New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1879-01-15

W. Cuo oAuouut OF ,1ess<=r.s.,-,-----
John Jacob Astor's fortunei whom he died
IN 1913. In 1878 MI. Stewards city real es
tate-sltuated for the most part below Union
square-was assessed at 6,2l2, 700; at that
time the assessed valuation represented only
to per cent. of the real value, SO that the
then actual value of the real estate was &c.,
354 800, which forms but an eighth of his
estimated wealth. Mr.. Stewart, however,
owned real estate IN nearly every city in which
he had dealings. He owned a number of
wooden and thread mills in this country:
among them the Mohawk and Elbnuf, at
Little Falls; the New York mills. at Holyoke:
the Woodward mills, at Woodstock; the
Yantico mills, in New Jersey: the Washing
ton mills. at New Hartford; the Catskill and
Waterville Wooden mills. There are also
large mills at Nottingham, England, and
Glasgow, Scotland. The property of the
house of A. T. Stewart & Co. is greatly scat
tered. It owns property in most of the
large cities here and abroad, and has con-
tlnually in its employ, outside of New York,
over SIX Thousand persons. There are branch
houses at Bradford, Manchester, Belfast,
Paris, Lyons, Berlin, and Chemnitz in
Saxony. The transfer by Cornelia NJ. Stew
art, widow of the late A. T. Stewart, to
Henry Hilton of all her interest in the firm
of A. L. Stewart & Co., gives Mr.. Hilton
conspicuous place among New York million
aires. ..f-
Probably Mr.. William II. Vanderbilt is to-
day the richest man in New York. He in
herited the bulk of Commodore Wander
bits fortune, who, at the time of his death.
was accounted richer man than either of
the present Astors. With the single excep-
ION OF MI. VIM. 81. Vanderbilt, our chief New
York mlllionaires draw their revenues from
the rents, income and profits of real estate,
which has shrunk fully one-third since
1873. If the Astor fortune was then $780,
100000, it is to-day worth not over $6O,OOO-
OOo, and so on throughout the list. Since
1925 New York has grown with a rapidity
hitherto unknown in any of the great centers
of population of the world, and this growth
gave wealth to the fortunate few who bought
or Inherited city real estate. Their descend
ants are among our richest citizens
Chief among real estate own
ers who rank as millionaires
are the Astors, the Rhinelanders, the Goe-
let's, Mrs. A. Z. Stewart, the Lorillards, the
Schemerhorns, the Lenoxes, Robert j. Liy
iugston and Frederic Stevens, who is the
youngest millionaire on the list, and who oc-
cupies, on the corner of Fifty -seventh street
and Fifth avenue, the finest private residence
in the city. It is singular fact that of all
the gentlemen We have named who, together
represent certainly between $1OO,OOO,-
600 and $150,O0O,0OO of real estate,
not one concerns himself personally
about municipal affairs. This reflection
addresses itself with peculiar force, not only
to millionaires, but to our moderately we'll
TODD classes, and to all those who own prop
erty in the city. If sharp remedy is not
quickly applied to the present uselessly and
crinlinally e1travagant modes of municipal
government, the profession of millionaires
will soon become extinct, and the preserva-
ton of accumulated wealth at this centre
can be classed among the lost arts