The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-01-05
SOME MILLIONAIRES.
TmE RICHEsT MEN OF NEW YORK. AND
HOW THEY MADE THEIR MONEY.


Aston, LenOx. stewart ana Vanderbilt
The Fortunes. and Estates which
They Left BEHIND Them.
IN. Y. Times
The founders OF the great New York for
tunes Of the present century-John Jacob
Aston. Robert Lenox, Alexander r. Stewart
and Cornelius Vanderbilt all passed
away.
John Jacob Aston arrived In this city at
period Of great depression, In 1884. During
the latter part of 1888 some $1,000 refugees,
men. women, and children. left New York,
Long Island and Staten Island for Nova
Scotia and st. John, among them many per-
sons OF fortune and estate. These estates
Aston began to buy whenever he could spare
the money, as soon.as he got a little ahead In
| the world. John Jacob Astor's first purchase
of city real estate--two lots on the Bowery
| lane or road, near Elizabeth street-was made
| In August, 1889, and from that date to the
| time Of his death, March, 1s48, he was steady
and constant buyer of real estate. The last
conveyance to John Jacob Aston was made
shortly before his death, In 1S48. The con-
veyances made to him during the fifty-nine
years which elapsed between his first and
| last purchases OF real estate In this city form
seven pages OF closely-ptnted matter In the
index of conveyances on file In the Registers
| Office. These wise investments have with
| time swollen into enormous wealth, and the
Aston fortune to-day, as represented by Mr..
John Jacob Astor and Mr.. William Aston
| (grandsons of the first Astor), is one OF the
great fortunes OF the world. At the time OF
John Jacob Astor's death, in 1s4s, his fortune
was estimated at from $40 600 900 to $40 900 600,
and he was counted firth on the list OF rich
men, Baron de Rothschild, Louis Philippe,
the Duke Of Devonshire and Sir Robert Peel
The late Mr.. Robert Lenox like Mr.. Astor,
was seif-made man. He was, when he first
| began, an entire stranger In this city, where
the name OF Lenox is now so greatly vene-
rated because of the noble deeds OF charity
| and the lavish donations for religious and lit
| erary purposes OF his only son, James Lenox.
| Mr.. Robert LenOx commenced business In
| 1783-the year before John Jacob Aston ar
| rived and remained here permanently until
| his death, which occurred In December, 1889,
| in the eighty-first year OF his age. For many
| years his operations greatly exceeded those
! OF any other merchant in the country at that
successful merchants In the United States.
Mr. Lenox invested his Accommodations chiefly
/ in city real estate. In 1917 and 1918 he bought
for less than $1,000 about thirty acres of land,
running from Sixty-eghth to Seventy-fourth
street, between Fourth and Fifth avenues,
known as the "Lenox Farm" much Of which
| is now covered with frst~class brown-stone
houses. The enormous increase In the value
| OF this land, sold for the most part at top
prices, between 1864 and 1872, gives Mr.. James
| Lenox high rank among New York million
aires. The Lenox farm to-day, without o
brick on 1t, would be worth 100000. While
the Lenox fortune Is modest indeed, when
/ compared with the colossal accumulatioRs of
the Astors, Vanderbilts and Stewards, we
venture to hazard the opinion that Mr.. James
Lenox has quietly given away as much as the
| late Mr.. Peabody. His donations In land and
money to charitable, literary and religious
institutions situated on the Lenox farm alone
amount to over $2,500,000. This Is a noble ex-
ample to those who WELD the great fortunes
of New York. It Is to be regretted that the
name Of Lenox, so far as the founder Of the
| family In this city is concerned, dies with the
present Mr.. James Lenox, q bachelor, now ad-
vanced In years. AS long az New York exists
| his memory will be remembered and cher
ished.
growth than that Of Astor-was accumulated
| In one lifetime. At Mr.. Stewards death, In
1876 it was estimated at $50, 600, 900, or twice
the amount OF the highest estimate Of John
Jacob Astor's fortune when he died In 1848.
| In 1875 Mr.. Stewards city real estate-situ-
| ated for the most part below Union Square
was assessed at $6,212, 700; at that time the
| assessed valuation represented only GO per
cent of the real value, so that the then actual
value Of the real estate vas Slo,354 5OO. which
Mr.. Stewart, however. owned real estate In
nearly every city In which he had dealings.
He owned q number OF wooden and thread
| mills Ia this country, among them the Mo
| York Mills at Holyoke; the Woodward Mills,
at Woodstock; the Yantico Mills, in New Jer-
sey; the Washington Mills, at New Hartford;
the Catskill and Wateryille Wooden Mills.
England, and Glasgow, Scotland. The prop
| erty of the house OF A. T. Stewart Il Co. Is
greatly scattered. 1t owns property In most
Of the large cities here and abroad, and has
over 6OOo persons. There are branch houses
at Bradford, Manchester, Belfast, Paris,
Lyons, Berlin and Chemnitz, In Saxony. The
tranfer by Cornelia M. Stewart widow OF the
late A. I. Stewart. to Henry Hilton OF all her
interest in the firm Of A. I. Stewart Co.
gives Mr.. Hilton q conspicuous place among
New York milIionaires.
| Probably Mr.. William Fl. Vanderbilt Is to-
day the richest man in New York: He inner
tied the bulk Of Commodore vanderbilt's for
tune. who at the time OF his death was &C
\ counted richer man than either OF the pres
ent Astors. With the single exception Of
Mr.. William II. Vanderbilt, our chief New
| York millionaires draw their revenues from
the rents, income. and profits Of real estate,
which has shrunk fully one-third since 1873.
II the Aston fortune was then $4,000, 900 it Is
to-day worth not over $4,000, 600, and SO on
throughout the list. Since 1926 New York
has grown with rapidity hitherto unknown
In any OF the great centres Of population of
the world, and this growth gave wealth to the
fortunate few who bought or inherited city
real estate. Their DESCENDANTS are among
our richest citizens. Chief among city real
estate owners who rank as millionaires are
the Astors, the Rhinelanders, the Goelets,
Mrs. A. T. Stewart, the Lorillards, the Scher-
merhorns, the Lenoxes, Robert j. Living
| stOn and Frederic Stevens, who is the young
est millionaire on the list, and who occupies
on the corner Of Fifty-seventh street and
Fifth Avenue the finest private residence In
the city,
STROUSBERG.
His Extraordinary Career and Hopeless
| Collapse.