神祕馬來西亞人 紐約豪宅交易的幕後操盤手(3)

Luxury Home Purchases

購買豪宅

The year before Mr. Low showed up at the Time Warner Center, the New York news media reported the $23.98 million purchase of an apartment in the Park Laurel, a few blocks away on West 63rd Street.

在劉特佐現身時代華納中心的前一年，紐約媒體報道，有人耗資2398萬美元在月桂公園(Park Laurel)購買了一套公寓，那裏距離西63街只有幾個街區。

The purchase, the reports said, had been made by a shell company on behalf of two residents of Switzerland — Peter Edward Chadney and Simone Cécile von Graffenried Simperl. Those reports were mistaken. The Swiss “buyers” were actually Rothschild bankers. The real party behind the shell company was Mr. Low, whose spokesman acknowledged to The Times that the condo had been bought by a trust benefiting his family.

報道稱，這所公寓是由一家空殼公司代表兩名瑞士居民——彼得·愛德華·查德尼(Peter Edward Chadney)和西莫妮·塞西爾·馮·格拉芬瑞德·森姆波爾(Simone Cécile von Graffenried Simperl)購買的。但這些報道誤會了，瑞士“買主”實際上是羅斯柴爾德信託(Rothschild)的工作人員。真正藏在空殼公司背後的人物是劉特佐，他的發言人對時報表示，這套公寓的買主是一家信託基金，基金的受益者是他的家人。

Nearly three years later, the Lows sold it to Mr. Aziz’s shell company for $33.5 million in cash — a 40 percent appreciation.

大約三年後，劉特佐家族將這套公寓賣給了阿齊茲的空殼公司，取得了3350萬美元現金。這座公寓升值40%。

The sale involved a string of shell companies. In one spot on the property transfer, Mr. Aziz is listed as the “sole director” of Sorcem Investments, a British Virgin Islands company that was behind the shell company that bought the Park Laurel condo.

這筆交易涉及一系列空殼公司。房產轉讓文件的一部分內容顯示，阿齊茲是英屬維爾京羣島公司Sorcem Investments的“惟一董事”，背後操縱上述空殼公司購買月桂公園的公寓的，正是這家公司。

The transfer of the Beverly Hills house from Mr. Low to Mr. Aziz was even more opaque.

阿齊茲從劉特佐手中購買貝弗利山莊(Beverly Hills)房產的交易則更不透明。

After Mr. Low’s shell company, 912 North Hillcrest Road (BH) L.L.C., paid $17.5 million for the home — 11,573 square feet, with five bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, private gardens and a glowing pyramid in the reflecting pool — his trust sold ownership of that shell company to a corporate entity controlled by Mr. Aziz, both men acknowledged to The Times.

劉特佐的空殼公司912 North Hillcrest Road (BH) L.L.C.耗資1750萬美元購買了這套面積爲11573平方英尺（約合1075平方米）的豪宅，房中包括五個臥室、10個衛生間，還有私人花園。在游泳池的水中，還倒映着一個閃閃發光的金字塔。之後，劉特佐的信託公司將這家空殼公司的所有權賣給了阿齊茲控制的一家公司，兩人都向時報承認了這一事實。

Legally, however, the property itself never changed hands. The same shell company appears as owner in the public property records of Los Angeles County. It is as if nothing ever happened.

然而，在法律上，這所公寓本身從未易主。洛杉磯縣的公開房產記錄顯示，上述空殼公司是這所公寓的所有者。就好像交易沒有發生過一樣。

Mr. Aziz confirmed that he owned the New York condo as well as the Beverly Hills house, which is undergoing extensive rebuilding.

阿齊茲確認，他擁有紐約的那座公寓以及貝弗利山莊的豪宅，後者正在進行大規模整修。

Mr. Low said the transactions were done at fair market value. He sold the Beverly Hills property, he said, because he had found another nearby. That house cost $39 million.

