3月7日午间英语新闻：最节俭的百万富翁拥有十处房产依然靠垃圾桶食物维生

>World’s most frugal millionaire rummages through trash for food

最节俭的百万富翁：拥有十处房产依然靠垃圾桶食物维生

An 80-year-old German man has been dubbed the world’s most frugal millionaire for living off food and stuff found in dumpsters despite owning several properties worth millions of euros.

一名80岁的德国男性被称为全世界最节俭的百万富翁，尽管他拥有价值几百万欧元的多处房产，依然靠着垃圾桶中的食物维生。

Heinz B. looks like a homeless person with nothing to his name, but appearances can be deceiving. The German man may only have 15 euros in his bank account at the moment, but that’s only because he just withdrew 700,000 euros to buy a new home, his 10th.  The 100,000 euros left over was transferred to a fixed-term deposit to generate interest. He might not look like much, but the octogenarian is worth several millions of dollars and knows how to increase his fortune. He says he has been frugal his whole life, so he doesn’t really need money to get by. He is more than happy living on food found in dumpsters and picking up all sorts of things other people throw away.

海因茨·B看上去就像一个一文不名、无家可归的人，但是不要被他的外表欺骗了。这名德国男性也许目前银行账户上只有15欧元（约合人民币117元），但这是因为他刚刚取出了70万欧元（约合人民币547万元）新买了一栋房，这是他的第十处房产了。买完房子，他还留有10万欧元存定期赚利息。他可能看上去不像有钱人，但是这位八十多岁的老人资产高达数百万欧元，而且他知道怎么让自己的财富增长。他自称节俭了一辈子，生活上也不怎么需要花钱。他非常愿意从垃圾桶中翻东西吃，以及囤积其他人扔掉的各种东西。

"Maybe I’ll buy some oil for frying or something if it runs out, but I find most of the food in the trash,” he recently told German tabloid Bild. “People are wasteful and throw away so much that you could feed a whole family! For example, people buy a pack of sausages, eat one, and then simply throw the rest in the trash.”

海因茨最近告诉德国小报《图片报》：“如果炒菜的油用完了我也许会买一些，但我吃的大多数食物都是从垃圾桶里捡的。人们太浪费了，扔掉的食物都可以喂饱一家子人！比如说，人们会买一袋香肠，吃一根，剩下的直接扔进垃圾桶。”

The pensioner from Darmstadt in southwest Germany first made news headlines in 2021, when it was reported that he owned seven houses and two apartments, and had around €500,000 in his bank account. He’s been growing his fortune ever since. He makes sure to buy properties in his area, so he can reach them by bike in case they need repairs. 

德国西南部达姆施塔特市的这位退休老人第一次上新闻头条是在2021年，当时报道称他拥有7栋房子和2套公寓，银行账户上还有近50万欧元的存款。自那以后他的财富一直在增长，最近还投入70万欧元购买了另一栋房子。有趣的是，他只购买他所在片区的房产，这样一旦房子需要修缮，他骑着自行车就可以到达。看起来只要自己能干的活，他是不会花钱请别人干的。

"Craftsmen charge 55 euros per half an hour of repairs,” Heinz B. said, adding that most of his houses aren’t even leased because the rent wouldn’t cover the costs of maintaining the properties. Besides, it’s not like he needs the extra money anyway.

海因茨·B表示：“工匠来修理，每半个小时就要收费55欧元。”他还表示自己的大部分房产甚至都没有出租，因为租金无法覆盖房屋维护保养的费用。况且，他似乎也不需要额外的钱。

The retired electrical engineer has a monthly pension of €3,600, as well as another pension of €156, most of which goes into his bank account, because he doesn’t really have anything to spend it on. Apart from the 5 euros he might spend on food every month, his expenses only include an internet connection for his laptop. A cell phone is out of the question, as that would cost him an extra 10 euros.

这名退休的电气工程师每月可以领到3600欧元的退休金，另外还有一份156欧元的养老金，他的大部分收入都存进了银行，因为他没什么需要花钱的地方。除了他每月可能要花在食物上的5欧元，他的花销只有笔记本电脑的上网费。他绝对不用手机，因为用手机每月还要多花10欧元。

Heinz B. spends most of his time collecting stuff other people throw away, pedaling his bike around Darmstadt in his never-ending quest for new stuff. He hardly uses most of it, instead trading it with neighbors, usually in exchange for food they don’t need.

海因茨大部分时间都在囤积其他人扔掉的东西，骑着他的自行车在达姆施塔特市到处转，永不停歇地寻找新的东西。他捡来的东西大多数自己不用，而是卖给了邻居，通常是用来换取他们不需要的食物。

With no immediate family to share his sizeable fortune with, Heinz B. doesn’t really know who he’ll leave his wealth to when he passes away. He has some distant cousins, but he says they can’t afford to pay the inheritance tax.

由于没有可以分享庞大财富的直系亲属，海因茨实际上并不知道在他过世后这些钱要留给谁。他有一些远亲，但是他说他们都付不起遗产税，所以他正考虑将部分房产留给租户。

重点词汇：

octogenarian

英/ ˌɒktədʒəˈneəriən / 美/ ˌɑːktədʒəˈneriən /

n.八十岁到八十九岁的人

adj.八十岁到八十九岁的