The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-08-30
= CALIFORNIA; MONEY KINGS.
Enormous Wealth Accumulated Wit
Twenty Years.


. Twenty Years.
The San Francisco Bulletin says:
No doubt the richest mining firm in the
world is that of Flood & OBrlen,
Mackey & Fair. Their interest In two
bonanza mines, at the present depressed
prices, cannot be less than $23, 600, GOO.
They own the Bank of Nevada, with a
paid-up capital of $40, 600, 900 and a re-
serve fund of So, ZOO, 900. They are re-
puted to own $40, 600, 900 in United States
bonds. Their real estate and other
property in sight cannot be worth less
than $4,000, 900. Besides these invest
ments they own controlling interest In
several other mines, some of which, like
the Best & Belcher, are believed to be
on the line of rich deposits, and may at
some future day be classed in the list OF
"bonanza mines." Add these items
together and we have total of $50, 600, :
600, which is an underestimate OF their
wealth, but how much 80 we cannot say.
The annual income on this property is
not less than $2O,0OO,0 900. The indi-
yidual interests cannot be defined, but we
should hesitate to indorse the statement
of the German fnanciers in this partlcu'
lar. It would not surprise us, however,
if satisfactory proof were offered, that the
entire assets of these four men would
foot up $10O, 600, 900.
Next in order we should estimate the
wealth of the four principal owners OF
the Central Pacific railroad and other
connecting roads of California-Stan-
ford, Huntington, Crocker and Hopkins.
These men are the largest owners OF rail.
road property in the world. Most OF
this property is encumbered by the issue
of mortgage bonds. But we suppose
that these four men have clear margin
of rising $50, 100000 Besides railroad
property they own great. deal OF Land,
town sites, alternate sections, country
seats. CITY real estate and so on. 1t Is a
low estimate to say that they are worth
S12, 500, 900 apiece. Prospectiveiy they
are worth vastly more. 1t may, indeed,
turn out, with their nearly three thou
sand miles of railroad and their large
amount of real estate, that six or seven
years hence they may be, if not now,
the richest men in California, or IN the
United States. For the present, how
ever. we adhere to our estimates, and set
down the men who are the principal
owners of the Bank of Nevada and the
great bonanza mines as the richest men
in this State, and set down the four men
who are the principal owners OF the Cen
tral Pacific railroad and connecting roads
as ranking next in order, with the quail
fication that we do not hold ourselves re-
sponsible for these calculations. Tney
have at least the merit OF shrewd
guesses, with considerable data to fortify
the opinion. .,,.
The number of men who are million
aires in this State was mover so great as
now. None of them were rich twenty
years ago, and very few had fortunes
even ten years ago. Quite number OF
those who had large fortunes five or Six
years ago do not now figure in the list OF
milionaires. The ups and downs OF
mining interests have made the principal
difference. A considerable number, also,
who were not rich five years ago, have
large fortunes to-day. Financial "ruin
in this State only means that men in the
hazards of business have lost, with the
strong probability that they will more
than make their losses good in the fu-
ture. If it is q land of cups and
downs" there never was country where
men got up so soon as in this. There is
spring, untiring energy-men who have
faith in themselves, in the country and
in the good Providence which is on the
side of all who honestly try to help
themselves. There is not another coun-
try under the sun where go many men
have made large fortunes in so short a
time without capital for start. There
is not another young city in the world
which contains so Lard 4e a population OF
wealthy men. These facts illustrate in
a striking way the wonderful resources
of this coast. The men whose fortunes
have been enumerated are only middle
aged. It is more than probable that
some of their heirs will be the richest
men in the world.