劉特佐表示，這筆交易以公平市價成交。他表示，自己出售貝弗利山莊的房產，是因爲他在附近找到了另一所房子——耗資3900萬美元。

Back in New York, the Time Warner Center was a natural destination because friends of Mr. Low already owned apartments there. There was also a prominent Malaysian — the brother of Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary, a major beneficiary of government contracts and a generous backer of Mr. Najib’s political party.

在紐約，時代華納中心是一個必然的目的地，因爲劉特佐的朋友已經在那兒買了房產，其中包括一名馬來西亞知名人物賽莫達·布哈瑞(Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary)的兄弟。賽莫達從政府合約中獲利頗多，也對納吉布所在政黨給予了慷慨支持。

With the penthouses on the top five floors of the north tower came wraparound views — the Catskills far off to the northwest, the Statue of Liberty just beyond the southern tip of Manhattan, and Central Park right next door. Mr. Low went to view Penthouse 76B with a retinue of women and told people involved in the deal that he would pay $30.55 million — all cash, as in his other real estate purchases.

時代華納中心北翼最上面五層的公寓裏，可以一覽無餘地欣賞四周的美景——西北部遙遠的卡茨基爾山、曼哈頓島南端對面的自由女神像，以及近在咫尺的中央公園。劉特佐和一名隨行的女性查看了頂層公寓76B，並告訴參與該交易的人員，他會支付3055萬美元的現金全款購買公寓。他購買其他房產時，也是支付現金全款。

One member of the condominium board and another person with direct knowledge of the deal said they believed that Mr. Low was buying for a group of investors. One of them recalled Mr. Low saying that a main investor was the family of Prime Minister Najib.

公寓委員會的一名成員及一名直接瞭解購房交易的人士表示，他們知道劉特佐是爲一些投資者購買的這所公寓。劉特佐曾對其中一人表示，主要的投資者是納吉布總理的家人。

In its statement to The Times, the prime minister’s office said Mr. Najib had no financial interest or any agreement related to any Time Warner condominiums.

在發給時報的聲明中，總理辦公室表示，納吉布與時代華納中心的公寓不存在任何經濟利益關係，也沒有任何相關協議。

Mr. Low's statement said that the condo was owned by his family’s trust and that he and other family members “stay there from time to time when they are in New York.”

劉特佐在聲明中表示，這所公寓歸其家族的信託公司所有，他和家人“來紐約時，有時會到住在這裏”。

The professionals who helped Mr. Low buy the Time Warner condo included the same Rothschild bankers as in the Park Laurel condo transaction, as well as John Opar, a lawyer at Shearman & Sterling, who did not respond to inquiries. One of the bankers, Ms. Simperl, said she could not discuss the client, who in the same time period briefly owned a $33 million condo at the Trump International, across the street from the Time Warner Center.

幫助劉特佐購買時代華納中心公寓的專業人士包括購買月桂公園公寓的羅斯柴爾德員工，以及謝爾曼·思特靈律師事務所(Shearman & Sterling)的律師約翰·奧帕(John Opar)，奧帕沒有答覆相關問題。羅斯柴爾德的工作人員森姆波爾表示，她不能討論這名客戶的信息。此人同時還在時代華納中心對面的特朗普國際大廈(Trump International)短暫擁有過一所價值3300萬美元的公寓。

Janice Chang, the broker the Douglas Elliman firm identified as representing the buyer, said, “We work with a lot of people; sometimes we know them and sometimes we don’t.” She added: “They’re very confidential. We try not to pry.”

道格拉斯·艾麗曼(Douglas Elliman)房地產經紀公司證實，代表買家開展上述交易的代理人是賈尼絲·張(Janice Chang)。她表示，“我們會與很多人有業務合作，有時候我們認識這些人，有時候不認識。”她還表示，“他們都很保密，我們儘量不去打聽。”

Hello to Hollywood

進軍好萊塢

Mr. Aziz’s film company, Red Granite Pictures, was largely unheard-of when it took over the financing of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” announcing its intentions with a party at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, complete with a fireworks extravaganza and concert by Kanye West. The Hollywood Reporter called it “an audacious hello to the movie industry.”

