3 Money Lessons from Infamous Scam Artists | J Mase III | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

I'm here to share a truth with you.

我想和大家说句实话。

And so I am ready to share my truth.

我已经准备好分享我的真心话了。

And the truth is,

我的真心话就是，

I love scam artists.

我爱骗子。

I mean, I don't love scam artists,

我不是说我爱这些人，

I love learning about them.

而是喜欢从他们身上学习。

I love reading books about them, watching documentaries about them,

我喜欢阅读有关他们的书， 观看有关他们的纪录片。

I love learning about the teleshopping queen Wanna Marchi in Italy.

我喜欢了解意大利的电视诈骗女王 万娜·马奇（Wanna Marchi）。

I like learning how to avoid creeps like Simon Leviev,

我喜欢了解如何躲开西蒙·列维耶夫 （Simon Leviev）这样的骗子，

you know, the "Tinder Swindler."

就是《Tinder 诈骗王》。

I even liked watching both Fyre Festival documentaries the day they came out

Fyre 豪华音乐节纪录片一经播出， 我就上头了，

and have listened to every single radio edit

我还听了比利·麦克法兰 （Billy McFarland）

of every Billy McFarland interview

就此话题的每一场广播采访。

that exists in this dimension.

I'm, like, obsessed.

我无法自拔。

And I think we can all learn a lot from scam artists, you know,

我认为我们都能 从骗子身上学到很多，

not like how to live your life or something,

不是学习如何生活，

but specifically how money functions in our society.

而是金钱在我们的社会中运作的方式。

So if you're ready to go on this journey with me today,

如果你已经准备好了 与我一起踏上一段旅程，

I would like to teach you money lessons from famous scam artists.

我想给大家上一堂 来自著名骗子的“金玉”良言。

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

没错，没错，没错。

(Applause)

（掌声）

So how did I get here?

我是怎么到今天这一步的呢？

Well, I'm an artist, you know, minus the scam part.

我是一个艺术家， 不行骗的艺术家。

I'm a poet and a filmmaker specifically.

我是一名诗人、电影制作人。

And when I started my arts journey full-time over a decade ago,

在我十多年前 全职投入艺术事业的时候，

I was unprepared for the amount of grants I'd have to write.

要申请的经费 多到让我猝不及防。

Turns out that a lot of being a professional artist

其实要成为一名职业艺术家，

is fundraising for your own salary.

很大一部分就是 在为你自己的工资筹款。

So I got good at grants.

我很擅长搞钱。

I got so good at grants,

我太擅长搞钱了以至于

I started writing grants for other people.

我还能帮别人搞钱。

In one year alone,

仅仅在一年里，

through writing grants for folks,

通过为别人申请拨款、

running people's fundraising campaigns, supporting mutual aid efforts,

组织别人的筹款活动、 支持互助帮扶，

I was able to help move 1.3 million dollars

我将 130 万美元

directly into the hands of Black trans individuals and organizations.

直接送入了黑人 跨性别者或组织的手中。

(Applause and cheers)

（掌声与欢呼）

I started consulting with philanthropic organizations

我开始为慈善组织提供咨询服务，

on the best way to support targeted communities,

将其当作支持目标群体的最佳方式，

and I teach reparations frameworks all across the country.

我在全国各地教授赔偿方案框架。

So I know why people give money.

所以我很了解为什么人们会付钱。

And honestly, a lot of it is great storytelling,

老实说，很多情况都是因为 讲了一个好故事，

and scam artists are really good at spinning a narrative.

骗子都很擅长编故事。

Now, the first famous scam artist I'd like to tell you all about

我要给大家介绍的 第一位著名骗子是

is the infamous Elizabeth Holmes.

臭名昭著的伊丽莎白·霍尔姆斯 （Elizabeth Holmes）。

So Elizabeth Holmes, who founded Theranos,

伊丽莎白·霍尔姆斯 成立了 Theranos 公司，

was able to rake in about a nine-billion-dollar valuation

为她那根本没戏的产品

for a product that didn't even work.

