renamed after him. Later this year, he will also unveil a new show packed with what he refers to as “Jurassic Park-sized” magic. Among the new features is a green alien automaton named Attila, for which new shirts, toys and a children’s book series are in the works. And he does all of it without the help ― or fees ― of a manager or agent.
科波菲尔很大一部分财富源于他在拉斯维加斯的米高梅大酒店和赌场(MGM Grand Hotel &Casino)的演出。13年里，这位魔术师的表演从不间断，每年表演42周，每周演七天，每天三场。在这里驻场表演一年，光票房收入就多达 5,000万美元，这还没算上科波菲尔自有版权的衍生商品销售收入。今年夏季，他签署了一份为期3年的合约，将在这家赌场旗下的好莱坞剧院(Hollywood Theater)登台。那家剧院已经改名，以他的名字命名。今年底，科波菲尔还会推出一场全新的表演。据他介绍，当中设计了一些 “规模堪比侏罗纪公园”的魔术。其中一个创新的特色是一台名叫Attila的绿色外星机器人。以它为形象设计的上衣、玩具和系列儿童图书正在制作中。科波菲尔一人操办了这一切，没有求助任何一位经理人或者代理公司，也就没有相应地这类费用开支。
“David’s definitely the hardest working guy in show business, ” says Scott Sibella, President and COO of the MGM Grand. “People would kill to have a show like David’s in their property because of the success it has brought.”
“大卫绝对是演艺圈里的劳模，他的表演是如此成功，大家做梦都想签下他的驻场演出。”米高梅酒店总裁兼首席运营官斯科特•西贝拉(Scott Sibella)这样评价。
Copperfield also owns the world’s largest collection of magic memorabilia. Comprised of more than 150, 000 artifacts and books, his International Museum & Library of the Conjuring Arts includes prized items from Harry Houdini, Georges Melies, and Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Housed in a 40, 000-square foot warehouse a few miles from the Las Vegas Strip, the collection is open only to fellow magicians, historians and academics, actors researching roles, friends and family, and sometimes, to the media. Occasionally, the illusionist trots items out of the building, which he owns, for lectures and exhibitions at venues like the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
科波菲尔还拥有全球规模最大的魔术领域藏品，足有逾15万件道具和图书。他的国际魔术艺术博物馆暨图书馆(International Museum &Library of the Conjuring Arts)收藏了哈利•胡迪尼(Harry Houdini)、乔治•梅里爱(Georges Melies)和 让•欧仁•罗伯特-乌丹(Jean Eug ene Robert-Houdin)等前辈魔术大师使用过的珍贵遗物。这家博物馆是一座占地4万平方英尺的仓库，距拉斯维加斯大道(Las Vegas Strip)仅几英里。通常它只面向科波菲尔的魔术界同行、历史学家、学者、探索人物角色的演员以及科波菲尔的亲朋好友开放，有时也会对媒体敞开大门。一些藏品偶尔也会在华盛顿史密森尼博物馆(Smithsonian)这类地方的演讲和展览上出现。
“It’s irreplaceable, it’s priceless, ” says Copperfield of his ever-growing collection. “You can’t replace it, which is part of the excitement.”
谈起自己那些越来越多的系列收藏，科波菲尔感叹：“它们是无可取代的，是无价之宝。你没法替代它们，因为它们与激情融为一体。”
Still, a number can be applied. The massive collection, plus restoration expenses and pricey safety precautions like FM-200 gas systems that protect against fire, has cost the magician upwards of $200 million to assemble. Some appraisers have even supposedly pegged the massive collection ― which also includes such items as the Best Director Oscar for 1943′s Casablanca (purchased at auction for $232, 000 in 2003) ― at a lofty half billion dollars.