阿齊茲的電影公司紅色花崗岩影業(Red Granite Pictures)投資攝製《華爾街之狼》(The Wolf of Wall Street)時，基本上還不出名。該公司在2011年戛納電影節(Cannes Film Festival)期間舉辦派對，宣佈了這一計劃，當時還安排了煙花表演和坎耶·韋斯特(Kanye West)的音樂會。《好萊塢報道》(The Hollywood Reporter)形容，該公司是在“向電影產業勇敢地打招呼”。

Neither of its founders had the kind of résumé that reflected the experience, or the income, to bankroll a movie company. Mr. Aziz, now 38, had been a junior-level banker at HSBC. His partner, Joey McFarland, was a small-time investor from Kentucky whose entertainment-business apprenticeship included booking paid party appearances for celebrities like Ms. Hilton.

公司兩名創始人的履歷上，都沒有經營電影公司所需的經驗，也沒有足夠的收入。現年38歲的阿齊茲曾是匯豐銀行(HSBC)的初級從業人員。他的合夥人喬伊·麥克法蘭(Joey McFarland)是來自肯塔基州的小規模投資者，麥克法蘭初涉娛樂業時，負責安排希爾頓等名人收費參加活動的檔期。

All of which led to a certain amount of curiosity in Hollywood about who was financing Red Granite.

這些事實促使好萊塢對紅色花崗岩的投資方產生了好奇。

Over time, the accounts seemed to change.

久而久之，相關的說法也不斷改變。

Interviewing a job candidate early on, Mr. Aziz said the financing came from “sovereign wealth,” according to two people with knowledge of the conversation.

兩名瞭解這段談話的人士透露，阿齊茲最初對一名求職者進行面試時稱，資金來自“主權財富”基金。

When Irwin Winkler, an executive producer of “The Wolf of Wall Street” inquired, he was told that Red Granite had “a backer in Malaysia,” he recalled in an interview. He was introduced to the backer, and it was Mr. Low. “He’s the face, as far as I could see, of the financing,” Mr. Winkler said.

《華爾街之狼》執行製片歐文·溫克勒(Irwin Winkler)在一次接受採訪時回憶道，他詢問相關問題時被告知，該公司“在馬來西亞有一個資助者”。溫克勒經人介紹認識了這位資助者，他就是劉特佐。溫克勒表示，“據我所知，他就是投資時出面的人。”

At the film’s December 2013 premiere party at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, several people said, Mr. Low had been introduced to them as the financier. He is thanked in the film’s credits.

幾位知情人士表示，2013年，該電影在紐約玫瑰島舞廳(Roseland Ballroom)舉行首映慶典時，主辦方介紹稱劉特佐是投資人。電影的鳴謝字幕中有他的名字。

The Malaysian explanations ended about a year ago, after Red Granite’s financing became the subject of persistent questions, especially from The Sarawak Report, a London-based news site that focuses on Malaysia.

紅色花崗岩的投資方一再受到追問，並特別受到了新聞網站《砂拉越報告》(The Sarawak Report)的關注，但投資方來自馬來西亞的說法遭到了否認。《砂拉越報告》是總部位於倫敦的新聞網站，主要關注馬來西亞。

Mr. Low says he has not put money into Red Granite or its films. And last summer, a new money man emerged. In an interview with The Times for an article on Red Granite, Mr. Aziz said the principal backer was Mohamed Ahmed Badawy al-Husseiny, chief executive of an Abu Dhabi government-owned company, Aabar Investments, that has done deals with Mr. Low. Mr. Aziz noted that “The Wolf of Wall Street” had received New York tax breaks. He said there were other investors, but recently declined to identify them. “There is no Malaysian money” in Red Granite’s films, he said.

