The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-06-08
OLD WORLD MILLIONAIRES
[From the New York Journal

From the New YORK Journal
The death of the Russian general,
Alexander Basflewski, serves to recall
how very little is known in this coun-
try of the existence in the old world of
millionaires, besides whose wealth even
that of the Goulds, the Vanderbilts, the
Astors and the BOOKSELLERS sink into
comparative insignif1cance. True, 1t
is not a wealth that is so extensively
advertised in the public press as that
of the great American multi-milliOn-
aires, and hence is but little heard of
outside their own country.
Yet I doubt if there is any American
or English millionaire whose riches are
so boundless as those, for instance. of
the late NJ. Basilewskf. His fortune We
simply incalcula BILE, and his gold mines
in Siberia, which have been in his fam
lily for generations, and which are fam
Gus for the richness of their ore, for
their splendid organization. and which
are practically inexhauStible, constitute
only a portion of the estate which he
leaves divided among his four sisters,
nothing being left to his divorced wife,
who was the cause of such a sensa-
tional law suit at st. Petersburg. and at
Paris some twenty years ago. Most of
the large sturgeon fisheries in Russia
belonged to him, and his estates in
Orenberg and SmOlensk are the size of
kingdoms.
He came to Paris shortly after the
Crimean war, in which he distinguished
himself, and from that time forth
made his home in the French capital
1t was his friend, Prince Seltykoff who
frst turned his attention to art, and
who inspired him with the passion of
his life. From that time forth the gen.
eral devoted most of his time to the
formation of a collection, which was
perhaps the finest in Europe, his un-
limited wealth being Joined to unrivaIed
taste and soundness of judgment
To house his treasures he built the
palace which formerly bore his name
but which is now known as the Palace
of Castillo, in the Avenue Kieber. and
which is today the Partisan residence of
Queen Isabella of Spain.
Al the time OF his divorce from his
Wlfe he determined to get rid of both
ms art collection and his house. The
art collection he presented to Emperor
alexander II, and it now constitutes
the principal attraction of the Imperial
Museum of the Hermitage Palace at St
petersburg. At the same time he sold
the palace itself to Queen Isabella, who
Is Its present owner
Equally inexhaustibIe is the wealth of
the Dernldons, which also consists in
great part of mining property. this
mouse enjoying almost the monopoly of
hlalachlte and IapfslaZuI besides pos
sesSlng gold and silver mines in Russia
OF great richness. Then too there arc
the 1ousoupOffs. who control almost
the entire output of turquoises in the
world this, however, being merely an
incidental feature of the many resources
OF the revenue of the Princess YousOI1p-
on. who is now the sole heiress of tha
ehtlre property, and whose husband
CWho was permitted by the late czar
to assume her name and titIe) is
descended IN the third genera ton from
an american of the name of Elton who
entered the service of Car paul at +bo
close of the last century "
similarly incalculable is the fortune
or the emperor of Russia the fnconoa
from which is estimated at some S5n
OOO,O0O per annum. But this is probahI,,
below the actual figure For it must he
oorne IN mlnd that among the personal
tracts of territory each as hie as ~
state OF New York, and aboundins- in
mineral wealth only in the early STAGES
of development. Little is known in t6fs
country, 100, OF the extent of the CO.
lossal wealth of the late Archduke Al
pert OF Austria, whose estates cornnrisa
goodly portion of the entire empire.
and who owns something like "a nor
cent of all the big manufacturers ana
industrial establishments in the do
minions of his nephew, Emperor Fran
cls Joseph In his case, as in that of the
RUSSIAN arch-millionaires above men
toned, it is literally impossible TO cal
culate his fortune with any degree of
precision since a portion of it consists
IA that tni he af Pro p But it is known
amounting to some $500, 600, OOO
There are some German nobIenen
especially in Silesia, such as the Prince
or PIeSS, Prince Puckler and Count
HenckeI Donnersmarckw whose revenues
exceed even those of the English duke
of Westminster, who has an ever in
creasing income of about IS, 900 900 a
year. and whose one dread is that he
and his family are doomed to die in a
poor house.
During the few days that preceded
the official deposition of Khedfve Is
mail of Egypt. and after he had already
received information from Constantine
pie of the fate that was in store for
MIN. long trains of ammunition wagons
loaded with specie and precious stones
made their he
cairo TO Suez by night under strong es-
cort of personal guards of the khedfva
II IS estimated that he carried away
with him S100, 600, 600 on that occasion
that, in addition to the property which
he had already entrusted to yarious
European banks, and in addition also
to his enormous landed estates. which
the Egyptian government subsequently,
00O. 600 w.
II these figures seem fantastic LET
me merely recall the fact that this for
tune represented the fruits of IS wears
of cruel exaction and wholesale confis-
cation. For in those days whenever a
man became rich in Egypt he was to be
found guilty of some ina ginary offense
that furnished a pretext for the seizure
and absorption of his property by the
khedive.
Nor has any one in this country pro-
badly any idea of the vast wealth that
lies concealed in Asia, particularly in
India and in China, the reason for this
DelnS lnat Of1entdIS nave no confidence
in banks, and prefer to conceal rather
than to boast of the possession of
wealth As a general rule, it is hidden
and the only evidences thereof that are
to be seen are the jewels which the
owners occasionally wear and the es-
tates.
1t must be borne in mind that al
though the production of gold has gone
on increasing year by year since the
days of King Solomon. yet it is as
scarce as ever. 1t is, therefore clear
and manifest that it is being boarded
somewhere or other, and that this