轻松捞到了 90 亿美元估值。

For those of you that don't remember Elizabeth Holmes, because you somehow,

不记得伊丽莎白·霍尔姆斯的观众， 那是因为你们

I don't know, like, missed the competing podcast, the book,

错过了铺天盖地的播客、书、

the documentary and the very public trial,

纪录片和那场大名鼎鼎的判决，

let me remind you who she is.

我来帮你回顾一下她是谁。

So she started Theranos under the premise that they would be creating a device

她创立了 Theranos， 声称他们可以做出一种仪器，

that could read hundreds of medical tests

只需要一滴血 就能完成上百种化验。

through a single drop of blood.

Now she surrounded herself with government officials,

她的身边云集了政府官员、

venture capitalists and a bevy of high-gloss magazine covers.

风投家，还有一大堆 光鲜亮丽的杂志封面。

What she did not surround herself with, though, were medical experts as peers,

但是她身边没有 医疗专家为她保驾护航，

right?

对吧？

And so for many people,

有很多人，

and for many of them that came close to her,

很多与她亲近的人，

they could realize pretty quickly

他们都可以迅速发现

that what she was selling just wasn't real.

她卖的东西是天方夜谭。

And so for most folks, it's very clear that Elizabeth Holmes is a scammer.

所以很多人显然会认为 伊丽莎白·霍尔姆斯是个骗子。

But have you ever listened to the rationalizations of her funders?

但你有没有听过 给她投钱的人的逻辑？

That stuff is gold.

这可是黄金屋啊。

So out of all of her investors,

在她的投资人中，

my favorite interview is one with Don Lucas Sr.

我最喜欢的采访是 老唐·卢卡斯（Don Lucas Sr）的。

So Don Lucas Sr., who gave her millions of dollars,

老唐·卢卡斯给了她上百万美元，

was asked to explain, "Why did you give her so much money?"

主持人问他： “你为啥给了她这么多钱？”

And so he said, "Well, her great- grandfather was an entrepreneur."

他说：“她的曾祖父是个企业家。”

And it turns out the hospital near where her family lives

而且她家附近的医院

is named for her great-uncle.

就是以她叔父命名的。

Yeah, so she was supposedly the best of both worlds

没错，她本该是 两个领域的天之骄子，

and had supposedly learned both medicine and entrepreneurship through osmosis.

耳濡目染地学习医学和创业。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Another gem of an interview was with Tim Draper.

还有一场宝藏采访 来自蒂姆·德雷珀（Tim Draper）。

So Tim Draper pushed back against an interviewer who asked,

蒂姆·德雷珀反击了主持人， 主持人问：

"Now, do you think that Elizabeth Holmes, being a family friend of yours,

“你觉得伊丽莎白·霍尔姆斯 作为你的世交，

had anything to do with you giving her so much money?"

有没有导致你给了她这么多钱？”

He scoffed.

他冷笑。

I mean, he's a professional.

他可是个专业人士啊。

He doesn't do trivial things like that.

他可不做这种天真的事。

He was a first investor in Tesla and Skype.

他是特斯拉和 Skype 的 首批投资人。

He just knows who's going to go the distance.

他知道谁是千里马。

And as we know, Theranos tanked, horribly and publicly,

我们都知道 Theranos 翻车了， 大翻特翻，

after opening 40 centers at Arizona-based Walgreens locations

在亚利桑那州的 Walgreens 药店里开了 40 家健康中心，

and endangering thousands of people who got blood tests

在明知血液检测有缺陷的情况下，

that the company knew were going to be faulty.

置上千接受检测的人 于水火之中。

A lie we get told again and again,

有句经久不衰的谎言是这么说的：

is that broke folks are bad at money.

破产的人不善理财。

It's working-class folks who make bad decisions about money.

是工人阶级没管好自己的钱。

This brings us to our first lesson.

这就说到了我们的第一个结论。

People with wealth aren't better at making decisions.