劉特佐表示，他沒有爲紅色花崗岩或其電影投資。去年夏天，一個新的投資人出現了。在就有關紅色花崗岩影業的文章接受時報採訪時，阿齊茲表示，主要的投資人是阿巴投資公司(Aabar Investments)的首席執行官穆罕默德·艾哈邁德·巴達維·侯賽尼(Mohamed Ahmed Badawy al-Husseiny)。阿巴投資公司歸阿布扎比政府所有，與劉特佐有生意往來。阿齊茲指出，《華爾街之狼》享受了紐約的稅收減免政策。他說還有其他投資者，但最近又表示不會公開他們的身份。他表示，紅色花崗岩影業的電影沒有獲得“來自馬來西亞的資金”。

Even so, both Mr. Low and Mr. Husseiny have been involved with Malaysian government funds, including 1MDB.

即便如此，劉特佐和侯賽尼都與包括1MDB在內的馬來西亞政府基金有關涉。

Mr. Husseiny’s company, Aabar, had been a partner with Mr. Low in the failed Claridge’s bid that was backed by 1MDB. Aabar has also done business with affiliates of a company called SRC International, which was spun off from 1MDB and is now owned by the Ministry of Finance.

劉特佐曾在1MDB的支持下，與侯賽尼的阿巴投資合夥競購凱萊奇酒店，但最終失敗。阿巴投資曾與SRC國際(SRC International)的附屬公司有業務往來，SRC國際是從1MDB拆分出來的，現在歸財政部所有。

Aabar also did a deal with a company outside Malaysia that SRC had helped create, according to two people involved with the transaction. Money from that deal was then set aside to be paid out to other corporate entities. That money was described as consulting fees for Mr. Husseiny and Mr. Low, the people involved said. Similar arrangements existed in other SRC deals, they said they were told by people at SRC.

參與過阿巴公司與SRC一家附屬公司的交易的兩名人員透露，那次交易的款項被支付給了其他的企業實體。參與交易的人士稱，這筆錢被稱作侯賽尼和劉特佐的諮詢費。他們表示，SRC的員工告訴他們，SRC的其他交易中也存在類似的安排。

SRC’s managing director, a friend of Mr. Low named Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, said that to the best of his knowledge, neither Mr. Low nor Mr. Husseiny had received fees from deals involving SRC or its affiliates. Mr. Low said that he had not consulted for SRC International Sdn Bhd, the Malaysia-based SRC.

SRC的總裁，劉特佐的朋友尼克·費薩爾·卡里法·卡米爾(Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil)稱，據他所知，劉特佐和侯賽尼都沒有從涉及SRC或其附屬公司的交易中獲取費用。劉特佐稱，他沒有爲SRC設於馬來西亞的SRC國際私人有限公司(SRC International Sdn Bhd)做過諮詢。

In a response from his lawyer, Mr. Husseiny did not answer questions about SRC. His investment in Red Granite, he said, was “personal money.”

在通過律師傳達的迴應中，侯賽尼沒有回答有關SRC的問題。他說，他在紅色花崗岩影業的投資是“個人資金”。

Discontent at Home

後院起火

Just before Christmas, while visiting Hawaii, Mr. Najib played golf with one of his international allies — President Obama.

就在聖誕節之前，納吉布訪問了夏威夷，並在那裏和他的國際盟友奧巴馬打了高爾夫球。

It was “golf diplomacy,” the prime minister said when he was criticized in Malaysia for golfing while the country suffered through its worst flooding in many years.

這是“高爾夫外交”，納吉布說。當時他在國內遭到了批評，因爲該國在遭受多年罕見的嚴重洪災之際，他卻在打高爾夫。

It was also the continuation of Mr. Najib’s long effort to draw his country closer to Washington. Earlier last year, Mr. Obama made an official visit to Malaysia, the first by an American president since 1966. Afterward, he and Mr. Najib said they would “elevate” relations to a “comprehensive partnership” of political and economic ties.

