Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-06
VANDERBILTs WEALTH.
Fifty Million Dollars Gone on the Wings
of the Morning.

A photograph of Vanderbilts face and
its expression as he drives down the road.
says New York letter to the Philadelphia
Press, would be rich addition to any
gallery you may have on exhibition. He
has lots of dollars and very few friends.
But his lots of dollars are not so marvel
GUS to-day as they were. 1t is no secret,
of course, that he has Withdrawn S1O,O00.-
600 within the year from his strong box of
government bonds, and it is a very open
secret that that tolerable ''tidy sum OF
money" was turned over to his son. Will
liam K, TO balance losses made by the
young and enterprising scion of the
family, under the direction, however, of
William II. himself. There is good reason
to believe that, aside from the great
shrinkages in the Vanderbilt properties,
or rather in the prices of the Vanderbilt
securities, the family, as such, have been
very far from fortunate in their Wall
street ventures. You will doubtless re-
call the fuss-and-feathery way in which
every member of that family took possess
sion of his house when furnished, the re-
ceptions given by Vanderbilt pere, and the
wonderful $4,000 ball given by Wander
bilt tls. That, however, was two or three
years ago. Have you heard of any recep-
tion lately? Were there any grand balls
given last year? AS matter of fact. the
sons house was not opened at all last
winter, and an air of gloom and neglect
hung about the place. Mr.. Vanderbilt
three years ago was supposed, and said
by people who ought to know, to be worth
in the neighbOrhOod of 5000, 100000. Judged
by the market price of his securities
to-day, and the known amount of
government bonds registered in his
name, it is considered a fair esti-
mate to put him down at $3.50, ,000, 900.
Now, it is manitestly absurd to Judge the
feelings of a man worth $3.50, 600 900 by
those of man worth $4,000, or even
$1,0O0,000. The latter would suppose that
the possession of $3.50, 100000 would make
him supremely happy and entirely con-
tented with this world, which would be
quite good enough for him. Suppose.
however, that man We're to lose So, 600
of his 20,000.it is clear enough to the
most obtuse intellect that he would be
worried and excited; but, believe me. he
wouldn't be one tithe as worried and eX-
cited as William Fl. Vanderbilt is to-day
because his millions are not so many as
they were year and half ago.
Vanderbilt, you must remember, is no
longer young man, don't know his age,
but it is somewhere along in the sixties,
and he was considerably over 40 before
his father considered him worth trusting
with any considerable amount of money,
or as confidant in any of his vast enter
prises. William H. Vanderbilt was a
grown man with a grown family, liv-
ing on Staten Island, as a kind of half
baked farmer, when his father took it
INTO his head to utilize him as the only
one of the family who had any degree of
sense at all. Don't you believe it? Well,
think it over. Where are the other Van
derbilts? 1t would puzzle you to find any.
The only Vanderbilt living, whom the
world ever hears of, is William H., and
the only reason it ever hears of him is be-
cause his father left him a stupendous
fortune of 100000, 900.