有钱人也不一定能正确地理财，

They get to make more bad decisions without it hurting them.

他们做过许多错误的决定， 只是对他们不痛不痒而已。

(Applause)

（掌声）

With the added bonus of being able to cause extensive harm

他们还会给那些 受到他们权力支配的人

to the people over whom they wield power.

造成严重伤害的“福利”。

When broke folks make bad decisions about money,

破产的人在钱上犯错，

it only impacts them,

只会影响这些受害者，

not whole ecosystems.

不会影响整个生态系统。

The next famous scam artist I'd like to talk to you all about

我要给大家介绍的 下一个著名骗子是

is the story of Margaret and Walter Keane.

玛格丽特（Margaret）和沃尔特·基恩 （Walter Keane）的故事。

Now in the 1960s,

1960 年代，

Walter got famous for painting.

沃尔特以绘画闻名。

But guess what Walter doesn't do?

但猜猜沃尔特不会做什么事？

Walter doesn’t paint, OK?

沃尔特不会画画，好吧？

He steals all of the work from Margaret, right?

他偷走了玛格丽特的 所有画作，对吧？

And these beautiful pieces,

这些美丽的作品，

known for their resonant features of children with big eyes,

它们以大眼睛的孩子 作为鲜明特色闻名天下，

were shown off at clubs,

在俱乐部、

at festivals, even at the UN.

节日活动，甚至是联合国展出。

They made him millions of dollars.

他从它们身上赚了上百万美元。

He even had celebrity clientele such as the Kennedy family.

他甚至还有名人客户， 如肯尼迪家族。

Because of the difficulty of being taken seriously

由于女性艺术家受到重视的艰难，

as an artist who was a woman,

it was easy to erase Margaret from her work.

从玛格丽特的作品中 抹消她的存在易如反掌。

Walter even was able to convince her

沃尔特甚至说服了她，

that this was the best way to get her work seen at all.

这就是让她的作品 被人看见的最佳途径。

Which brings us to our next point and lesson for the day.

这就说到了我们的下一个， 也是今天的第二个结论。

In an unjust society,

在不公平的社会中，

our social identities are often used as markers

我们的社会身份通常会被用作标记，

to decide whether we are worthy of being taken seriously

用于判断我们是否该被认真对待，

or deserving of financial and other resources, OK?

或值得拥有经济和其他资源。

And when I'm saying other resources, I'm saying sometimes it's money,

我说的“其他资源”， 指的是有可能是金钱，

sometimes it's food,

有可能食物，

sometimes it's housing, sometimes it's water.

有可能是住房， 有可能是水资源。

The next story that's coming up to me

我想到的下一个故事

actually is not a scam artist story per se,

其实本身不是个骗人的故事，

but a triumph over scam artist story.

而是一个战胜骗子的故事。

If I can diverge just for a little bit,

我就这么把话题岔开一会儿，

is that OK, yeah?

可以吗？

And so I'm thinking so much about the story of Carlette Duffy.

我太想讲卡莱特·达菲 （Carlette Duffy）的故事了。

So Carlette Duffy is a Black woman based in Indianapolis.

卡莱特·达菲是一名 住在印第安那波利斯的黑人女性。

And in 2020, she decided that she needed to refinance her home.

2020 年，她决定 将自家房屋抵押再融资。

And so when she did that, she had two appraisal teams come down,

她要抵押的时候， 来了两个评估小组，

and they both undervalued her home extensively.

它们都大幅低估了她家的价值。

The lowest appraisal being at 110,000 dollars.

最低的估值为 11 万美元。

So she had an idea.

她灵机一动。

She took down every picture of her family from her home.

她撤下了家里所有有她家人的照片。

She removed every single piece of artwork that depicted Black people.

她把所有描绘黑人的 艺术作品都收了起来。

She removed all of her hair products and she called a friend,

她把所有美发产品都收了起来， 请来一位朋友，

a white man that news outlets simply refer to as "Hank."

