Continue amassing a small fortune...

要繼續累積現有的一筆小財富呢？

...or abandon it all to sell books?

還是要放棄一切去賣書？

That decision would single-handedly change the history of e-commerce, publishing, film, TV, journalism, and quite possibly interstellar travel.

這個決定即將一手改變電子商務、出版業、電影、電視、新聞業，還有可能影響星際旅行的歷史。

That decision also represents a recurring theme in his life: Never settle.

這決定也反映了他人生一再出現的主題：永不停歇。

Ever.

絕不。

This is how Jeff Bezos took a simple idea into a garage and built one of the largest marketplaces on the planet.

接下來是 Jeff Bezos 如何將一個從車庫裡發想的簡單想法，變成世界上最大的市場之一。

Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964.

Jeff Bezos 於 1964 年 1 月 12 日出生。

As a child, he turned his parents' garage into a laboratory for his inventions.

孩提時期，他把父母的車庫變成製造他所有發明的實驗室 。

In his 1982 valedictorian speech, he discussed colonizing outer space and turning Earth into a giant nature preserve.

在 1982 年的畢業致詞，他談到複製外太空還有把地球變成一個大型自然保護區。

Graduating from Princeton with a computer science degree, instead of going straight into tech, he had other ideas.

從普林斯頓大學電腦科學系畢業後，他沒有直接去科技業而是有其他的點子。

You don't become a billionaire unless you have this insatiable desire to accrue wealth and power.

你不會白白成為億萬富翁，除非你有無法滿足的渴望去累積財富和力量 。

But I think he just looks at it in a way that's really different to almost anyone else I follow.

我覺得他看事情的眼光跟我訪問的大部分人都很不一樣。

That's Tom Metcalf.

那是 Tom Metcalf。

I'm a billionaires reporter for Bloomberg News.

我是 Bloomberg News 專門報導富豪的記者。

You know, he's always driven by success, and Wall Street was the pinnacle for most graduates.

他總是以成功為目標，而華爾街是很多畢業生追求的尖塔。

He was a very mathematical graduate.

他是非常數學性的畢業生。

It really fit in his almost quant-like outlook.

真的很符合他作為金融工程師的觀點。

He quickly made a name for himself.

他很快就為自己打響知名度。

At 26, the youngest-ever Vice President of Bankers Trust Company.

26 歲，成為最年輕的美國信孚銀行副總。

At 28, the youngest-ever Senior Vice President of DE Shaw and Co.

28 歲，成為最年輕的 DE Shaw and Co. 資深副總。

It was there that he discovered a giant, untapped resource: the internet.

他就是在那裡挖掘出龐大且尚未被開發的資源：網路。

He was seeing the internet grow by 2300% a year.

他預期網路一年會成長 2300%。

In all his time at a Wall Street firm, he'd never seen such a growth opportunity.

他在華爾街的公司待了這麼久，從沒有看過這樣的成長機會 。

He went through a whole list of industries, and, if you think about books, easy to package, hard to damage.

他經歷了很多產業，而當你想到書本時，會聯想到容易包裝、很難破壞 。

And of course the internet offers an infinite library.

當然，網路提供無限的圖書館資源。

DE Shaw did not share his optimism.

DE Shaw 並不支持他的樂觀。

For the opportunity of a lifetime, Bezos would have to leave Wall Street.

為了一生才有一次的機會，Bezos 決定離開華爾街。

Whatever it is that you wanna do, there's gonna be risk in your life.

不論你想做的是什麼都會給你的人生帶來風險 。

And risk is a necessary component of progress.

風險也是前進中不可或缺的一環。

And he quite simply packed his stuff up, drove across the country.

所以他打包離開，開車橫跨整個國家。

And, you know, the legend goes that, while in the car, he was writing the business plans.

有傳言說，他在車上時，正在寫他的事業計畫。

Setting up shop in his garage, in 1994, he incorporated his book company under the name "Cadabra".

1994 年，他在自己的車庫裡開設了一家商店，以 Cadabra 這個名字成立了自己的圖書公司。

It wasn't great when a lawyer misheard it as "cadaver".

有個律師曾把 Cadabra 錯聽成 「屍體」。

He ultimately landed on "Amazon" for a couple reasons.

因為一些因素，他最終選擇 Amazon 作為公司名稱。

Firstly, the name beginning with 'A' would likely be on top of any alphabetized web search.

首先，Amazon 以 A 為字首，會第一個出現在任何以字母排列為順序的搜尋網站上 。

And he kind of liked the fact that it tied into the world's largest river, and he was setting up plans to make Amazon the world's largest company.

而且他喜歡這個名字和世界上最大的一條河流緊密結合，他設立計畫要讓 Amazon 成為世界最大的公司。

Launching in July 1995, a bell was installed to ring every time a book was sold.

於 1995 年開始，設立了一個每賣出一本書的時候會響一次的鐘。

In its first month, Amazon sold to people in all 50 states and 45 different countries.

