St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-23
New York Letter.

@[lEE5J richest man. out
"g---sss-s-s-S neither OF them
occupies that position now.
There is man, quiet of manner, soft
voices. modest II dress. whose every
movement is calculated to throw off
public attention rather than attract it,
who rides up md down town every
morning and afternoon on the al" road
like any poor ell rk. vet this man is the
peer of all the millionaireS OH this con-
tinent.
He is John d. Rockefeller, the found
er aud head of the vast commercial
giant, the Standard Oil company, whose
Unsuitable nav digosts daily the work
ings of s200,000,000 of property. One
half of this is owned by John ID. Rookie
Teller. Besides these Sl00,000.000 he
has between SS0.000.G00 and S4O.OOO, 900
Invested in the great Lead trust. in
steamship companies. in real estate in
New York and Cleveland, o., in rail
road and gas stocks, and dozen other
possessions.
But this is not all. John D. Rookie
fellerS'S annual income from his end
less possessions amounts to So, 00O,0
Think of il, S50l.O00 every month to
spend, or $125.0Uu week, OF Sl7,S57
day and almost 800 an hour.
But John d. Rockefeller does not
spend S6.000,0N0 a year. In tact. his
actual living expenses do not amount to
over $50, COO d year, but he has many
outside calls upon his purse, the SIP
port of charitable institutions and such,
which cause him to spend between $780,
600 and $7O0. 900 annually.
This leaves over 5000, 900 a year to be
added To the enormous principal, and
Mr.. Rockefeller does add it. With the
interest growing on his sum every year,
IN less than ten years Mir. Rockefeller
will be the pOssesSOr of S2O0.000, 900.
And if he lives for anoth.r ten years, as
he probably will. his fortune will not be
Tar from 00.000.OU0.
'HOw did lt' become possessed of this
money!" is asked.
He made it. every cent of 1t, from the
first quarter of a dollar TO the last mill
ion. and that is undoubtedly the reason
why he holds onto it with such success
full tenacity.
John ID. Rockefeller Is now so years
old. He is above medium height, being
about feet IL inches tall. and is soiidly
proportioned, weighing 10 pounds. His
once sandy hair is HOW literally tinged
with gray, and bald spot Oh the top of
his head, now as lar.e as a cup, is in
creasing in size every year.
He has small sandy-graY mustache.
q heavily marked face. gray eyes.
Roman nose, high cheek bones and an
expression which, while not exactly
stOlid. would never warn the observer
that he was looking AT the most success
full business man this country has ever
known.
Forty years ago John ID. Rockefeller
was not worth dollar. and more, he
had nc prospects of ever owning one
unless he owned il ny his own eXertion.
Although Cleveland, o.. was his birth
place and the city in Whirh the f0unda-
ton of his great wealth was laid. his
early boyhood days were snent III the
little town of Owego. in the upper part
OF this state.
His mother had small house on the
edge OF the town. and John ID. and his
brother William roamed about the sur
rounding country at will.
By reason of some domestic infelici-
ties the father of the boys did not live
with their mother, although no formal
separation existed between the two.
He paid them a visit once or twice a
year, and furnished the small house.
hold with the money required to defray
Its few necessities.
Whenever the boys wanted to attend a
visiting circus show they had to make
the money To pay for their admission.
There is widely authenticated state
ment abroad in Owego to-day that The
first quarter John ID. Rockefeller ever
made in his life was earned bv gather
ing the fall crop of potatoes for an old
farmer living near his mothers house,
who paid him 25 cents for his days
work.
These same Owego people will tell
you that Johnny Rockefeller was the
LATEST 10y in town, and that his brother
Billy was five times as smart and twenty
times as willing.
Young Rockefeller attended the same
school in Owego as Benjamin F. Tracy.
the present secretary of the navy, aud
Thomas c. Plat. the great mogul of the
Republican party In this stale.
When he was about sixteen years old
and ready TO enter SOME business. his
mother moved back TO Cleveland, and
Johnny entered the counting room of
an old warehouse which still stands on
the CuyahUga river. First he was errand
boy. then was promoted to junior clerk
ana eventually he became buokkeeper.
From his slow methOdical habits and
lack of enterprise or energy, it was
thought that liz had climbed as high in
the mercantile ladder as he would
ever get. Young Rockefeller evidently
thought the same. as people who knew
him then said that he was very we'll
centented with his advancement. and
never expressed desire for any more
faVors at the hands of Dame Fortune.
But when he was about twenty-four
years old feilow-clerk named Clark
determined to start out for himself in
the produce business. and he asked
Kockefellor to go into partnership with
him. To the surprise of his friends,
Rockefeller consented ard gave up his
beloved bookkeeping to become MEM
Der OF the firm of Clark d Rockefeller,
Shortly after the first inception of the
firm, George w. Gardner. then in his
youth and now mayor of Cleveland,
became Clark, Gardner & Co.. with
Rockefeller as the Go" While the
first two men sctlrried about town drum.
ming up business. Rockefeller remained
in the Office attending to the finances
and keeping the books written up with
the days doingS.
The capital of this firm was $4,000
one-third of which was supplied by each
partner. Rockefeller. had to borrow
heavily OH all sides TO pay his share
part of which was supplied by his
father, who came on from Philadelphia
at this time.
1t was in 1855 that the firm was estab
lished, and shortly afterward the OF
discoveries in the western part of Penn
sylvania took all the Cleveland mer
chants by storm. Rockefeller caught
oC 4, h