St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-16

William Waldorf Aston who has Just
succeeded TO the fortune Of John Jacob
Aston, his father: Cornelius Vanderbilt,
ti4e head of the Vanderbilt system OF
railroads. and Jay Gould. the Spectator
and railroad magnatc. The aggregate
wealth OF the RothchildS reaches nearly
81, G00, 900 600. but no individual Roth
chGid IS worth over SIT, 100000. Here IS
an estimate, obtained from the most re-
liahie sources, of the fortunes of the
AmtricanS named:
TOTAL FORTUNES.
Jc'in u. Rockefeller -, 00n 0 o0u
William y aldOrf AstOT......,... 125.e0VoOo
Cornelius Vanderbilt. ...,. go. llo,ooo'0o0o
Say Gould. 80. Cd. .........,. 3noooVOV
Ii tlas been supposed that the late
.ich;i Jacob AStOr was the richest man
il; tlie world, and SO he was for time
after The division Of The wealth OF
William Ii. Vanderbilt, vino. at the
simp OF his death, was worth S200o00,-
800. john d. Rockefeller has made
rnpley faster in the past few years than
any ether mortal ever made it. lie IS
50 rich that he cannot count his own
IaiijjoDS. lie said under oath in legal
proceeding not long ago that he could
li0t estimate his fortune within $l0,00O,-
COZ OF ST.. 100000. The estimate of $780,
900 is not considered excessive. 1t
anything, it is under the actual amount.
Rockefeller was once a newspaper re-
porter, and less than two decades ago
was business man Of only moderate
means IN Cleveland, o. His attention
was attracted to the opportunity OF max
iue nnncr in the handling and refining
1. at ,.T u
fields. lie started comparatively
smai: refinery, and from that grew the
most powerful monopoly on cartt-the
STANDARD Oil trust. How rapidly the
SlauNard has grown is shown by the
7Qct inat in 1850 its capital was only
s.; N0p, 600, whereas it IS now S9G,0O0,000.
The tay value 0f the stock is 500
STARE, but it is quoted at $40. 1t pays
dividends amounting 70 ten per cent per
annuu. Rockefeller owns more than Il
1aaiUciiv Of the stock, so something
like Situ,O0O0 900 Of his fortune is repre-
Sort4d in the trust, He also has extern
siye natural gas interests in Ohio, and
ia addition is large owner OF govern
sncnt bonds and the securities OF rail-
roads and ether corporations.
1t has been said. and it is probably a
TACT, that the Standard Oil trust is the
.ivhu -. Rockefeller IS the directing
spirit lie looks and acts more like il
preacher than q schcmer. lie Is, III
fact 4 deacon in Baptist church. He
has STOPPING shoulders. dropping eye
lids, and Il face that is almost SCpul-
ri,rai. He lives in Il handsome house
in West Fifty-fOuTth street, Just around
the corner from Fifth avenue. 1t is in
ti,io ueighu0rhOOd where the Vanderbilt
mansions, the finest IN New York, cluS-
ter. His diversions are few. Little is
heard OF him aud less is seen OF him.
He is inaccessible at all times. He
wiesGS the enormous power of the
Standard oil trust from behind portals.
Aud ibis mower is proved by the ire
sistible way III which opposition to tile
Standard int all forms has been crushed
out, There is, however, one thing to be
said al the Standard. If IN opposition
pipe linc OF refinery is started, and as
suinCS proportions sufficient to make it
tormidabic, an offer, and a fair one at
that, is made for its purchase. If
thc OGi,r is refused the Standard puts
down prices, iuterferes with facilities
aud makes its competitors business I'M
profitable. The competitor i'll the end
gives up. The Standard never was a
producer in Pennsylvania, but when
the Ohio field was discovered it pro-
cecded to secure all the productive ter
iit0sy, and now controls the situation
ti,crc absolutely.
william Waldorf AstOr's wealth is
principally in real estate. The original
.j0hu Jacob Ast0r bought farm after
farm along the Kings highway, the old
post road. extending from the Battery
III New Yoik to Albany. The Kings
highway is now known as Broadway
His heirs followed his GXample,and thus
ii is that the AStOrS have at one time oil
huothor owned the best part of Broad
way. People who desired to put III
residences or business structures W0ulC
obtain ground leases from the Astor3
and On corn fields and potato patches
reared buildings which, At the eXpira
fi0n OF the leases, reverted TO the AS
Tors. As q rule these leases ran TO
twenty-one years. The Astors have
ueycr been spectators, and IDS Il cunSe
quei,re their fortunes have never been
impaired by the mutations of Wal
street, They have never been ob
trusiyG and the only one O
the family who has ever as
pited to political honors is William
Waldorf, who served in congress anC
was also minister to Italy. He is no
litIoiy 10 figure i'll politics again. Hi
made something of a name as move
writer, bat his literary, as well rs hi
political aspirations, seem to have re
Gently subsidized. He is under forty, tall
w0il-built, aud agreeable in manner
Flo wears glasses and dresses yer,
quietly.
Ills home is double brown-stont
ss. ,s,.I FL
doors from Firth avenue. lie will soOl
take possession of his fathers mansion
on Fifth avenue, large and substan
tai, but rather old-fashioned house
The Aston property is easy to manage
for it inv0lYcS merely the collection o.
rents, with the occasional sale or pur
chase OF Il building or lot. Probably NJ
individual fortune of any magnitude
either in America or Europe. is suSecurt
rs William Waldorf AStor's. Only al
earthquake devastating Manhattan isl
aud could wipe it out.
~"
Cornelius Vanderbilt inherited $50,
O00,000 from William II. Vanderbilt
He was previously the posseSsor o
about S5,000,000 Interest and appreca
ton in the value of the bonds anC
stocks left him by his father make VI
the balance of the $l1O, 900, 900 with whicl
he is credited. His fortune is yer!
sagaciously invested. 1t is principally
in stocks and bonds, but of class tina
ia Wall street are known as "gilt
edged" Even a panic in the stock mar
ket would not be apt to diminish thu
value of his fortune over 10 per cent
and this impairment would not be per
manent. He was the favOrIte grandson
of old Commodore Vanderbilt, Wh0S
name he bears, and he was likewise TIN
favOrite son Of his father. He is an eX
Cellent business man, He methods ar
conservative.
delighted us as being so complete a con
traSt with the diversions they were pur
suing. Never wear steel-embroidereC
shoes, Amy. They make the feet seen
immense, and at little distance Iool
as if mud had dried upon them. hav,
pair which | shall give away, afte
having seen the effect of this decoration
upon the flying feet of dancer at til,
"Clnder." A pair OF floating Twin!