不过，这些收藏还是可以用一个数字体现的。包括修复费用、诸如FM-200气体消防系统等高价的安全保护措施在内，这批数量庞大的收藏已经耗去这位魔术师2 亿美元。一些鉴定师估价，这批藏品的价值可观，其中有《北非谍影》赢得的1943年奥斯卡最佳导演奖小金人(2003年通过拍卖会以23.2万美元购得)，总价可能高达5亿美元。
Then there is the real estate. In Vegas, Copperfield and his family, 28-year old fiancee Chloe Gosselin (a French model turned shoe designer) and 3-year old daughter Sky, claim a Skyloft penthouse provided by the MGM Grand and a rented mansion away from the Strip. But he actually owns 11 private islands in the Bahamas and a four-story penthouse in New York City.
科波菲尔名下还有房地产。在拉斯维加斯，他和家人――28岁的未婚妻克罗伊•戈瑟兰(Chloe Gosselin)(转行做鞋类设计师的一位法国模特)和3岁的女儿斯凯(Sky)住在一间名为“空中阁楼”(Skyloft)的顶层套房。这间公寓由米高梅酒店提供。他们还在远离拉斯维加斯大道的地方租了一栋楼住。实际上，科波菲尔拥有巴哈马群岛(Bahamas)的11座独立岛屿，在纽约市还有一栋四层楼的豪华公寓。
His archipelago, located in the coveted Exuma chain of the Bahamas, is now called the Islands of Copperfield Bay. He first started acquiring them in the early 2000s, after initially setting sights on Musha Cay, the largest, most developed of his islands. Copperfield maintains that he chose the island after drawing a line on a globe between Easter Island and England’s Stonehenge, and another one from the Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico and the Pyramid of Giza in Egypt: at the lines’ intersection you supposedly find Musha.
科波菲尔的岛屿位于巴哈马群岛的埃克苏马(Exuma)列岛。人们现在将那里称为科波菲尔湾群岛。他最早在千禧之初就开始购买那些岛屿。当时，科波菲尔刚刚买下穆沙岛(Musha Cay)，这是他名下岛屿中面积最大、开发最好的一座岛。科波菲尔坚称，他是在地球仪上从智利的复活节岛到英格兰的史前巨石阵之间画了一条线，然后在墨西哥城的太阳金字塔和埃及的吉萨金字塔之间画了另一条线，两条线的交汇点就是穆沙岛，于是就这样挑中了这座岛。
The 150-acre Musha Cay cost $55 million in 2006 when the magician finally purchased it after four years of legal jousting with former owner John Melk, an early investor in Blockbuster Video. He also steadily acquired the neighboring 10 properties and poured close to $40 million and five years into renovations.
2006 年，这位魔术师斥资5500万美元购买面积150英亩的穆沙岛，又用法律手段与早期投资过百视达公司(Blockbuster Video)上一任岛屿主人约翰•梅尔克(John Melk)争斗了四年，才最终完成收购。科波菲尔还步步为营，买下了周围的另外10座小岛，投入将近4,000万美元并耗时五年将它们改建。
The resulting private fantasy island retreat is stocked with a discreet staff of 30, macaw parrots trained to clean up beach debris, a vanishing drive-in movie theater on the beach, and furniture sourced from around the world including Harry Houdini’s billiards table. Copperfield and his family spend about 10 weeks each year on Musha; when they aren’t there, it’s rented out to billionaires like Bill Gates and Sergey Brin at a starting price of $37, 500 per night.
通过这些投入，他打造出了一处梦幻般的私人岛屿度假胜地。岛上有一群精心饲养的金刚鹦鹉。它们训练有素，职责是清理海滩的废弃物。海滩上设有一座现在已逐渐绝迹的汽车电影院，度假村里的家具来自世界各地，包括哈利•胡迪尼用过的台球桌。科波菲尔和家人每年在穆沙岛上度假约10周。这家人不在岛上的时候，岛就租给比尔•盖茨和谢尔盖•布林(Sergey Brin)这样的亿万富豪。要在穆沙岛入住，起步价3.75万美元一晚。
“I took all my magic knowledge into the island, ” says Copperfield, whose Vegas-based illusions team has been crafting a James Bond?inspired spy hunt that will be added to the islands’ laundry list of sensational activities. “The island experience is based on everything that I felt was great having been at the best places I’ve been in the world.”