這也是納吉布長期以來力求讓馬來西亞和華盛頓走得更近的一次努力。去年早些時候，奧巴馬對馬來西亞進行了正式訪問，那還是1966年以來美國總統首次出訪該國。之後，奧巴馬和納吉布宣稱，他們將把兩國的政治與經濟紐帶“提升”爲“全面合作伙伴關係”。

A White House spokesman did not respond to inquiries about the president’s relationship with Mr. Najib.

白宮發言人沒有迴應關於奧巴馬和納吉布的關係的詢問。

Even as Mr. Najib’s diplomatic standing has risen — Malaysia was recently elected to a two-year seat on the United Nations Security Council — his political star has been falling back home.

儘管納吉布的外交地位提高了——馬來西亞最近在選舉中獲得了聯合國安理會的一個爲期兩年的理事國席位——他在國內的政治聲譽卻在走下坡路。

Mr. Najib has positioned himself as a forward-looking moderate. Yet on issues ranging from the freedom of political speech to longstanding laws that favor the Malay majority over the country's ethnic minorities, he has not made good on promised reforms that would run afoul of his more conservative opponents. One long-running case that has rankled critics at home and abroad is his government’s prosecution of a leading opposition figure, Anwar Ibrahim, on sodomy charges; a ruling on Mr. Anwar’s appeal is expected any day.

納吉布把自己定位爲一個具有前瞻思維的溫和派。然而，在從政治言論自由，到該國法律長期以來偏向多數族裔而不利於少數族裔等問題上，他曾承諾要衝破保守派對手可能施加的阻力，對這些方面加以改革，但並未兌現承諾。一個久拖不決的案子在馬來西亞國內外激起了批評：他的政府以雞姦罪名起訴了反對派領導人安瓦爾·易卜拉欣(Anwar Ibrahim)；針對安瓦爾的上訴裁決即將出臺。

In the 2013 elections, the opposition won the popular vote for the first time in more than four decades. Mr. Najib kept his job only because the allocation of seats in Parliament was weighted to favor rural areas, where his party’s coalition was strong. Within hours of the announcement, crowds filled the streets of Kuala Lumpur in protest.

在2013年的選舉中，反對派在40多年的時間裏第一次贏得了多數選票。納吉布之所以還能保住總理之位，僅僅是因爲議會席位在分配上有利於鄉村地區，而其黨派牽頭的政治聯盟在鄉村地區很有影響力。消息一出，抗議的人羣涌上了吉隆坡街頭。

One of the toughest areas for Mr. Najib’s party was Mr. Low’s home state, Penang.

納吉布的黨派最難獲勝的地方之一，是劉特佐的家鄉檳城。

In the weeks leading up to the vote, Mr. Low helped a newly formed group, the 1Malaysia Penang Welfare Club. The club gave out free food and beer, as well as “lucky draw” tickets for bicycles and other prizes, and Mr. Low flew in musicians like Busta Rhymes and Ludacris for what was described as a nonpolitical concert.

在投票前的幾周前，劉特佐協助成立了一個名爲一馬檳城福利俱樂部(1Malaysia Penang Welfare Club)的組織。它提供免費的食物和啤酒，以及“幸運抽獎”票，可以抽取自行車等獎品。劉特佐還舉辦了一個號稱與政治無關的演唱會，請來巴斯達韻(Busta Rhymes)和盧達克里斯(Ludacris)等藝人獻唱。

The club’s leader was Mr. Low’s close friend, Mr. Geh, who said the mission of the group was charity. But opposition figures in Penang said the prizes and concert were aimed at recruiting votes for Mr. Najib’s party.

福利俱樂部的領導者是劉特佐的密友倪祖韓。他表示，該團體是個慈善機構。不過，檳城的反對派人士稱，這些獎品和音樂會旨在爲納吉布的黨派拉選票。

“Jho wanted to show that he could call the shots in Penang,” said Lim Guan Eng, the chief minister and an opposition member.

“劉特佐想表明，他可以在檳城呼風喚雨，”檳城首席部長、反對黨成員林冠英(Lim Guan Eng)說。

In the end, the governing party won only a quarter of the parliamentary races in Penang, and Mr. Lim was re-elected.

