Britain's richest people have experienced the biggest-ever rise in their wealth，according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

　　 Driven by the“new economy of internet and computer entrepreneurs，the wealth of those at the top of the financial tree has increased at an unprecedented rate.

　　 The 12th annual Rich List will show that the collective worth of the country's richest 1，000 people reached nearly――146 billion by January，the cut-off point for the survey. This represented an increase of――31 billion，or 27%，in just 12 months.

　　 Since the survey was compiled，Britain's richest have added billions more to their wealth，thanks to the continuing boom in technology shares on the stock market. This has pushed up the total value of the wealth of the richest 1，000 to a probable――160 billion according to Dr Philip Beresford，Britain's acknowledged expert on personal wealth who compiles the Sunday Times Rich List.

　　 The millennium boom exceeds anything in Britain's economic history，including the railway boom of the 1840s and the South Sea bubble of 1720.“It has made Margaret Thatcher's boom seem as sluggish as Edward Heath's three-day week，”said Beresford.“We are seeing billions being added to the national wealth every week.”

　　 William Rubinstein，professor of modern history at the University of Wales，Aberystwyth，confirmed that the growth in wealth was unprecedented.“Almost all of today's wealth has been created since the industrial revolution，but even by those heady standards the current boom is extraordinary，”he said.

　　“There is no large-scale cultural opposition or guilt about making money. In many ways British business attitudes can now challenge the United States.”

　　根據《星期日泰晤士報》的財富排行榜，英國最富有的人們經歷了他們的財富有史以來最大的增長。

　　受到因特網和計算機企業家們倡導的“新經濟”的驅使，那些位居財富之樹頂端的有錢人的財富以前所未有的速度增長著。

　　第12次的年度財富排行榜將顯示：到1月份，也就是調查的截止日期，英國最富有的1000人的財富總和達到了1460億英鎊。這表明僅在12個月內他們的財富就增加了310億英鎊，即增長了27％。

　　自從這個調查開始時起，由于證券市場上技術股的持續繁榮，這些最有錢的人的財富又增加了數十億。據《星期日泰晤士報》財富排行榜的統計整理人、英國公認的個人財富專家菲利浦?貝雷斯福德博士說，這可能使最富有的1000人的財富總量達到了1600億英鎊。

　　這千年之交的繁榮超過了英國經濟史上的任何繁榮時期，包括19世紀40年代興修鐵路帶來的繁榮和1720年南海投機業的興旺。貝雷斯福德說：“千年之交的繁榮使瑪格麗特?撒切爾執政時期的經濟繁榮相形見絀，看起來就像愛德華?希思的1周工作3天同樣不景氣。我們將目睹國家的財富以每星期數十億的速度增加。”

　　位于阿伯里斯威思的威爾士大學的現代史教授威廉?魯賓斯坦肯定，這種財富的增長是史無前例的。他說：“今天所有的財富幾乎都是工業革命以來創造的，但是即使是依照那時的令人頭腦發熱的標準，現在的繁榮也是非同尋常的。”

　　“現在人們對于賺錢沒有大規模文化上的反感或歉疚感。英國商業態勢目前在許多方面都能與美國較量。”

　　 Although Britain's richest are experiencing the sharpest surge in wealth，the rest of the population has also benefited from the stock market boom and rising house prices. Last year wealth rose by 16% to a record――4，267 billion，according to calculations by the investment bank Salomon Smith Barney. In real terms，wealth has increased by more than a third since the late 1980s.

　　 Much of the wealth of the richest is held in shares in start-up companies. Some of these paper fortunes，analysts agree，could easily be wiped out，although the wealth-generating effects of the internet revolution seem to be here to stay.

　　 New economy entrepreneurs are to be found in all parts of Britain，but the City is a particular beneficiary of the stock market's internet boom. The number of those earning more than――1m a year in salaries and bonuses has risen to 3，000 from 750 five years ago.

　　 A Sunday Times Young Rich List confirms that people are becoming wealthier younger. It includes the 60 richest millionaires aged 30 or under. At the top，on――600m，is the“old money”Earl of Iveagh，30，head of the Guinness brewing family. In second place is Charles Nasser，also 30，who launched the Clara-NET internet provider four years ago and is worth――300m. The remaining eight in the top 10 young millionaires made their money from computing and the internet.

　　 The richest woman is Avneet Sahni，29，who runs the Manchester-based VIP Computer Centre with her husband Jatti and is worth 50m. Martha Lane Fox，27，of lastminute.com，is 15th equal in the list.

　　 David and Victoria Beckham，jointly worth――25m，are 18th equal along-side boxer Naseem Hamed. The youngest millionaire is the singer Charlotte Church，14，who is worth――10m.

　　雖然英國最富有的人們正在經歷財產的最強勁的攀升，其他老百姓也從股市的繁榮和房價的升高中獲得了利益。根據薩洛蒙?史密斯?巴尼投資銀行的計算，去年的財富增長了16％，達到創紀錄的42670億英鎊。自20世紀80年代末以來，實際上財富已增長了三分之一強。

　　最有錢的那些人的大部分財富都集中在新創建公司的股份中。分析家認為：雖然因特網革命帶來滾滾財源的勢頭似乎會持續下去，但新興公司尚未兌現的財富可能會輕而易舉地被一掃而光。

　　新經濟企業家在英國隨處可見，但是網絡股的繁榮使倫敦商業區的居民特別受益。年薪和分紅掙到100萬英鎊的人數由5年前的750人增加到了3000人。

　　《星期日泰晤士報》的一個青年財富排行榜確認，人們在更年輕的時候變得更有錢了。排行榜上60位最富有的百萬富翁的年齡只有30歲或更年輕。排在榜首的，是“有祖傳財產的”、擁有6億英鎊財產的艾弗伯爵，30歲，吉尼斯釀酒業家族的首領。位居第二的是查爾斯?納賽爾，也是30歲，4年前創辦了“克拉拉網”互聯網服務公司，擁有3億英鎊。頭10位年輕的百萬富翁中的剩下9位都是從計算機產業和因特網賺到錢的。

　　最富有的女性是29歲的阿弗尼特?薩尼，她和丈夫賈蒂一起經營一家總部在曼徹斯特的名人電腦中心，總資產5000萬英鎊。27歲的瑪莎?萊恩?福克斯經營“最后一分鐘網站”（lastminute.com），在排行榜上排在并列第15位。

　　戴維和維多利亞?貝克漢姆的總資產為2500萬英鎊，與拳擊手納希姆?哈米德并列第18.最年輕的百萬富翁是14歲的歌星夏洛特?丘奇，現有1000萬英鎊的財產。

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