他是个白人，新闻上 都叫他“汉克”（Hank）。

Well, don't you know that when Hank stood in for her at the next appraisal,

你知道吗？ 汉克替她出席下一场评估时，

her home went from being worth 110,000 dollars to 259,000 dollars.

她家的估值从 11 万美元 上升到了 25 万 9 千美元。

Does that sound like a scam to you?

听起来不像一场骗局吗？

Because it sounds like a scam to me.

因为我听起来就是很像一场骗局。

And in that story, what I think also comes up,

这个故事也揭示了一点，

is how common that scam is.

就是这类骗局有多普遍。

And it is one that's based in redlining practices

它展现了信贷歧视

and white supremacy culture.

和白人至上文化。

Now the next and last scam artist that I would like to share with y'all

我要分享的下一个， 也是最后一个骗子

is the amazing Anna Sorokin, aka Anna Delvey, OK?

就是神奇的安娜·索罗金 （Anna Sorokin），

人称安娜·德尔维（Anna Delvey）。

Yeah, so some of y'all are fans, I could tell, OK.

有人是她粉丝哦，我看出来了。

Hide your wallets, OK?

把钱包藏藏好。

And so ...

安娜·德尔维假装自己是 一位来自德国的继承人，

So Anna Delvey pretended to be a German heiress,

and she almost, every space she went into,

她去的几乎每一个地方，

she took the New York scene of financial institutions and socialites for a ride

都将纽约的金融机构和社交名流 玩弄于鼓掌之间，

that would cost them 275,000 dollars.

让他们为她花了 27 万 5 千美元。

She lived in sprawling apartments, she flew on private jets,

她住在豪华大宅里， 乘坐私人飞机，

she vacationed on yachts,

在游艇上度假，

she ate meals that cost as much as my rent.

每顿饭吃掉我一个月房租。

She said she was rich.

她说她有钱。

She looked the part.

她演得很像一回事。

And so as a result, people felt compelled to give her more money.

所以人们感觉 不得不多给她送点钱，

Think of how ridiculous that sounds.

听起来多可笑。

Because she said she was rich,

只是因为她说她有钱，

she looked the part,

她演得很像，

people thought she also needed their money.

人们就觉得她也需要他们的钱。

Whether a gift or a loan,

无论是赠款还是贷款，

Anna would always promise to pay people back

安娜总是承诺会还的，

that decided they wanted to help her in supposedly urgent situations

于是这些人都想帮她 解决所谓的急用，

when she wasn't able to access her totally fictional

号称是因为她没办法 取出她那子虚乌有

but supposedly sprawling fortune.

却听起来富可敌国的财富。

What Anna's story reminds me is this next point.

安娜的故事让我想到了 接下来这一点。

Again, in an unjust system, in an unjust society,

同样，在不公平的体制内， 不公平的社会里，

those who are seen as being able to perform wealth

那些看起来有能力挥金如土的人

are more likely to get funded than those in actual financial need.

比起那些真的有资金需求的人 更容易获得资金。

Not only is this a gross practice, it's an unsustainable one.

这不仅仅是普遍的现象， 还是个不可持续的现象。

In 2014, a study found that overconsumption

2014 年，一个研究发现过度消费

and economic inequality leads to the collapse of civilizations.

和经济不平等会导致文明的崩塌。

While having a lot of wealth may be able to buy you a PR team

虽然坐拥财富的你 可以请来公关团队，

to make you more likable to the general population,

让你更受大众喜爱，

it doesn't make you a more skilled person.

但是，这不代表 你是个能力很强的人。

It doesn't make you more capable,

它不能增长你的能力，

and it certainly doesn't make you more perceptive

也不能让你更理解

about the sustainability of resources.

资源的可持续性。

This idea that wealthy people are somehow more deserving

有钱人更配拥有资源，

is one that is very pervasive

这个想法广为流传，

and one that many different types of people believe.

各种各样的人都会这么想。

In this society, because of all the systems we live under,

在这个社会中， 由于我们所处的各种体制，

lots of broke folks also believe the idea that they are somehow less worthy

很多破产的人也会认为 他们没有那些有钱人有价值。

than their wealthy counterparts.

