The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-01
london Richest
Resident.

While there Is much natural curiosity
as to who are the worlds richest men
and in how many figures their vast vel n
is expressed. there can never be any alb
solute certainty on either point. the Lon
don Express says, for the reason that
millionaires. even II they know the exact
value of their possessions. never publish
It to the world. and In some cases It Is
said that a millionaire does not know
within 100000 what he is really worth.
1t is estimated. however, by men who
speak with some authority. that there are
sixty-four living men. each OF whom Is
worth e5.OOO.OOO sterling or over; and OF
these ten have fortunes ranging from
EGO. 900 to goo 100000 each. The joint
wealth Of the seventeen richest men IN the
world would be more than sufficient to ex-
tinguish our entire national debt, and an
the gold current in every country of the
world would not represent the aggregate
fortune of forty-hve Of the worlds rich
est millionaires.
1t may be interesting to give the
names of the men who are counted the
richest men fin the world today; and, while
one naturally cannot guarantee the exact
accuracy of the figures. they are the In
| dependent estimates of men who have ex-
ceptional means of knowing.
London IS accounted the richest city I'm
! the world, and It's richest resident is said
| to be the South African diamond king
| Mr.. Alfred Belt, whose palatial house Is
| conspicuous landmark In Park lane.
! But, though Mr.. Belt may be the richest
Londoner, 1t does not follow that he Is
| the richest man in the world. A China
man and a Russian, Ii Hung Chang and
| Prince Demidoff, are both extremely
wealthy, while in America, the home of
| millionaires. the following are well en-
dowed with this worlds goods: John ID.
| Rockefeller, w. Rockefeller, w. K. Van
| drebilt Andrew Carnegie, J. Jacob Astor
and w. w. Aston
| The joint fortune of fifty men, to some
| of whom in their early days G5 note
| would have been untold riches, reacher
the stupendous total Of G897 100000 ylel
! ing an income, on a per cent basis
| 944, 900 a year
| This revenue, which flows yearly into
! the Golfers Of a handful Of men," would
| allow an annual income Of e1OO TO every
family in Edinburgh, Dublin, Cardiff.
! Leeds, Bristol and Manchester; and at
| the same rate Of distribution. Il would
| keep the whole of London In all reason
able comfort for nearly six months a
| year. This colossal income Is sufficient
TO make new millionaire every eight
days approximately; and In two and a
| half years It would reach a sum more
| than sufficient TO pay our entire national
expenses for a year Every minute OF
every day and night this fortunate fifty
might divide among themselves seven
teen crisp 95 notes. with a balance Of
Is Sd for charity; and the gold Of a
single days income would require the
services OF forty-three porters, each car
rying a weight of fifty pounds.
ALI this Is but income which comes and
goes. and leaves the capital intact When
We look at the capital the head almost
reels with the pictures IT suggests.
Our fifty mIlllonaireS own among them
no less than u, 7oG.7OS pounds of coined
gold. so that for thirty years they might
throw away a pounds weight Of sOver-
eigns every minute, and still find them-
selves with an undistributed balance
weighing nearly thirteen tons. If We
load their mountain Of gold I'm trucks
allowing ten IONS to each truck. our
train, with its ten powerful engines. will
stretch a distance Of two and n half
miles. or, let us say, from the Bank Of
England to Buckingham palace In a
straight line.
If we place our 7O5 wagons and ten To-
comotives in the scales against the gold
I they carry. the gold will easily out
weigh them all.
All the adult males In Birmingham
could scarcely carry the gold these fifty
men own, although each man were 20
bear a burden Of 100 pounds weight. II
they were TO attempt the task. the pro-
cession of gold carriers would reach iu
closes. single file a distance OF ninety
miles. and with the sovereigns they carry
they might pave every yard of this
ninety miles OF road to a width Of over
10 feet while it would take a man. walk
ing at the rate OF four miles an hour. no
less than 2215 hours to walk from one
end TO the other Of this roadway Of
gold.