Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-05-08

Now that Cecil Rhodes Is dead the
richest millionaire yu Europe. and,
perhaps. in the world. 3 coming out
from under cover. Ills EA8s Is scarce
" known to the general reader and
his remarkable personality has been
quite overshadowed by thar OF the
Colossus although he was Tar richer
than Rhodes. But he will be in mapy
respects Rhodes successor. and the
fierce light that beats upon throne
win soon make him one of the most
talked-about men OF the time.
His name is Alfred Belt Short and
ugly as it is, that name could make an
otherwise worthless bit of paper into
a check that might be used TO shake
Wall street and Lombard street TO
their foundations Whether he is really
richer than John d. Rockefeller is a
question Belt himself probably couldn't
answer Two men who have been
closely associated with him IN widely
different ways have told me in the last
few days that this financier probably
could not scrape together more Than
hundred million dollars or so just now,
although II has been stated in print
that he has that many p0unds-Or, half
a billion of dollars. Both of these
authorities agreed, however, that the
end of the war in south Africa, where
this vast fortune has it's roots, would
assuredly bring prodigious increase
In the Belt wealth.
To Be a Millionaire Presently.
II he keeps on at the rate of the last
ten years the world will not have to
wait much longer before getting it's
first sight of billionaire.
Heretofore he has been content to
worship Rhodes and to pick up mill
ions, but an Englishman who has been
conspicuous in the operations of the
Chartered company ever since the first
Matabele war said to the writer: 81
venture to predict that Belt. who has
been known only as a financier up to
now. win be found before long taking
up and carrying to completion some of
the empire-building work Rhodes left
well begun but only half done | have
reason to believe that Belt caught
some of Rhodes enthusiasm for i'm
periaIism to such an extent that he
will eventually put money into 1t with
out getting it back, just as Rhodes
did. So far as investments in the De
Beers company. johannesburg. and in
Rhodesia go, Belt is the big man in
Africa already. and If he shows ad.
ministrative power equal to his finan-
cial ability his future is going to hold
the worlds attention His friendship
for Rhodes was something more than
an alliance for business purposes. He
fairly worshiped the man.
like Rhodes in Many Ways.
This mysterious multi-milionaire
was born in the same year. 1858. as the
man into whose shoes he is expected
to step. Like Rhodes. he is a bachelor.
and for the same reason that Rhodes
and Kitchener got the credit of being
woman-haters-beca they We're too
much engrossed in their ambitions to
have time to give attention to domestic
affairs. Like both of these men. too.
he cares little for society, although
there Is n plenty of exclusive peers
who seem glad to accept an invitation
to dine with him at his beautiful house
In Park lane. England. and although
many titled mamma Is said to have
tried to capture him for son-inlaw.
Like Rhodes. again. he gave no in
dication in youth of being anything
unusual. He was born in Hamburg
forty. nine years ago. coming of an old
solid Hebrew family. not vastly
wealthy. but rich enough to give him
good education in the German
schools and get him a good place in a
banking house. His luck began when
he was % and was drawn to south
Africa by news of the diamond dis
coveries. He got there a little before
Cecil Rhodes arrived in the hope of
keeping out of the early grave to
which his physicians had surrendered
him.
Belt made money as a diamond
merchant at Kimberly and invested it
In diamond mines, which brought him
in touch with young Rhodes, who was
laying the foundation of his portion by
his scheme for consolidating the dia-
mond interests-a scheme that proved
TO be lucky one to Belt. In fact,
Belt seems to have heen Rhodes chief
helper in the business.
Leader in South African Mines.
Belt branched out into the banking
business. becoming a partner in the
firm of Jules Porges & Co. predeces-
sors of the present great firm of
Wernher Belt & Co. When gold was
discovered in the Transvaal Belt was
in on the ground floor again. and with
his johannesburg partner. Hermann
Eckstein, soon became one of the great
captains of the south African gold In
dustry. He is credited with having
transformed south African gold min
ing from speculation into a steady.
wen organized, conservative business.
He had the wit to import the highest
quality Of American machinery. and to
pay prodigious salaries to sucn mining
engineers as John HAYS Hammond.