最終，執政黨在檳城僅獲得了四分之一的議會席位，林冠英再次當選。

Since then, Mr. Najib’s standing has grown only more precarious, as criticism has spread from the opposition to factions of his own party.

此後，納吉布的地位變得更不穩定，因爲批評的聲音已經從反對派蔓延到了他自己的黨派。

Over the summer, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who led the country for 22 years and retains considerable influence, publicly denounced Mr. Najib and called on him to reform 1MDB. And while speculation that Mr. Najib would be pushed out at the annual party congress in November proved unfounded, weeks later, an official from his party called for a police investigation of 1MDB and said he would file a complaint against the prime minister if no action was taken.

去年夏天，執政22年且仍有相當的影響力的馬來西亞前總理馬哈蒂爾·穆罕默德(Mahathir Mohamad)對納吉布進行了公開譴責，並敦促他改革1MDB。有人推測納吉布會在11月的年度黨代會中被迫下臺，不過這並未成爲現實。但數週後，他所在黨派的一名官員敦促警方調查1MDB。此人表示，如果不採取行動，就會提出針對總理的申述。

In January, 1MDB officials responded to the controversy by appointing a new president, a banker named Arul Kanda. The appointment created its own flurry of questions.

今年1月，1MDB對爭議做出迴應，任命了一位名爲阿魯·甘達(Arul Kanda)的銀行家爲新總裁。而該任命本身也引發了一系列問題。

In 2008, as Mr. Low was working to bring Middle Eastern money to Malaysia, he helped a Malaysian bank, RHB Capital, raise money from the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, where Mr. Arul soon became an executive. The next year, Mr. Arul joined a board of RHB.

2008年，劉特佐把一些中東資金引入馬來西亞時，幫助馬來西亞銀行興業資本(RHB Capital)從阿布扎比商業銀行(Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank)籌集了資金。阿魯很快就成爲該行的一名高管。第二年，阿魯進入了興業資本的董事會。

In mid-January, the Malaysian press reported that Mr. Arul said that any insinuations about connections to “certain individuals” were unfair. “My C.V. should speak for itself,” he said.

1月中旬，馬來西亞媒體報道，阿魯表示，那些影射他與“某些人”有關係的報道均有失公允。“我的履歷能說明一切，”他說。

An Evolving Image

不斷變幻的形象

Last September, Mr. Najib traveled to the United States for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. He and his wife usually stay at the Time Warner Center when they are in New York, and they did so this time as well — at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.

去年9月，納吉布總理前往美國出席聯合國大會的開幕式。在紐約的時候，他與夫人一般下榻在時代華納中心，這一次也不例外——他們選擇了樓裏的文華東方酒店(Mandarin Oriental)。

Mr. Low was in town, too — for a Social Good Summit sponsored by his foundation, featuring speakers like Melinda Gates, Ed Norton and Alicia Keys — and he and the prime minister engaged in a bit of a pas de deux at the Mandarin Oriental: Mr. Najib arrived in the hotel lobby with his entourage and went upstairs; within minutes, Mr. Low followed for what he later described as a “courtesy social call.” Less than 10 minutes later, the two men came downstairs and took separate exits from the building.

劉特佐當時亦身在紐約，爲的是參加自家基金會贊助的社會公益峯會(Social Good Summit)。峯會的演講者中包括梅琳達·蓋茨(Melinda Gates)、愛德華·諾頓(Ed Norton)和艾麗西亞·凱斯(Alicia Keys)等人。劉特佐與納吉布在文華東方共享了一小段二人時間：納吉布及其隨行人員抵達酒店大堂，隨後上樓；幾分鐘後，劉特佐也跟了上去——他後來將此次會面稱爲“禮節性的社交拜訪”。不到10分鐘後，兩人下了樓，分別走不同的出口離開了這棟大廈。

Lately, Mr. Low has been emphasizing that he is investing his family’s money and no longer managing money for investors and friends.