受 007电影启发，科波菲尔在拉斯维加斯表演的魔术班底为穆沙岛设计了一套间谍追捕游戏。它将会加入岛上众多吸引人的活动之列。科波菲尔坦言：“我把自己所有的魔术知识都用在了这个岛。岛上的体验是根据我在世界各地的游历感受来设计，灵感来自于那些我自认为最棒的地方的最美感受。”
Between purchase price and renovations, the 700-acre archipelago runs close to $95 million in value. By way of comparison, the most expensive sale in the Exumas was the Aga Khan’s $100 million purchase of the 349-acre Bell Island in 2009.
根据买入价与改造投入估算，科波菲尔拥有的700英亩巴哈马群岛岛屿价值将近9,500万美元。对比可以发现这些小岛的价值：埃克苏马群岛中售价最高的是 2009年以1亿美元出售给的阿迦汗(Aga Khan)的贝尔岛(Bell Island)，那座岛屿面积为349英亩。
“The two key islands are Musha and Rudder Cut Cay, ” estimates George Damianos, president of Bahamas brokerage Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty. “My educated guess is Rudder Cut would sell very quickly for between $20 and $30 million. Musha could get $50, maybe up to $70 million.”
巴哈马群岛的房地产经纪公司Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty总裁乔治•米克诺斯(George Damianos)估计：“穆沙岛和Rudder Cut Cay是两个关键的岛屿。以目前所知，我估计Rudder Cut Cay可能很快以2,000到3,000万美元出售。穆沙岛可能值5,000万美元，或许会高达7,000万美元。”
Copperfield also owns a massive penthouse in Manhattan’s Midtown neighborhood, just south of Central Park. Located in the Galleria building, Copperfield’s condo spreads across four floors, encompassing 10, 000 square feet of interior space and 6, 000 square feet of private terraces and rooftop gardens. He purchased the apartment in 1997 for $7.4 million. Today its value could run upwards of $60 million according to local experts and sales comps for nearby penthouse co-ops and condos.
科波菲尔还在纽约曼哈顿中城区还拥有一处面积很大的顶层公寓。它就在中央公园南面的Galleria大厦。科波菲尔的公寓共有四层，室内面积1万平方英尺，私人阳台和屋顶花园共6,000平方英尺。这是他1997年以740万美元购入的公寓。据当地专业人士和附近出售顶层合作公寓和共管公寓的售楼公司估计，科波菲尔这处物业今天的市值可能高达6,000万美元。
The penthouse was originally built for Stewart Mott, an eccentric philanthropist and an heir to the General Motors empire, who reportedly never moved into the space. It has 18 rooms, a glass-enclosed lap pool and wraparound windows overlooking the park. Copperfield says he is renovating the entire apartment, a process expected to take three years.
这间公寓最初是为性格古怪的慈善家斯图尔特•莫特(Stewart Mott)而建。他的父亲是通用汽车集团的一位创始人。据说莫特住从未在这处公寓住过。这间公寓共有18个房间，内设玻璃封闭的环形水道泳池。这里的全景视野玻璃窗可以俯瞰中央公园。科波菲尔说要翻修整个公寓，预计会耗时3年。
The apartment is also home to two other collections belonging to the magician. It houses some 300 antique arcade machines that Copperfield has restored and put on display. The other collection, an assortment of life-size antique mannequins once used as “models” by painters like Gaugin, hang suspended from the living room walls. “New York City [home] is an art gallery in an unconventional way, ” Copperfield explains.
公寓内陈列着这位魔术师的另外两类藏品。一类是约300台古董大型游戏机。科波菲尔命人修好了它们，然后陈列在一起。另一类收藏是一批真人大小的老式人体模型，高更等画家从前就用这种模型当作“模特”。这些模型如今高悬在客厅的墙壁上。“我在纽约的家是一个用非传统方式展示的艺术馆。”科波菲尔解释道。
As for his near-billionaire status? “I work really hard and it keeps adding up.”
而对于自己就快成为拥有10亿美元资产的富豪，科波菲尔怎么想?“我确实在努力奋斗，不断增加财富。”
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