頭一個月，Amazon 賣書給全美 50 州 和 45 個不同的國家 。

The bell was gone in weeks.

幾週後鐘就不見了。

All their expectations were smashed.

他們的預期被徹底粉碎。

They thought they'd maybe sell dozens of books the first week.

他們以為第一個禮拜可能賣出幾十本書。

It was in fact hundreds.

事實上，是幾百本。

Then thousands.

接著，變成幾千本。

And, of course today, millions.

當然，現在是幾百萬本。

By September 1995, Amazon processed $20,000 in monthly sales.

到了 1995 年 9 月，Amazon 每月獲利 2 萬美元 。

With its 1997 IPO, Amazon was valued at $400 million.

1997 年首次公開募股後，Amazon 價值 4 億美元 。

By 1999, Jeff Bezos was worth $10 billion and was Time's Man of the Year.

到了 1999 年， Jeff Bezo 身價 100 億，同時也是時代雜誌的年度風雲人物。

But soon after, the dot com crash had people skeptical: was Amazon a sustainable business, or would the bubble burst?

但很快地，網際網路泡沫化讓人們質疑 Amazon 是能長期發展的生意嗎？還是會成為破滅的美夢？

Anyone who's met Bezos knows he's extraordinarily charismatic and very convincing.

認識 Bezos 的人就知道，他非常有個人魅力且具說服力。

In terms of the long-term vision, he had it mapped out for decades.

就長期願景來看他已經規劃好幾十年後的未來了 。

Whatever happened in the short term, he wasn't going to change that plan.

不論短期內發生了什麼事都不會讓他改變原定計畫 。

And I think he conveyed that pretty well to his stockholders.

而且我覺得他很清楚地向他的股東們表達了這個想法 。

With the crash eliminating many competitors, Amazon strengthened its grip on the market and expanded beyond books.

這波網際網路衝擊淘汰了許多競爭對手，但 Amazon 加強了對市場的掌握也發展書之外的產品 。

The Kindle.

電子書閱讀器 Kindle。

Alexa.

智慧人工助理 Alexa。

Amazon Studios.

電影製作公司 Amazon Studios。

And of course… Amazon Prime.

當然還有亞馬遜付費服務 Amazon Prime 。

What it does it's really locked people into the Amazon ecosystem.

這將人們鎖進 Amazon 的生態系統。

They're much more inclined to be buying a lot more.

消費者傾向購買更多。

Word of mouth spreads.

口碑擴散。

And that has been the biggest driver of Amazon's incredible revenue growth.

這是 Amazon 驚人收入成長的最大驅動力。

Yet, historically, Amazon has seen modest annual profits.

而歷史上，Amazon 也有過表現普普的年利潤。

There's an enormous amount of cash flowing through the company.

有巨額現金流通於公司。

And what Bezos does - he's not returning that to shareholders.

而 Bezos 做的是，他並不把錢還給股東們。

He's reinvesting that in the company.

他用這些錢再度投資公司。

For sure in its core businesses, but also going off for these almost moonshot projects.

當然有投資其核心事業，但也有發展更多幾乎是登月的計畫。

My vision for Blue Origin is millions of people living and working in space.

我對 Blue Origin 的願景是，數以百萬的人在外太空居住以及工作。

This is such a game-changer.

這會改變遊戲規則。

Amazon to buy Whole Foods.

Amazon 買下全食超市。

Jeff Bezos is now the richest person in the world.

Jeff Bezos 世界上最有錢的人。

$250 million for the storied Washington Post.

2 億 5 千萬元買下有名的華盛頓郵報。

His acquisition of the Washington Post not only raised eyebrows, but put him at odds with another well-known billionaire.

他收購華盛頓郵報不僅讓世人驚艷，也讓他和另一個知名億萬富翁反立 。

He bought the Washington Post to have political influence.

他買下華盛頓郵報以獲得政治影響力。

If I become President, oh, do they have problems.

如果我成為總統，他們會吃不完兜著走。

They're gonna have such problems.

他們絕對會吃不完兜著走。

Bezos and Trump are probably as different as two entrepreneurs can get.

Bezos 和 Trump 可能是兩種完全不同的企業家。

Trump is pretty reactionary, you know, kind of emotional, whereas Bezos normally doesn't really respond.

Trump 是反動分子，有點情緒化，而 Bezos 基本上很少回應 。

Though once he did suggest he'd be willing to send Donald Trump into space.

只不過有一次他的確提到他很願意把川普送到外太空 。

And, you know, I have a rocket company so the capability is there.

你知道的，我有一間火箭公司，所以... 這是可行的 。

Few businessmen choose to make an enemy of a president.

很少商業人士選擇與總統為敵。

But having built an empire out of a garage, Jeff Bezos has proven capable of handling any adversary.

但是從車庫建立了一整個帝國，Jeff Bezos 證實了他有能力凌駕於任何敵手 。

Especially complacency.

尤其是他不會過度自滿。