近來，劉特佐一直強調他在拿自己家族的錢來投資，沒再幫投資者或友人管理資金。

He has been broadening his family’s business portfolio, making high-profile deals with the Abu Dhabi government and other Middle Eastern investors. In 2012, his family joined a group that bought EMI Music Publishing for $2.2 billion, and the next year, it was a principal investor in the $660 million purchase of the Park Lane Hotel in New York.

他在不斷擴大自家生意的範疇，與阿布扎比政府等中東投資者進行了幾筆頗爲高調的交易。2012年，他的家族躋身一羣投資者之列，參與了以22億美元收購百代音樂出版公司(EMI Music Publishing)的交易。接下來的一年，它成爲了價值6.6億美元的紐約柏寧酒店(Park Lane Hotel)收購案的主要投資者。

After portraying himself for years as a friend of people with money — and saying in the 2010 interview with The Star that he came from a “fairly O.K. family” — he has started to say that he was born with it himself. Last fall, he did an interview with The Wall Street Journal, which reported that his grandfather had made a fortune in mining and liquor investments in Thailand. The Journal’s account — which said the Low family had a $1.75 billion fortune and called Mr. Low a “scion” — was immediately picked up in Malaysia.

在很長一段時間裏，劉特佐都自稱是富人的朋友，並在2010年接受《星報》採訪時表示自己“出身平平”。但後來，他開始自稱生來富足。去年秋季，他告訴《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)，祖父通過在泰國的礦業及酒業生意積累了財富。文中表示劉氏家族的資產達17.5億美元，並稱劉特佐是“富豪家族後人”。這樣的說法很快在馬來西亞傳播開來。

As befits the modern scion, Mr. Low has lately begun trading in another asset class: contemporary art. His entry into the art market has generated buzz both for his youth and for the fact that he has become such a significant force so fast. Last summer, he made the ARTnews list of the world’s 200 leading private collectors.

與這種“當代富豪家族後人”身份相稱的是，劉特佐近來開始在另一個資產類別中進行交易，那就是當代藝術。他進軍藝術品市場之舉引發了不少討論，一來是他年紀輕輕，二來是他以極快的速度躥升爲一股不容小覷的勢力。去年夏天，他登上了ARTnews的全球私人藏家200強榜單。

The art market is even more opaque than real estate, so that list is based not on actual sales data but on the assessments of people in the industry who know about collectors’ holdings. According to two people familiar with Mr. Low’s activities in the art world, though, he has taken a liking to pop art.

藝術品市場比房地產市場更不透明，因此這份榜單依據的並不是實際的交易金額，而是知曉藏家手中藏品狀況的業內人士。不過，根據對劉特佐在藝術圈的活動知情的兩名人士的描述，他喜好波普藝術。

“Inserting a Jho Low at the top of the market — who buys pictures over $20 million, $30 million, $40 million — it swings the market,” one of them said.

“劉特佐不惜花兩千多萬、三四千萬美元來買畫——有這麼一個人闖入頂級市場，是會左右這個市場的，”其中一人表示。

To the public, of course, the purchaser is anonymous. But among the purchases Mr. Low has been involved in, they said, are Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “Dustheads,” for $48.8 million.

當然，公衆並不知道這位匿名買家究竟是誰。前述知情人士透露，牽涉到劉特佐的作品中，包括以4880萬美元成交的讓-米切爾·巴斯奎特(Jean-Michel Basquiat)的《癮君子》(Dustheads)。

Asked if his family owned the painting, Mr. Low said he “did not purchase ‘Dustheads’ artwork on behalf of any investor.” Asked about his involvement in the art market, he replied, “The Low family is interested in fine art.”

當被問到其家族是否擁有此畫時，劉特佐表示，自己“未曾代表任何投資者買入《癮君子》這一作品”。又被問及他本人在藝術品市場的涉獵時，他回答，“劉氏家族對藝術是感興趣的。”