Scam artists actually know something

骗子知道一些

that most of us in this room would deny or refuse to accept.

在场的各位会否认或拒绝接受的事实。

And that is,

那就是，

money doesn't typically come from hard work.

钱通常不会通过努力得来。

Money comes to those who hoard it.

钱会流向那些本来就很有钱的人。

Money comes to those who are willing to exploit.

钱会流向那些愿意剥削的人。

Money comes to those who work hard

钱会流向那些想方设法

to bury the history of where money comes from.

掩盖钱从哪儿来的人。

Billions of people live on this planet that work hard every single day

地球上的几十亿人 每天兢兢业业工作，

that will live and die broke.

都有可能会 破产地活着，破产着死去。

Money comes to financial institutions like Bank of America

来自金融机构，如美国银行、

and JPMorgan Chase,

摩根大通的钱，

who literally got their start in the transatlantic slave trade

它们的启动资金都来自于 跨大西洋奴隶贩卖，

and will find themselves in the news every few years

隔几年就会在新闻上看到它们

for denying loans to the very descendants of the same people they once owned.

拒绝为它们曾经拥有的黑奴的 后代提供贷款。

To big tech giants like Apple and Amazon,

而科技巨头， 如苹果公司和亚马逊，

who will pay top dollar for a coder behind a desk in Seattle

愿意给西雅图一张办公桌边的 码农支付高额薪水，

but will pay darn near nothing

却对那些勤勤恳恳

for the hands of those that work tirelessly

to mine the materials that make our devices function

开采我们设备中的必需材料、

and to deliver our packages cheaply.

派送包裹的廉价劳动力一毛不拔。

To living in a society where it is legal to pay both disabled workers

我们身处的社会，为残障员工、

and essential workers less than minimum wage.

一线员工支付低于最低工资的薪水 是不违法的。

The way we deal with money in this society is the real scam.

在这个社会中和钱打交道的 方式才是真骗局。

And while the scam artists that I'm talking about

虽然我介绍的骗子，

have had their tricks and tools exposed for the whole world to see,

他们的伎俩和工具 都已经大白于天下，

there are scams in our faces every single day.

但是，每一天 我们眼前都上演着骗局。

So what do I want you to get out of today?

我想让大家听完有什么感想呢？

I want you to consider

我想请大家注意

that there are scams that we are asked to agree not to see all the time.

那些我们被迫间歇性无视的骗局。

And I want you to think about in your personal life,

我想请你思考在你的个人生活中，

in your interpersonal life and in your greater community life,

在你的人际交往中， 在更广的社会生活中，

what are some scams that we are asked to pretend are OK

有没有一些骗局， 我们不得不假装它们无伤大雅，

and understanding that when we do that,

但我们又明知真要这么做的时候，

we set up a lot of our communities to fail.

我们就会让我们的集体崩溃？

As an artist, I have the distinct pleasure and joy

作为一个艺术家，我可以

of helping people to dream possibilities

从帮助人们畅想 地球上不存在的可能性中

that don't already exist on this planet.

获得独特的快乐和满足。

So today I'm asking you to dream with me.

今天，我邀请大家与我一起畅想。

I want you to dream a possible world

我希望你能畅想一个 有可能存在的世界，

in which we delegate resources like money

在那里，我们可以出于对集体的关爱

from a place of community care.

分配像金钱这样的资源。

What do actual ethical practices around money look like?

金钱层面真正符合伦理的 行为是什么样的？

Money in this society is often used to prove morality,

这个社会中的金钱 通常用于证明道德、

competency, wisdom,

能力、智慧，

when really it's just a tool we made up.

而这都是我们自己编出来的。

And we get to decide how we use it,

我们得决定我们该如何使用金钱，

how we move forward with it or without it for the collective good.

为了集体的利益，我们该如何把金钱 考虑或者不考虑进我们未来的走向。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause and cheers)

（掌声与欢呼）