Morris tribune., 1881-03-24
MEN OF MILLIONS.
Americans Who Are Rolling in Boundless
Wealth.

Americans Who Are Rolling III BOundleSS
Wealth.
The richest man in America and nearly
the richest man in the world, is William H.
Vanderbilt. His fortune is set at about
5000, 900, 900. Next to him comes Jay Gould,
who is reaching $100,O00,000. The i'm
mense estate of the Astor's is worth much
over $4,000, 600. Fortunes ranging from
$1O,O 900, to $15, O00, 900 are almost COM
mon-so frequent, indeed, that the term mil
lions" has almost lost its immensely as a fig
ure of speech, and is employed now where
that of thousands used to be. Our father
spoke of man worth his hundreds of thou
sands, and we, the children heard them
with the same awe as that with VIII: Oh we
listened to the description of the tabled
treasures of the fairy tale Our children
to day do not call man rich unless he has
passed the goal their grandsires only con-
sidered in such names as the Rothschilds,
who were regarded as types of wealth no
man would ever peer. Even David Jones,
the brewer, who died last week worth $1O,-
000, 900, did not receive half column obit-
uary notice in any morning paper.
The man who wanted to make census of
the millonaires of New York for the year
1881 would almost need n whole newspaper
to do it in. Their name is literally legion.
There are scores of them whose wealth can
not be known, because it is invested in such
a way that it is not required to pay taxes,
and leaves no annual record of itself that
can be arrived at Dennis Kearney called
these men bloated bondholders, and they
are, in so far as the latter clause is con-
cerned. They are men who invest their
vast accumulations in government bonds,
draw the interest regularly, and add it to
the principal, and so go on heaping up a
monstrous capital with no labor on their
part, and no expenditure except the original
one. But they are lavish with their wealth
in spite of all that may be said to the con-
trary, and that lavishness has made the
name of New York a synonym for the open
handed benifcence which makes it in char
ity, science, arts, and commerce the metrop-
oils of the Western Hemisphere. Apart
from the fuctuating fortunes of the spec1-
lative rich men, the Jim Keenes and his like,
which may be millions to-day or thousands
to- morrow, there are merchant princes and
quiet men of fortune who, when they die,
will leave wills to run into the seven figures,
and make people wonder why they never
heard of such rich men before.
Nor are these colossal capitals restricted
to the metropolis. Cincinnati has several
Wcu- OO-uo PCop!C, dlVhouEh AoAoy ySoAo ess3o
she had but three who counted their fortunes
by millions. These were Nicholas Long
worth, who died in 1862, leaving about
$4,000, 900, and Jacob Burnet and James
Ferguson, who died in 1858, each leaving
about $2,OO0,0OO. Of the opulent people
now residents of Cincinnati, David Sinton is
said to be worth SIC, 600; G. H. Shoen-
berger, SIS, 900, 900; AID. Breed, $5, 900, 900;
estate Of James w. Gaff, $4,000, 900; estate
of Oliver Perrin, Sc, OOO,O 900; R. R. Springer,
S., 00O, 900; Joseph Longworth, $4,000, 900,
estate Of s. N. Pike, $3,000,0O0; Emery
Brothers, 81, OOO, 900; AID. Bullock, Charles
and John Kilgoui, w. P. Hubert, Samuel
Fosdick, William s. Groesbeck, Jacob Sea-
songood, Freiberg & Workum, John Shil-
lito's estate, Timothy Kirby's estate, Robert
MITCHELL s. M. Barrett, r. B. Bowler's es-
tate, Samuel Virgins estate, Judge D. X
Estes estate, J. G. Shorts estate, General
James Taylor's estate, and r. b. Hopple,
are each worth $4,000 900, while the list of
single millionaires is too numerous to men,
ton. wv t f3 g 4gH
Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburg, Boston,
all make similarly splendid showingin the
matter Of figures. Philadelphia and Boston
are very much alike in the fact that, though